BFF Open House

 

Happy June Creative Peeps although JUNE?! Yikes. Moving is underway and making is on pause. Is it just me or do others see things they're moving and decide "hey I need to make this over right after I'm settled". I bet it's not just me. June! Father's Day, PRIDE, lots of graduations, weddings etc. at least traditionally. Graduations seem to be split between May and June these days and with so many still being virtual it's hard to keep track. 

I had a wonderful surprise this week. You may remember that I made some cards and tags for an organization called Box of Balloons that works to ensure every child has a birthday memory. I got the nicest email from them yesterday that just made my heart soar.

"I've been putting a card and gift tag in each birthday box I've been creating and it adds such a personal touch to each box. Thank you so much for donating these as I'm sure they took a lot of time and energy to create. They're so beautiful and made so well and I'm just blown away and grateful :) "

I let the coordinator know that as soon as I'm settled I'll make some more. It's such a great feeling to know that you can bring a little more light into the world doing what you love. 

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

To my point about making over some things on hand, take a look at these gorgeous pots Howling Liz updated. These look so current and I love the glossy black she used. Gorgeous! 

Think this is an old wooden box  Artsy VaVa tranformed into gorgeousness? Nope. It's a brick mold! And being a Southwest dweller, I love the succulents which aren't painted but rub-ons. 

I've had a lifelong fascination with globes. I'd look at them to see where characters I was reading about lived, or of course for schoolwork, or to look at places people came from or I wanted to go. Jennifer from Studio 27 had another creative idea to use one to show where her blog traffic comes from! So many possibilities! 

Genius! If you've made Hot Cocoa Bombs, you've already got the molds you need to make these perfect for Summer Ice Cream Bombs! This genius idea comes from 3 Winks Design. What fun treats for the hotter months!

Thank you as always to everyone who linked up. I love seeing what everyone's up to. Now let's take a look at who's done what this week! 

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BFF Open House

 

Happy Friday Eve all!  Hope everyone's having a great week and looking forward to a long weekend. Ours will be busy since we got our keys yesterday and let the moving Olympics begin. We're doing it ourselves because we have time so we can pace it accordingly but still...moving SUCKS! In between cleaning out stuff and packing I stole some time to whip up a pair of easy Hammered Silver Earrings because Michaels is my enabler. 

Let's take a look at some wonderful ideas shared at last week's party! 

I'm going to start off with a shout out of "Heck Yeah!" to Cecelia of My Thrift Store Addiction. As women, society places such an emphasis on our looks. And as we get older, that gets harder in a different way, at least it does for me. I'm never going to get cosmetic surgery (and I'm not judging...just saying it's not a thing for ME) or Botox or fillers etc. I do love makeup because the Creative in me sees my face as another surface to play with. But my main thing has been...coloring my hair. Something I've increasingly been thinking about stopping although I'm not quite there yet. Cecelia shared her hair journey in doing just that and I for one think she looks F A B U L O U S!!! I really want to affirm her decision because I know how hard it is to make. So "Hello Gorgeous!" and you are an inspiration. 

Anita, from Unique Creations by Anita shared a different kind of tranformation...this gorgeous Vanity makeover using chalk paint. I need to update a couple of things for my new office and chalk paint is where I'm going! 

Mary Jo from Master Pieces of My Life shared some beautiful ways to incorporate and display Sea Shells into your decor and maybe even bring back some special vacation memories! 

Finally, when this move is done, I can see one of these in my future.  From Tracy at The Kitchen Is My Playground  A Sparkling Raspberry-Limoncello Cocktail. Refreshing! 

Wishing all of you a safe and Happy Memorial Day weekend as we remember those who paid the ultimate sacrifice in honor of our country. 

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

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Hammered Silver Earrings...Thanks Michaels

 

When you make jewelry, you set yourself up for "Really? You needed another pair of earrings?" Yes. I do so there. In my defense, I went to Michaels because I really did need new trimmer blades for my paper trimmer. But what kind of Maker would I be if I went in and didn't walk around the store? I'm no poser! And "see, what happened was"...I was in the Bead and Jewelry section and a bunch of these earring components said rescue me like when the Tin Man in the Wizard of Oz calls out for his oil can. It couldn't be helped! These were just my style since I love big, bold, earrings. 

As you can tell, more earrings will follow but since I'm also preparing to move, maybe not right away. 

Supplies: 

• Bead Landing Silver Earring Components
• Silver Beads
• Head Pins
• Jump Rings
• Jewelry Pliers
• Clip Backs or Ear Wires
• Loctite Gel Glue

Since I bought um "several" , the hardest part was deciding which package to play with first but I chose the hammered silver ones. I had some silver beads in my stash along with my clip earring backs ( for pierced ears use ear wires) and I love the Loctite Super Glue Gel.

Since the main component had three holes I decided to make three beaded dangles using three beads for the middle and two beads for either side. String onto a Head Pin (these are the ones with flat ends vs Eye Pins which come with a pre-formed loop) and then finish with a wrapped loop. 

For clip wearers like me, glue the clip backing to the piece to a flat back pendant shown in the supplies. 

Attach the beaded dangles to the Hammered Silver component using jump rings. See How To Open and Close A Jump Ring here.  Follow the same process to attach to the earring base or ear wire. And then you're done and you have another pair of earrings easy peasey! 

Maybe I'll call them my Moving Earrings. Ha! 

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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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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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!

Sharing At: 

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