BFF Open House Link Party

Happy Friday Eve all!!! The countdown has truly begun with 18 days left until Christmas, and Hanukkah is next week! Yikes. But we're makers right? We are the people who can whip stuff up in no time and make it look like it took all year. We're the ones who pinned stuff a year ago that we planned to have done in July and..... Just me? I think not! 

Let's see some great ideas from last week's party. 

How about this buffalo plaid Farmhouse style wreath from Vintage Paint and More? CUTE and easily doable. I love how the plaid pops against the white pom poms. 

I really love this idea. If you love to bake and know someone who either doesn't or doesn't have time, how about putting together a cookie decorating gift box for them like this one from Just Measuring Up ? 

Even though the ladies from Lolly Jane call these  "Ugly Sweater" trees, I think they're adorable. Just shows they can't make ugly things if they try!

Finally, how can you go wrong with 12 Days of Treats from a blog called Mrs. Kringle's Kitchen. I mean c'mon! 

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

   

    An InLinkz Link-up

   

Handmade Gifts: Stenciled and Gold Leafed Hanukkah Treat Plate

Hanukkah begins next week and each year I try to make a gift for a special friend to celebrate. This year I went with what I'm calling a Hanukkah Treat Plate that can be used each night to share the goodies of the season. 

Supplies: 

• Clear Dinner Plate ( I got mine at Cost Plus)
• Mod Podge Super Gloss Formula
• Acrylic Paint
• Gold Leaf
• Gold Leafing Glue
• Clear Contact Paper
• Stencil ( I made my own using my Cameo 3 but you could use a ready made stencil)
• Paint brushes and foam applicators

The plate is food safe since everything is done from the underside. You can bake it to "cure" it so the paint won't come off or if you think ahead like I did for once in my crafting life, you can make 21 or so days ahead and it will cure.

Let's get started! 

Clean the underside of your plate with alcohol to make sure you get all the oils store dust etc off and you get good adhesion of your materials. I cut my own menorah stencil using my Silhouette Cameo and contact paper from the dollar tree. This is my favorite stencil material. It cuts great on a digital cutter and you can't beat the price for a roll ( $1).  I also covered the areas I didn't want to paint w/ contact paper. 

Using foam applicators, paint your stencil. I used metallic silver for the menorah and gold for the flames and did 3 coats. 

For this kind of project, you have to reverse your brain because you're building the layers in reverse. So start with the focal image and then do the background. Once I was satisfied w/ the menorah, I added the gold leafing.  Apply the glue per directions ( you'll find this in the fine art section of the craft store) and then apply the leafing. I remind people every time I do a leafing project IT'S MESSY. The gold leaf will fly everywhere as you apply it so be prepared. 

Yes this looks like a hot mess but keep going. Once you're done w/ your leafing ( and clearly I didn't want a perfectly covered plate...I wanted a streaky look) then mix your acrylic paint ( I used Deco Art Navy) with the Mod Podge ( I did 1/2 and 1/2 because I didn't want this part to be opaque) and apply with a flat brush. 

I did this for the whole plate then filled in the center with just plain paint. Sealed the whole thing with a coat of just the Mod Podge. 

NOTE: Mod Podge formula matters! Use the Super Gloss for projects like this. 

Once your plate is dry, flip it over and imagine it filled with chocolate rugelach! 

A few years ago I included some gift tags with my friend's gift and the following year her relatives were asking if she was getting more so I've done them ever since. 

The black and gold foiled paper is my current addiction. Better yet, I got a stack of it ( ok I bought 2 stacks) when Michaels had one of their $5 Hot Buy stack sales. And of course, I made a coordinating card: 

Handmade Gifts: Brushed Gold Geometric Tile Coasters

Like all makers, I'm sure you're in full fledged Handmade Gift mode. This is actually one that wasn't  on my list but which I was thrilled to make. Here's why.  

When my son came home for Thanksgiving, he was telling us about a party he and his roommate had thrown just before. Last year, I'd made and given him a set of coasters and he'd used them for the party but nicest of all, one of his guests wanted to know where he'd gotten them. "Um , my mom made them". Awww! She really liked them and I was so honored that of course I had to make a set for her! 

Supplies: 

• Ceramic Tiles . I got mine at Lowes for $.16 ea ( and a weird look from the Lowes guy when he asked if I was replacing tiles and I told him I was making coasters)
• Vinyl / Foil. I used Cricut Brushed Gold Adhesive Foil
• Die Cutter or Digital Cutter. I used my CAMEO 3 ( yep I use Cricut stuff on my Silhouette Cameo. I'm a riddle wrapped in an enigma). 
• Images to cut. Mine came from Silhouette Online Store
• Aluminum Tape
• Vinyl Bumpers ( Clear self adhesive dots to put on the bottom of the coasters)

Clean your tiles with rubbing alcohol to make sure you remove all the warehouse dust and fingerprint oils etc. 

Choose, cut and weed the images you want to apply. I wanted to do a coordinated set so I went with varying geometric images. I used a couple of the same ones I'd used for my son's, but I added the heart for the ones I made for his friend. 

I went with three images and made two of each.  Using transfer tape, apply the images to your tiles. 

To finish, I wrapped adhesive aluminum tape ( I bought a huge roll of this at a stamp show years ago but I believe it's from the electrical aisle of the HW store so your Lowes guy can look at you funny too!)

Finally, I put clear vinyl bumpers ( the kind you use to prevent cabinet doors from slamming) on the bottoms since I wasn't finishing the bottoms with cork or felt which are a couple of ways I've seen people complete these. 

Easy peasy and inexpensive gift that's pretty and functional. Can'tbeat that.

BFF Open House Link Party

Yikes! It's the last day of November and the Christmas countdown begins in earnest starting tomorrow. Here are some ideas from last week's party that might come in handy! 

From Hazel and Gold Designs , this gorgeous inlaid wood Christmas tree tray! I have a friend w/ mad woodworking skills and I have to show him this! 

Repurpose and Upcycle shared her beautiful rustic farmhouse decor with links to some of the DIYs. Love this vignette!

How much fun are these Edible Candles from All That's Jas? Would make a great centerpiece that you get to eat as dessert! 

Printables make seasonal decor so simple. This one from My Busy Beehives is ready to print and frame! 

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

   

    An InLinkz Link-up

   

DIY Vintage Christmas Sign

I will start decking my halls this coming weekend and wanted to add some new items to my Christmas decor. This sign was easy to make starting with a ready to decorate sign I found at Michaels 70% off! 

Supplies: 

• 11x24 Sign or Board. Mine is Art Minds which I got for $5 
• Vinyl of choice. I used Cricut Glitter Red
• Images / Phrase to cut. The ornaments and "BELIEVE" phrase were in my library, previously purchased from the Silhouette online store. 
• Electronic Cutter. I used my Cameo 3

Size and cut your images and text. I used the "BELIEVE" and ornament images I got from the Silhouette online store. For the rest of the sentiment, I just chose fonts from my library. 

The ornament image is designed with the snowflakes to be cut separately and layered. I wanted to change that up so I un-grouped everything and then put the snowflakes inside the ornament. 

This is the original: 

This is how I reconfigured it: 

Once you have your  images cut out, then take a deep breath, have a Harry Potter marathon on in the background, and "proceed to weed" your vinyl. Once that's done then apply the transfer tape and prepare to apply to your sign. 

I applied the "BELIEVE" vinyl first, then the rest of my phrase and finally the ornaments. It has a vintage / farmhouse feel to it! 

BFF Open House Link Party

Hi all, hope you've had a wonderful Thanksgiving! No features this week ( will resume next week), but having my party for those who may not be out braving Black Friday shopping ( not me!). 

   

    An InLinkz Link-up

   

Happy Thanksgiving !

From our home to yours, wishing you a very Happy Thanksgiving filled with family, friends, food, and lots of love and laughs. 

BFF Open House Link Party

Hi all and welcome to another week's fun of sharing creativity. Can you believe this time next week all the hours of cooking and prepping and depending on where you are maybe eating will be over? One week to Thanksgiving! If you're still getting ready to host, here are some ideas to inspire you. 

Here's a lovely tablescape from The Handmade Home. Love the Moscow Mule mugs and the centerpiece basket filled with white gourds and candles! Head on over because she's also got some free downloadable place cards! 

You still have time to add a Fall themed pillow. I especially love the non-traditional color of this one from Kathleen at Our Hopeful Home. 

If you're in a place where weather permits hosting an outdoor dinner, check out this gorgeously rustic Boho Chic idea from Birds Party. 

Finally, from Carol at The Red Painted Cottage comes this gorgeous thick wood tray complete with a tutorial ( bottom of post) so you can make your own or maybe one to give as a holiday gift! 

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

   

    An InLinkz Link-up

   

My First Heat Transfer Project: Fall Pillow

The first thing I'll say is, if you've wanted to try heat transfer vinyl and been intimidated so keep putting it off because you think it's too complicated ....DON'T. Because that was me, I used it for the first time and was kicking myself saying "Why didn't I do this sooner?"

There's no logic behind why I thought that, just did. But I finally decided to go for it and it's a game changer. I decided to start with something simple: a pillow. I also decided to go w/ a design that didn't matter if I messed up the mirroring because I kept reading how key that is to using HTV. 

Supplies: 

• Fabric ( I used flannel which was very receptive to the vinyl)
• HTV ( I used Siser Easy Weed which really was easy)
• Fiberfill to stuff pillow
• Thread
• Image to transfer ( mine is from the Silhouette Online Store)
• Cutting machine ( I used my Cameo 3)
• Iron
• Pressing cloth

I'm not going to describe pillow construction. My sewing skills extend to four straight lines. 

Lessons learned on HTV Vinyl: 

• The front side goes down. When you put your vinyl on your cutting mat, you're cutting from the underside of the vinyl. It took me one attempt to figure this out. HTV comes with a clear plastic liner, its own transfer tape in a way which is the side you want to touch your cutting mat. 

See how the matte side is "up"? That's what you want. The shiny side is what will go on your project and this is a shot during the weeding process. About that. I HATE WEEDING. If you're not a vinyl user, weeding is removing the parts of the vinyl you don't need to reveal the image. This stuff just pulled away so easily! 

This is a (bad) picture of the front / shiny side that will go on your project. Once your project is weeded, it's already on the equivalent of the transfer tape so it's super easy to lay down on your material. 

The heat process is more press than iron.

• When applying your iron, it's  more of a press and pick up than slide your iron around. Press, hold, pick up, move to next session. Now, I did do some slight gliding but the main process is press and lift. This is why you'll see serious HTV people use a heat press which is like a vinyl panini maker.  

Don't Make This Mistake! 

• You will use a pressing cloth on top of the plastic carrier sheet when applying heat. This is good. What's not good is deciding to use said cloth directly on top of the vinyl when you're just trying to make extra sure that you've applied enough heat. This will result in the weave of your pressing cloth ( mine was a scrap of a flour sack towel) transferring to your vinyl. Now as it turned out this was OK w/ my project because the texture looked kinda cool but in general, if you don't want this, keep the plastic from the vinyl between the surface of your project and your pressing cloth! 

Once my image was applied, I went about construction my pillow. And voila!

Some other tips: 

• If you're using words or letters, you will need to "mirror" (flip) your project before you cut it or your letters will be backwards when you apply. I chose this image because it didn't matter if I messed that up since it was the same either way. As it turned out, the Cameo 3 asks you if you want to do this because you will have selected the HTV material in your cut settings. 
• If you're not using a full sheet of vinyl, you need to pay attention to which side of the mat you put your vinyl on, again because of the mirroring. So if you place a smaller than 12x12 piece on your mat on the left side, choose mirror, the Cameo at any rate will actually cut from the right side of your mat so put your vinyl on the right side of the mat! 

I'm happy with my first attempt and have a new addition to my Thanksgiving decor. 

Fall Mantel

Side Table. Found these pumpkin signs last year 90% off after Halloween. Painted and applied glitter vinyl. Turkeys were 75% off at JoAnn one year. Painted w/ glitter paint.

Marc Roberts Harvest Fairy. I have a collection of Christmas fairies but found this Fall themed one on sale one year.