BFF Open House Link Party #175

Hi all. I debated whether to post the party tonight or wait til tomorrow given the 9/11 Anniversary. I'm going to skip features this week but wanted to still make the link up available. 

   

    An InLinkz Link-up

   

Halloween Gothic and Glam: Skulls and Bows Earrings, Necklace, Bracelet

With Halloween approaching  and the return of one of my guilty pleasure TV series  “Sons of Anarchy” , I was inspired to make some fun gothic jewelry. My real life couldn't be further from what happens on the show but I do have some things in common with the female characters style: B L I N G.  I love it when worlds collide.

Included in  my Blue Moon Bead design team supplies (all supplies are Blue Moon Beads ; design is my own)  were strands of black and clear crystal beads with rhinestone skulls.  Also included were silver filigree bow beads.

My photography skills don’t do the details justice but these are the perfect combination of gothic and girly , bold and bling.

For the earrings I strung a glass bead, skull bead and bow bead on a head pin and attached to pendant pieces. These are non-pierced earrings so I glued clip findings to the back of the pendants.

For the bracelet, I used stretchy cord,  two of the clear rhinestone skull beads , one of the bow beads and alternating black and clear crystal beads.

For the necklace ( choker length) I used two different chains, more of the pendants made the same way as the earrings and then clear and black beads on head pins attached directly to the links with jump rings.

Blue Moon Beads can be found at your local JoAnns.

BFF Open House LInk Party #174

Happy Friday eve all and happy SEPTEMBER if you can believe it. I'm still trying to digest the fact that College Boy started his senior year of college this week. I remember writing about when we first dropped him off. Yikes!

Hope you all had a nice Labor Day weekend and those of you kids off to school this week ( little or big, kindergarten or college) did so w/out too much anxiety. 

Fun ideas from last week's party: 

I know how excited a lot of people are about the early return of Pumpkin Spice Lattes at Starbucks. So this one's for you pumpkin fans...if you want to save but still want the PSL experience, visit Crafty Lumberjacks for their super fast recipe. 

Alayna's Creations shared a two in one holiday project that will get you through from Halloween to Thanksgiving. Double sided wood blocks! Genius. 

Speaking of two in one projects this week's chocolate feature is paired with another great fall idea. How cute are these football themed snack bags? Only made better with the Snickers Pretzel Snack mix that goes inside. Who needs game day?

Visit Upstate Ramblings for the details on both!

Now on to this week's party!

   

    An InLinkz Link-up

   

Halloween Archive : Vintage Witch Hats and Spooktacular Giveaway

This is a re-post of a popular project I shared last year, inspired by the  Three Witches from Macbeth. Supplies I used last year were from Oriental Trading Company.Project idea 100% mine.


One reason I thought to re-post this is because to get ready for Halloween this year, they're having a spooktacular giveaway that you definitely want to enter: 

The Grand Prize is $500 worth of stuff ( $500!!) but they're also giving away a $25 gift card to their site EVERY DAY until 10/18! Who wouldn't want to enter to win?

If you're not familiar with Oriental Trading Company or haven't been there in a while, in addition to a great selection of party supplies and project kids that are great for kids, they have really really expanded their crafting supply section. I was able to go through the ordering process which was straightforward and easy, and my shipment arrived quickly.

The hats themselves are not actually hats. They started out as these:

Plain paper mache cones. I covered them using torn and twisted kraft colored butcher paper and Mod Podge  and glued them to a cardboard circle base.

Since I knew I wanted them to be old looking, I wasn’t precise and just kind of went over the form until it looked like a witch’s hat. When dry, painted with black paint. Now for the fun stuff!

I chose some of the Halloween papers from Oriental Trading Company along with epoxy poison labels. I used the papers to make layered flowers that I scrunched and crumbled. After all, the witches from Macbeth would not be seen in pristine new hats.

Using some of the die cuts and stickers I also received, I made accessories for my hats, keeping with a poison potion theme.

Waste not want not, so I used from of the scraps of paper to embellish the hats going around one of the cones, and one of the brims.

BFF Open House Link Party #173

How in the heck did it get to be the end of August already? I was in Michaels briefly last night and Halloween was everywhere. Hopefully I'll find some time to work in the ideas that came to mind as I wandered around the store. 

Here are some features from last week's party: 

I love Wall Art with special meanings. Dates, names, places etc. This is a new twist I haven't seen before using the latitude and longitude of your home! Visit Home Made Interest for the how to. 

Another great book page craft: Paper Hydrangeas. They might take a little time but well worth the result. Visit Muslin and Merlot to see how.

I really do wish I had a "Go Pro" camera feed from Mich in LA. Because the things she comes up with to use in her jewelry making never cease to amaze me. When I say you'll never guess what she used in her pendant, I mean it. 

I love the story behind this week's chocolate feature  from Pickled Okra as much as I love the looks of this yummy dessert: Mocha Turtle Trifle. 

This week's party! 

   

    An InLinkz Link-up

   

BFF Open House Link Party #172

Hi everyone. Let's just say it's been a week and leave it at that. Creativity feeds the soul so here are some inspiring ideas from last week's party. 

Let's start with this fun Frosted Vinyl mirror from Home Made Interest. I have not played with frosted vinyl but can see infinite possibilities! 

How well would a frosted mirror go with a chalk painted concrete floor? This is a masterpiece from Heather at Woods of Bell Trees. 

I am in love with the colors, texture, and depth of this gorgeous card from Paper Seedlings. 

And this week's chocolate feature includes an ingredient you will never believe (and I'm not telling...you have to go to the link !)  Via a guest post from This Silly Girls Life, from Mom Loves Baking: 

Now on to this week's party!

   

    An InLinkz Link-up

   

BFF Open House Link Party #171

Happy Friday eve everyone. Gonna get right to it with features from last week's party. 

Loving this DIY chevron wall art from Cherished Bliss. You could do as part of a gallery wall or as a standalone piece. 

Speaking of Chevron, how about this sewing storage chest with a chevron top from Make Thrift Love Life. Would you believe this is Gayle's first furniture upcycle? 

It's hard to believe it's back to school time already. What a great way to start the new school year with a yummy teacher gift. Love this idea from Being Bianca. 

This week's chocolate feature is a summer classic. Is there anything better than a chocolate ice cream cone? How about one made with an easy homemade ice cream recipe?

Yum! Visit CulinaryFlavors for the recipe. 

Now for this week's party: 

   

    An InLinkz Link-up