Thursday, May 20, 2021

BFF Open House

 


Whew! It's another Friday eve already and May is chugging along. It seems like once Memorial Day hits, time goes even faster. Hopefully this year that means at least more time spent with friends and family! Speaking of which, my making time will be a little spotty again for the next little while as we prepare for another move. Confluence of things made it the right time to move closer to my Mom which will be good as we figure out her next chapter. So instead of an hour each way, I'll be about 15 min away. But moving means...cleaning out and packing and that doesn't always leave time for creating right? One step forward to my hope of creating full time. Two steps back. 

OK let's take a look at some of the ideas from last week's party! 




I'm excited I'll have a little porch area so this Reversible Porch Sign from The House On Silverado is great inspiration! 



Speaking of signs, I also love this pretty Herbs Sign from The Apple Street Cottage, an idea that could be used for all kinds of goodies you're growing. 


If you need to come up with some easy storage, crates are your friend and this idea from Condo Blues is a great way to use them! 


Finally, with days getting warmer ( we've already hit at least one triple digit day in the desert) and Summer upon us, what's better than an ice cream sandwich except this Chocolate Chip Cookie Ice Cream Sandwich from 3 Winks Design?! 

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







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Thursday, May 13, 2021

BFF Open House

 



I hope everyone who celebrated Mother's Day had a good one. Whew! Halfway through May already and before you know it we'll be seeing Halloween and Christmas supplies in our favorite craft stores. I know...I know...but you know I'm right! 

I had a lot of fun playing with a free Mandala SVG file shared by Gjoa from Special Heart Studios which I shared here. As always, I hope everyone's had a good and creative week and let's take a look at some inspiring ideas from last week's party! 


In love with this gorgeous Vintage Spring Tablescape from French Creek Farmhouse. I love the books used for elevation! 



From Priyam at Simple Joys comes this perfect combination of pretty and practical in this Brown Paper Basket made from something we all have access to, a brown paper grocery bag! 


Another simple but beautiful project with so may potential uses: Leather Tassles. From Hello Sewing. Perfect for Keychains, Handbags, a Journal...so many possibilities 


Finally, from A Loverly Life these stunningly beautiful and delicious looking Chocolate Chai Tea Cakes! YUM!






 

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Monday, May 10, 2021

Framed Layered Square Mandala


I attended a virtual  multi-day Makers Fest last December where I met so many talented people. Not just talented, but generous in that they shred and continue to share their creativity and talents through free designs you can download. One of my favorites is Gjoa from Special Hearts Studio who designs gorgeous layered cut files that can be used in your Cricut or Silhouette. We love Frank Lloyd Wright designs and right now live not far from his Taliesin West architectural school so when I saw this one, it was all kinds of perfect! You need a password to download files so just follow the instructions at the link. 

Supplies: 
  • Square Mandala Cut File #137
  • Coordinating Papers. All papers by Recollections from Michaels
  • Background Paper (Michaels)
  • Shadowbox Frame (Michaels)
Since I tend toward neutrals, I selected my papers: white, silver, black and cream


I find that it's helpful to lay your papers out in the exact order you want the layers to be on your finished project. It helps me keep things straight! 

Import and size file in Cricut Design Space. The frame I chose was 8x8 so I sized my project to 6x6 because I didn't want it to fill the entire frame. Then, cut each layer. 


Once your layered pieces are cut, then you can assemble them! I have done layered file with foam tape or spray adhesive depending on the intricacy of the layer and the effect you want. For this project, I used spray adhesive and I like using a repositionable adhesive so you have the flexibility to line up the pieces properly. 


Spray the back of each layer and adhere. I like building up from the bottom layer. 


Here's the base white layer with the first silver layer. 


Then black over the silver layer. 


Cream layer over black


White layer over cream.


And finally the last (silver) layer on top! 

Cut your background paper to fit your frame. I did use foam dots to attach the assembled Mandala to the background paper. 




I have it displayed on our entry table atop a thrifted candleholder I painted. Make sure to stop by Gjoa's Blog and check out her wonderful creations!


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Thursday, May 6, 2021

BFF Open House

 


Happy Friday Eve all and Happy May! MAY?! Yikes. Happy Mother's Day Weekend to everyone celebrating and being celebrated! I hope everyone's had a good week. I had just the jumpstart I needed to get my creative juices going which I shared here: Every Child Should Be Celebrated On Their Birthday: Box of Balloons

Looks like we're starting our triple digit days here in the desert hitting 100 yesterday! Not that we don't hydrate all year but now's the time of year where it's CRITICAL! 

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




We've all probably got access to some family jewelry that may have been sitting in drawers or in need of repair. What a better way to bring those out than to repurpose them into something new? I love this re-loved brooch from The Apple Street Cottage. Even if you don't have anything on hand, thrift stores are full of wonderful pieces! 



Howling At The Moon shared this great Charcuterie / Cheese Board that she used her new Pyrography (Wood Burning)  Pen to decorate. Great idea to start working on now for holiday gifts, yes? 



Have you heard of "Spiral Betty" ? It's a way to make thee fun spiral images that can be used in a number of ways including like this wonderful pillow made by Unique Creations by Anita


Finally, what Mom wouldn't love a batch of these Chocolate Toffee Shortbread Bars from The House on Silverado? YES please! 

Now, let's see what all of you wonderfully creative peeps have been up to this week! 







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Wednesday, May 5, 2021

Every Child Should Be Celebrated On Their Birthday: Box of Balloons

 


April was a blur for me with getting my mom back to full health. So with doctors appointments and follow-ups ( many, many, MANY follow-ups) I didn't have a lot of time and even less energy for creating. But on a stop at my regular Starbucks, I got the jolt I needed and not just from the mobile order I was picking up. 

This location that has become my go to during the pandemic (shout out to the Hayden & Thompson Peak store in Scottsdale) and is partnering with an organization called Box of Balloons which works to provide Birthday Boxes to kids who might otherwise not have a birthday celebration. That hits my heart.

I LOVED my birthdays as a child because my Mom and Dad always made sure they were special. This was back in the day when parties weren't events planned like the D-Day invasion. Home, friends, family, but always special. Always a theme with matching invites, decorations, cake etc. I tried to make my son's special because that's what I knew and my husband, whose experience was different, was initially confused but loved making our son's birthdays special too. 

So when I saw this drive for decorations, favors etc. I knew I could put my skills and my tools like my Cricut Explore to good use for a good cause! There's a reason why I grabbed up the "Happy Cake Day" Hot Buy paper stack at Michaels! 


Supplies: 

  • Happy Cake Day Paper Stack ( Michaels )
  • Jewel Glitter Paper Stack ( Michaels  )
  • Paper Scraps
  • Cardstock 


This Happy Cake Day stack is SO much fun. You really need to get it if you see it and no I don't get a commission! It's just a great stack. Foiled and plain papers that all coordinate with each other and so much fun. 


There are a few pages with panels like this that you can cut for multiple cards etc. LOVE these in all of the paper stacks I buy. So I trimmed some from this sheet and another similar one to use as the focal for each card. 

Using cardstock I had on hand ( this was also a great way to use up existing supplies) I cut all the cards 5x7 and kept things fairly simple cutting the coordinating paper panels for the card to 4.75x6.75 and 4x6. I had fun just picking coordinating papers from these stacks and my stash. 




Everything's better with glitter right? So I grabbed my paper scraps which were the perfect size to use to mat the focal panels I'd cut. They really make the cards look festive and fun. I was having so much fun, I ended up making about 3 dozen cards!

But wait! The other thing perfect for birthdays are tags and what's a better way to use up paper scraps than making tags? 


I grabbed a bunch of coordinating scraps and from the larger pieces, I cut some Balloons and Stars using my Cricut Explore and just had fun mixing and matching all of the paper scraps and cutouts. I layered the diecuts and attachd with foam dots to give the tags some dimension and then added bright ribbons. 



I couldn't forget the great team at my go to store. I LOVE the Starbucks Mobile App which allows me to order ahead, pop in and pickup my drink and I must go there enough because different baristas recognize me by name and know if my drink is ready, being worked on, that I want a straw etc. So I also made a long overdue Thank You card for them!


I had this cut file in my collection and used the Slice function in Cricut Design Space to add some coffee beans. I added a couple of the balloons left over from making tags since they're doing the Balloon Box drive, and  used a sheet from another favorite Recollections Stack, "Let's Wander" along with light green glitter paper and white cardstock. 

Being able to do what I love and give back to kids to hopefully make their day just a little brighter was EXACTLY the infusion of inspiration I needed. We're all in this world together. 


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