September Entries

Take a look at these adorable entries for the September Sketch Challenge:

First up is this yummy layout by Karen. That peanut butter nestled inside that chocolate...

Next up is this FABULOUS recipe for Copper Pennies. If you have never tried this click on the layout for an up close look at Suzanne's recipe. These are worth the trouble. Just ask my dad, he ate just about ALL of mine!!!

Joan submitted this super fun layout, Top Chef! What beautiful work, loving those papers!!!

And finally we have this adorable entry from TenStoryTreehouse. Ahh, gingerbread, just around the corner now!

You still have a couple days to submit your entry based on Helen's lovely sketch!!!

I'll accept projects that are linked here by Thursday the 30th at midnight and then it is on to our October Sketch challenge. Good luck to all who have entered~

Recycle that magnetic business card!

So, do you have any outdated business card magnets on your fridge? I recently received a new magnetic business card from my children's pediatrician. As I pulled the old one off the door of my fridge I just new I shouldn't toss it in the trash. I took it where I take all the "hhhmmm what could I do with this" stuff...to my scraproom! Here is what I created:

And it only took a few minutes to whip up!

I started with a couple pictures that I had hanging around from another project

I chose the one that fit the best and trimmed it to the exact dimensions of the business card

Then I glued it onto the card

Next, I went through my stash of Cookbookin' papers and cut myself a few scraps with which to embellish my now magnetic photo;)

I added a punched heart and then some buttons and floss and voilå!

Seriously, this project takes about 5 minutes and it saves the environment to boot~

Don't forget about sketch challenge, there are only 7 more days to get your project in. Just leave a comment on the challenge post with a link to your creation to be entered in our drawing for a kit from Cookbookin'!

Cards and Border Punches

Easel cards are my VERY favorite cards to make. Recently I made a couple using Cookbookin's Halloween Goodies collection.

Yes, there he is again, my happy little ghost friend. I just LOVE him!!! The party block is from the Halloween Carving sheet. It really just says Halloween, I added the PARTY with black letter stickers.

And,

As you can see, I am a big fan of border punches. I especially love Martha Stewart's punch around the page sets. They really jazz up a design. This card uses that formerly elusive loops punch set to enhance a piece of Ghostly Night paper. To use these punches properly you must follow the very specific directions {imagine that, very specific directions from MARTHA!}.
She has this nifty instruction sheet up on her site but basically you just need to have your paper fit one of these square dimensions:
3.25", 5", 6.75", 8.5", 10.25" or 12"
It's that simple!

Halloween Projects~~~

This "Halloween Goodies" line is just too cute. I must admit to an affinity for smiling ghosts...it goes with my love of happy snowmen;) So...here is a new layout using Cookbookin's "Halloween Goodies" papers:

I found this fabulous new recipe online for ABRACADABRA Hats! Is that just a fun name or what!?! They are super simple to make; just a can of Crescent rolls, some pizza sauce, a dash of herbs, a few pepperoni and YUM!

I also whipped up a quick treat can for the upcoming month of October where our neighborhood has the sweetest tradition of Boo-ing one another. You sneak a bag, box or can of Halloween treats onto your neighbor's porch at night, ring the doorbell and HIDE! The point is to NOT get caught. Then, that neighbor "boos" or "spooks" another neighbor. It goes round and round until everyone has been spooked! {The treats include a little ghost sign to hang on your door to let everyone know you have received a "BOO!"}
So...really hoping none of my neighbor are reading this post because here is my "Spooky Can" for this year.

I simple lined one of those plastic paint cans from Michael's with some of Cookbookin's super cute "Ghostly Night" paper {WHAT a PERFECT name}, then I cut a circle from "BOO-ti-ful Night" to cover the top of the lid and finally I tied lots of colorful ribbons onto the handle.
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Design team member Joanne made these ADORABLE treat boxes with "BOO-ti-ful Night" paper!

These treat bags can be filled up with candy or money =) They can be given to the kids in school, handed out to friends and family, used as party favors...the ideas go on and on!

Joanne has kindly supplied directions on how to make these little cuties:

Supplies:
Black Cardstock
"BOO-ti-ful Night" paper
1 1/8" circle punch
1 1/2" scallop punch
White gel pen
Lace Trim
Fibers

Cut the designer paper to measure 4x6, add adhesive tape to all four sides (the side of the paper that will not be showing). Adhere the two short sides together and then pinch the bottom sides together, leaving the top open to put the candy in. Once you put the candy in, pinch the top to seal it, going the opposite direction of the bottom. Punch an image of the ghost from the designer paper with the circle punch and punch the black cardstock with the scallop punch. Adhere those two pieces together. Take the white gel pen and jot dots on each of the scallops to add interest. Using a foam dimensional pop dot adhere it to the front of the treat box. Glue the lace trim around the edge of the bottom. Punch a hole at the top point of the treat box and tie your fibers in a knot then you're done!

Hope this inspires you to get scrapping and don't forget to get your entry in for the sketch challenge, projects are due by the 30th.

Be back later this week with a couple Halloween cards:-)

Clothespin Recipe Card Holder ***Tutorial***

I LOVE to alter things! Just like I love to cook like Sandra Lee on Semi-Homemade Cooking on the Food Network, I love to take something good from the craft store and turn it into something GREAT! Here, I took a plain wooden clothespin and turned it into a fantastic recipe card holder that I use all the time!

We are going to be running lots of tutorials here on the Cookbookin' blog and since I am a very visual person, my tutorials will always come PACKED with lots of step by step photos. Enjoy, and as always if you do a project feel free to share a link in the comments section!

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I began altering my clothespin by spritzing it with some brown Maya Mist. I have also made them using paints and other stains but this is the quickest and the messiest;)

Next up I found some paper that I wanted to cover it with. For this clothespin I chose Cookbookin's Preserving Memories line.

I cut out the cute little truck to use later on a card and then I grabbed my pencil and made myself a little cutting line.

Once I had cut out my papers  I used my distressing tool to rough up the edges a bit. I love the distressed look and it goes just perfectly with the Preserving Memories papers.

Once the edges were nice and rough I used a little ink on them. Then I was ready to adhere the paper with some Mod Podge, another fun and messy craft staple at my house!

 On this project I decided to paper over the entire side of the clothespin, sometimes I use two papers so the metal spring shows but since I knew I was going to cover that up with embellishments I took the easy road;) And THEN I decided to use a different paper on each side. Of course I decided that AFTER I had glued BOTH sides down. I just consider that part of my creative process. I am always doing and undoing and doing again. ;)

So now I am using some of Cookbookin's Cookin' Up Memories collection. This is one of my FAVORITE papers, Farmhouse Kitchen. I just adore all the little roosters!!! I'm ready to embellish...

To begin this side I tied a bow with my favorite red gingham ribbon and grabbed an old "inked for another project but didn't make the cut" Prima flower. Now, for attaching anything fabric, I like to use Felt Glue:

 It just seems to hold the best.

Cute already but not even close to being finished!I wanted to use some of these cute little kitchen chips from Maya Road. I decided to cover them with coordinating papers but since I was going to glue them a bit off center I inked the backs a bit so they would look good from both sides.

I glued the chipboard to some patterned paper, here I chose Sweet Summertime, Sunflower Fields paper. OH!!! By the way, Scrapbook.com has LOTS of Cookbookin' goodies in stock and ready to ship!!!

After the glue dried I carefully cut the excess paper off with a craft knife.

Yes, things were getting pretty messy on my craft desk...

But look how it turned out!

To finish this side I added a few Maya Road Leaf pins, some tiny red ric rack and some itsy bitsy letter stickers. Now on to the OTHER side~

I decided to use different papers on each side so I could flip the clothespin around and have a bit of a different look. For this side I simply gathered some of the same ribbon {since the bow from the other side shows} and then I used one of my favorite dimensional stickers from Cookbookin's Preserving Memories line.

There, all done!

Don't forget about the September sketch challenge, the sketch and link are on the sidebar. You could win this:

Happy Scrapping!