BFF Open House

 

Whew! Here we are at the end of the week again already! And almost to May which seems impossible. Finally had time to play in my craft room and then found myself stuck so have been watching some You Tube videos and trying to learn Inkscape and then finally had an idea for Mother's Day cards which I'm finishing up. 

How do you get yourselves creatively un-stuck? I'd love to hear your strategies and if I get enough responses, I'll turn that into a post! 

Meanwhile, let's take a look at some of the creativity shared at last week's party! 

There is just something about lavender that holds a wide appeal all over the world. Someday I want to visit the lavender fields in Provence, France.  Our last house before we moved from Washington had TONS of lavender bushes and I would cut and dry bunches. I wish I'd thought to do what Lisa from Fresh Vintage by Lisa S did with this beautiful Lavender Wreath! 

Tonna, from Sew Crafty Crochet shared not only a gorgeous wreath but a great way to use up bits of leftover yarn by making a bunch of crocheted flowers. 

Summer will be here before we know it ( OK it's already supposed to be in the 90's today here in the desert..."Spring") so you'll want to check out not only this cute Hello Summer printable from Creatively Beth, but she also has 15 more! Free! 

Finally, maybe you're planning a Mother's Day Brunch or like me, you have a freezer full of blueberries. Either way, this Farmhouse Blueberry Coffee Cake from Mom The Lunch Lady is a must try recipe! 

OK peeps, let's see what you've been up to this week! 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

BFF Open House

 

April is just moving by at a rapid pace. I'm sure it's because I've been doing a lot of back and forth to my mom's, scheduling, following up on scheduling, following up on following up in re: Dr.'s appointments. I don't know how older people who did not grow up with technology are supposed to navigate all of the systems and portals etc. that we all have to use. Anyway, that hasn't left any time for creating so I continue to live vicariously through your creations! 

Let's take a look at some of the wonderful ideas from last week's party! 

First up, on this Earth Day, you have to check out this fabulous upcyle from Upcyle This DIY That ! Wonderful ideas to use up things that we all have on hand! 

I have a bunch of fabric from making masks and JoAnn  enabling me with coupons and these DIY Drawstring Bags from 3 Winks Design are a perfect match for my sewing skills and fabric stash. Complete tutorial provided! 

When I started making cards, I would keep one if I made multiples, to have a little portfolio of them. I kept them in binders and since I tend towards layered cards, they got bulky and unwieldy and I ended up donating all of the cards during one of our moves. I'm also honored that my mom, bestie and others keep the ones I send. But...I think I will resume and adopt this brilliant idea from Linda at Paper Seedlings! Love how she displays her creations! 

Finally...you're welcome. You need these Bakery Style Chocolate Chip Pecan Cookies from The House on Silverado in your life. As the meme goes on Twitter "That's the tweet". 

Thanks to all who linked up and please join me in wishing The Mumster a Happy Birthday tomorrow! Very happy that this year, we actually get to celebrate it with her. 💋😘

Now, let's see what everyone's been up to this week!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

BFF Open House

 

Happy Friday Eve all! What a difference a week makes. The Mumster's on the mend and I'm back home and hopefully get to play in my craft room a bit. Thanks for understanding last week about no features and thanks for you kind words of support. April is just moving along and it's hard to believe we're already at the halfway mark.

So let's take a look at some of the wonderful ideas shared at last week's party!

Kathleen from Our Hopeful Home shared her gorgeous Corbel Book Ends. They look like they came straight from Arhaus, Ballard Designs, or Pottery Barn! 

Nothing says Spring / Summer like lemons and this bright and pretty Lemon Spring Wreath from Penny's Treasures screams it! It all began with a simple wreath from JoAnn! 

I learned not long ago that I'm going to be a Fairy Grandmother! My bestie and I were pregnant at the same time, and her eldest daughter and my son were born within ten days of each other. The joke has always been that I'm her "real" mother because she and I tend to like a lot of the same things. And now she's going to be a mom and this will be my title. So these hangers from Satsuma Designs gave me some ideas and you need to checkout her entire Baby Shower post! 

Finally, what's better than a Chocolate Chip Cookie? A roundup of 17 Chocolate Chip Recipes of course! From The Kitchen Is My Playground. If you can't find a favorite in here then I'm not sure what to say 😘

Thanks to everyone who shared last week and let's see what everyone's been up to this week! 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

BFF Open House

 

Hello and Happy Friday Eve to all my "Chocoholics"! I hope everyone's had a great week. Mine has been one of those "life is what happens when you're busy making other plans" weeks. Actually a couple. The Mumster (aka my Mom) took a fall last week and ended up in the hospital. The good news is, it wasn't as bad as it could have been and she has been home since Saturday. I've been staying with her to help get her back up to full strength, so haven't been doing any making. As such, this will be a week where there aren't any features. 

I will take a moment, especially for those of you who are younger, to issue a PSA that it's never too soon to have conversations with your parents about finances, decisions, directives etc. If COVID year has taught us anything it's "we don't know what we don't know" so ASK and discuss! You and they will have better peace of mind. 

OK end of PSA and party on my Creative Peeps! Thanks for understanding! 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

BFF Open House

 

Hi all and hope everyone's had a great week! In advance, Happy Easter to everyone celebrating this weekend. Passover also comes to a close this weekend. 

Let's jump straight into seeing some of the ideas from last week's party. 

Unique Creations by Anita continues her Steampunk creations, the latest example of which is this Steampunk Gnome! 

Cecelia from My Thrift Store Addiction shared this beautifully simple and perfect for Spring Moss Wreath. 

Artsy Va Va shared these pretty Spring candles with a tutorial not only on how to decorate the outside, but how to make the inside! 

Finally, check out these Chocolate Bunnies from Studio 27 by Jennifer Adams. Are they though? Chocolate that is...you tell me! 

OK let's see what everyone's been up to this week! 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Papercrafting: Mod Podge Keepsake Eggs

 

I had a couple of large plastic eggs in my stash so I decided to add to my Keepsake Egg collection that I didn't even know was a collection until I realized how many I've made! All you need are some plastic eggs, pretty paper, Mod Podge, and some embellishments. 

Supplies: 

• Large Plastic Eggs (Michaels)
• Decorative Paper ( Paper Source)
• Mod Podge (Michaels)
• Ribbon and Charms (Stash)

Matte Mod Podge is my go to for almost everything although I have and love the other formulas. It works really well with handmade papers. They absorb it and dry really nicely. 

I just drew an oval bigger than the egg on the back side of the paper, cut, then cut around the edges to make it easier for the paper to lay down. 

Flipped the paper over, coated the back with Mod Podge, then wrapped the egg. I covered most of the eggs this way, then just tore pieces to cover the remaining exposed spots. 

With a heavily patterned paper like this I wasn't too worried about any crinkles most of which you can smooth with your finger but even those that remain just kind of blend in. If you're using a less patterned paper where wrinkles may show more, you can be more precise about applying the paper. 

Once the eggs were covered, I coated with more Mod Podge and let dry.  One reason I love Mod Podge is it stays wet enough to get your paper where you want it yet dries fast so a project doesn't take forever. 

After that, it's up to your imagination! I grabbed some gold satin ribbon and some tissue paper like yarn I had in my stash, along with some Fleur de Lis Charms that worked with the colors and style of the paper.  Cut a length of the satin ribbon large enough to fit around the egg and make a bow, anchor on the bottom of the egg with a dot of hot glue, then wrap and tie a bow. Cut a length of the ribbon yarn, slide under the bow, knot,  then cut some more strands and lay atop the knot and use the ends to tie on the charms. 

I like that these aren't explicitly Easter and can be left out for Spring since eggs are a symbol of renewal. 

I've heard people say they're intimidated by decoupage but don't be! Start with a project like this where it's not about precision. Once you make one thing, you'll be hooked! 

Papercrafting: Layered Egg Easter Cards

 

I will singlehandedly keep the Post Office in business because as much as I love and use technology, I will always make and send handmade cards. And since no matter how hard I try, I can't make cards that only require basic stamps, I'm their best customer!  

I had fun with my newfound knowledge of creating layered files in Cricut Design Space and did a series of layered Easter Eggs in a pastel palette. 

Supplies: 

• Let's Wander Paper Stack ( Michaels ) 
• Ethereal Gradients Stack (Michaels) 
• Pastel Glitter Stack ( Michaels ) 
• White Cardstock (Michaels)
• Foam Tape
• Tape Runner

I will also singlehandedly acquire every Michaels Hot Buy Paper Stack which, did I mention...are buy one get two free this week? 

Since all of the papers complemented each other, it was easy to play with different combinations. I ended up doing some in blues/turquoise, pinks and lavenders, and yellows/oranges/green. 

I cut the top layers of each using the glitter paper, layering using foam tape on either one or two layers of coordinating plain paper. 

For this one I used two layers of glitter paper. 

I had some paper butterflies in my embellishments stash but I didn't have enough so I made some more by cutting them on my Explore Air 2 and adding self adhesive pearls to match the original!

The Post Office employees hide when they see me coming! WHAT is she mailing now?! 

Sharing At:

Our Hopeful Home