Crafty Secrets Recipe Box!

Hello! Does your recipe box look worn out? Does it show wear and tear? Maybe you should re-decorate it and rejuvenate it! I made this recipe box for someone, but if they don't want it, I am DEFINITELY going to use it myself!

I got the box at my local office supply store, and it's really just an accordian file.

Here's an overall view of the box front.
Next we have a close up of the front of the box. I scored diagonal lines in my Core'dinations cardstock to make this design, and then stamped a flower in each center to make my own designer paper.

Here's the inside of the box, view 1. I made little tabs to help keep everything organized.

This is a close up of some of the tabs.

These are all the tabs. Since there are so many slots, I doubled up on the subjects.

This is the top of the box, and a close up of my "homemade" cherries! Aren't they cute?!

This the top of the box. On the opposite side of the cherries, I have cut out an apron and stamped "Favorite Recipes" on it.

Here's a close up of one of the tabs for Poultry.

And the back of the tab. See, it's just a library clip found at Michael's.

And that's it! Now, this box did take me 3 days to finish, BUT, I have only had limited time to work on it, so this CAN be done in one day! I had a lot of fun making this! I might just have to make one for myself!

Enabler Alert!

Head on over to the ABC Toys and Crafts store! Julie's having a sale! 10% off most items til the end of July! Plus: FREE SHIPPING for all orders over $70.00!!!! Go right over to www.abctoysandcrafts.net and shop til you drop!

Go grab your recipe box and redesign it! I would love to see what you create! Email me a link to your creation to esmetak@gmail.com!

Recipe:

Stamps: Sweet Stuff, Kitchen Classic Large - Crafty Secrets - FOUND AT ABC TOYS AND CRAFTS!!!!!

Ink: Choc. Chip (SU!); Memento Black, Copics

Paper: Core'dinations Cardstock - Whitewash Collection; SU! designer paper, Homemade Journal - Crafty Secrets - FOUND AT ABC TOYS AND CRAFTS!!!!!!, Choc. Chip c/s, assorted SU! cardstock

Embellishments: assorted buttons, assorted ribbon, scallop punch, scallop rotary blade, brown thread, circle and scalloped circle nestabilities.

It's Cocktail Time!

Hello! Yesterday I made this card for the MFT My Favorite Challenge number 9 where we had to make a card and decorate the inside as well as the outside! This is becoming a fun new trend, and I love to do it when I have the chance and the time!

I had actually made the three squares of glasses the day before in the hope that I could participate in last week's challenge, but, time ran out, and I just had them laying around. I flipped through my Crafty Secrets Homemade Journal and found this cool lady and my card idea flourished from there! I wanted to tie the background behind the lady to my card, so I pulled out Icing on the Cake, and used the background stamp from there to create my own designer paper! I used the scallop blade on my rotary cutter to create the scalloped edges. And I used Copics to color in the drinks. And Offray ribbon to complete the front!

Well, I'm off to a pretend party that my son is hosting! We have to wear baseball hats to the party! Fun fun!

Happy Stamping!!!

To Have and To Hold

Hello! Today I made a wedding card for our friends who are getting married today! I am SO glad that I bought To Have and To Hold from Stampin' Up!! I have already used this stamp twice since I purchased it just a few weeks ago. That's a lot for me, because I have TONS of stamps. Anyway, back to the card! I wanted to just make a simple card, because I thought it would take too long if I added layers and I really was not in the mood to do more than a single layer anyway. I used my new Large Deckled Rectangle nesties die, and cut the edge to give it a little flair. I dry embossed the square w/ my Small Square nesties using the largest square. Then I stamped my image inside. I did a little dry embossing on the skirt to add a little detail, and colored in the flowers to give some color. Very very simple!!!!

Happy Stamping!!!

Inkadinkado tag

Hello! Today I am showcasing the Asian Circle Flower Frame that is available from ABC Toys and Crafts! When I looked at this stamp this week, I wondered what it would look like if I cut all around the flourishes. I grabbed a Tim Holtz tag and stamped the frame, and then started cutting w/ my exacto knife. This is the kind of cutting that I love to do. It's no big deal for me to cut something so intricate. Can your Cricut do that?! ;) Anyway, I decorated the bottom of the tag w/ Branch of Flowers also by Inkadinkado and colored it w/ a pale yellow Copic marker. I added Choc. Chip grosgrain ribbon, brown brads, and assorted buttons to complete the tag.

Enabler alert: ABC Toys and Crafts is offering 10% between now and July 31st! As well as FREE SHIPPING for orders over $70.00! How great is that?! So, surf on over to www.abctoysandcrafts.net and see all the wonderful crafty goodness Julie has! More Crafty Secrets sets and accessories, new Martha Stewart punches, and new Slice alphabets to just name a few!

Happy Stamping!!!

Hard Rocker!

Hi there! My Favorite Things has a weekly challenge, and when you participate, you have a chance of winning some MFT money! They have a technique-type challenge as well as a sketch challenge. I have not been able to participate since the first or second one, and I thought that I would take advantage of some down time today and get a challenge done!

Again, I'm stuck on those Tim Holtz tags, so bear with me! I cut this piece of paper the same size as the tag and just used the paper. The challenge this week is distressing. So, I wanted to make something grungy. (Is that the right spelling?!) I have yet to ink up The Poppies, so I pulled them out and grabbed my Rockstar DCWV paper and went to town!

Happy Stamping!!!

Vintage Wedding Tag

Hello! As I am still exploring the vintage genre, I decided to make a vintage wedding tag. My husband's Starbucks boss is getting married this weekend. My husband picked up a bottle of champaigne for her, and I decided to make a tag to attach instead of making a traditional card. If you follow my blog, then you know that I am a non traditional stamper! I just picked up a set of tags from Tim Holtz last weekend at the ScrapStampArtTour that was in Pittsburgh, as well as some other goodies that you will see on my blog in the coming weeks! Anyway, yesterday I went to Michael's and bought a bunch of packages of vintage-y type things from Making Memories. When I got home and was putting everything away, I noticed that I picked up one all about love and romance! So, that is what sparked my idea for her tag!

Happy Stamping!!!

KitchenSink Graduation!

Hello! I made this card for my hairdresser's son who graduated this year. They had his party this past Saturday, and I thought I would try out my KSS Graduation set that I have been hoarding for a while! Freeport's colors are blue and gold, so I used Knight of Navy and Summer Sun. Since it was for a boy, I tried to keep it simple and not frilly.

Happy Stamping!!!

K&Co. Wedding Kit

Hello all! Today I would like to share with you the K&Co. 12 x 12 Wedding paper Kit! You can find this at http://www.abctoysandcrafts.net/ under Scrapbooking! We have quite the selection of scrapbooking items! Plus, everything is on sale for the month of July! You have until July 18th to get 15% off your entire purchase! And then if you spend $70.00, you get free shipping! So, go shopping before the sale is over! We have lots of new stuff, so go check it out!


When I was putting together my wishlist, and I was perusing the store, I found this paper and thought that I could make some beautiful cards with all the paper that is in this kit! You get 6 12 x 12 pages, a sticker alphabet (shown at the top of my page), sticker embellishments (also shown at the top of my page (Our Wedding Day)), and sticker flowers. You get a nice selection, and you can't go wrong with this kit! The pages are just beautiful! I love K&Co. and they totally scored with this kit! So, go check it out and get it for 15% off!!!!


Have a great day!


Ingredients: Paper: K&CO. 12 x 12 Wedding Kit; Certainly Celery
pictures are from my wedding
Embellishments: sticker flowers, sticker alphabet, sticker embellishment from Wedding Kit; lace; Martha Stewart sticker pearls

Baby Girl

Hello! This is my first post for the design team for ABC Toys and Crafts!!! I'm so excited!!! It's real, now!

Today I would like to introduce Baby Girl by Crafty Secrets! Since having Elizabeth, I have had babies and girls on my mind, so it was no surprise when I pulled out Baby Girl and decided to work with it! I paired Pink Pirouette and white for my color scheme. I used Copics for the mother and daughter. I did a little faux stitching to give it a more finished look. I used SU! white taffeta ribbon, Pink Pirouette designer paper, the smaller tag punch, and linen thread attached to the tag.

You can find Crafty Secrets items HERE as well as the Making Memories rhinestone brads. And they are having a BLOWOUT SALE so get over there and grab some awesome stuff before it's gone!!!

Happy Stamping!!!

Christmas in July!

Hello! This card was made for the Shirley's 2 Girls Twisted Thursday challenge. The challenge was to make a Christmas card, follow the sketch, and the twist was to use distressing. So, I distressed my main image panels. The colors are Basic Gray and Bravo Burgundy. I promise you, it is! It SO does not look it in this picture. And I'm on a sewing kick right now, so the only thing I can do is faux sewing until I purchase a real sewing machine. I got the goods on a Janome online, so sometime this week, I'll be doing a little online shopping!

Speaking of shopping, if you like to shop in one place to save on shipping, you really need to go visit ABC Toys and Crafts at www.abctoysandcrafts.net. They have such a wonderful selection of stamps, embellishments, paper and adhesives. And, now until July 18th, they are having a sale, everything is 15% off! Plus, orders over $70.00 receive free shipping!!!! Can't beat that!!! So, go over to the huge July blowout sale and get some shopping done.....all in one place!

Have a great day!!!

Happy Stamping!!!

Kevin's anniversary card

Hello! Here's the card I made for my husband for our anniversary today! I have a hard time w/ masculine cards, since I don't have a lot of masculine stamps! So, I'm really utilizing the Tim Holtz stamps that I just recently purchased.

I cut a regular circle card w/ the top as the hinge, and then I just adhered this blue scallop layer on top so it looks like it's a complete circle. The circle w/ writing on it was a scrap that I "scrapped" earlier this week, and was just waiting to be used! The crown is Melissa Frances resin. The car is from Tim Holtz. The sentiment is from Inkadinkado clear stamps. The ribbon is Choc. Chip from SU!.

Have a wonderful day! The sun is shining, there's not a cloud in the sky! It's a beautiful day here in SW PA!

Happy Stamping!!!

I'm on a Crafty Secrets kick!

Hello! I am SO on a Crafty Secrets kick! I can't get enough!!!! Today I decided to decorate a frame backing. I bought a couple frames from the dollar store last month, and I just remembered that I had them! The frames themselves are very ugly, but who needs those?!

I decided to pull out my new Glamour Girls set and do something w/ it. This flapper girl is perfect for this!!!!

The designer paper is from the Luxury Stack by DCWV. I also used vanilla and Choc. Chip (SU!) c/s. Kaiser pearls, brown polka dot ribbon, a crystal pin, and brads complete the embellishments! Oh, and I can't forget the resin swirl from Melissa Frances that my friend Karolyn sent to me!

Happy Stamping!!!

Crafty Secrets and a SALE!!!!

Hello!!! Today I have two samples to show you from the Crafty Secrets line, also available at ABC Toys and Crafts! This is my new favorite line of stamps! I also have one of the journaling books, called Homemade, that work perfectly w/ the stamp sets!

This first card was made using the Homemade Journal and Tea and Coffee set. The swirls on the back panel are from Glamour Girls. Isn't this so cute!

I was bitten by the bug and couldn't just stop at one card! I had to make something else! I was flipping through the Homemade Journal, and I found this sweet picture of a mother and daughter baking, and I decided to make a recipe card! I made mine 6x6 for no particular reason. I used the pie stamp from Kitchen Classic (Large). The recipe is a real one, from a dear friend of mine who makes the very best Chocolate Chip cookies!

Happy Stamping!!!

Ingredients for top card:

Paper: Creamy Caramel (SU!); Homemade Journal (CS), Very Vanilla (SU!), daisyd's Modern Romance

Ink: Creamy Caramel, Basic Brown

Stamps: sugar cube from Tea and Coffee (CS); swirl from Glamour Girls (CS)

Accessories: brown polka dot ribbon, hodgepodge hardware, sponge, prima flower, Button Ups vanilla sticker buttons, brown thread, Crystal Effects, Dazzling Diamonds

Ingredients for recipe card:

Paper: Basic Black, Pink Pirouette, and Barely Banana (all SU!), Homemade Journal

Ink: Memento Black, Copics, Black Creative Memories Journaling Pen

Stamps: pie from Kitchen Classic (CS)

Accessories: black polka dot ribbon, black brads, tab punch, circle nesties.

********************SALE!********************

ABC Toys and Crafts is having a 4th of July Blowout sale on EVERYTHING IN THE STORE!!!! 15% off SRP from July 1st to July 18th! Do you know how much money you can save w/ this sale?!!! You HAVE to take advantage of it!!!

THEN, July 19th through the 31st, ABC Toys and Crafts is offering 10% off SRP on EVERYTHING IN THE STORE!!!!

Plus, they are also offering FREE SHIPPING on all orders over $70.00! Believe me, it doesn't take much to fill up that cart to get to $70.00!

So, what are you waiting for? Get on over to ABC Toys and Crafts and have a ball shopping and saving money! How nice is that?!