:: Binder Cookbook ::

Okay, so maybe this isn't the greenest of ideas, but if you happen to print out recipes from the internet or rip them out of magazine and you have a collection of printed recipes, you might feel like you are drowning in a pile of papers.  The perfect solution is simple.  

Get a three-ring binder - preferably one of the ones with the clear pocket on the front - and a package of sheet protectors.  If you're super-organized, you can categorize your recipes or alphabetize them before starting and then use labeled dividers (see photos below!) so that you can easily find what you're looking for when it's cooking time!  Just place your recipe printouts into the page protectors (one protector can have two recipes inside, back-to-back, of course). 

Personally, I HIGHLY recommend using page protectors (not pictured, but as you realize, they are the plastic sleeves you can buy at any office supply store, Target, Walmart, etc.) I am kind of a slop in the kitchen and if I was just working from a piece of paper, it would be virtually destroyed the first time I used it!  Let's just say a lot of my cookbooks have wrinkled pages from spills!  With the plastic page protector, if you spill something, simply wipe it off and there won't be any runny ink on the paper... 

Of course, it wouldn't be *craftastic* without some embellishing, now would it?!  If you aren't feeling inspired, you could just print a cover page to insert with a stock image or clip art and something like "Family Favorites" or "Our Best Recipes."  (See photo below - binder cookbook circa 2001! ...I think it's time to craft a new cover.  In my defense, September 2001 was the month after I had my first baby!)  You could also use scrapbook paper or photos and really make a nice coverpage in the front of your binder.  Use your imagination and use what you have lying around - it doesn't have to cost a fortune. 

~S.

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Re-purpose your wine, liquor, and soda bottles!

Any glass bottle can be re-purposed into fun home decor!  I save glass beer, wine, liquor, and soda bottles and turn them into pretty vases and table decorations!  Rinse them well and make sure they are nice and dry.  It is nice to collect different colors, shapes and sizes, too.  You can spray them with quick coat of paint, use a little hot glue and rope to wrap them, or just remove the label and leave them alone!  Pretty green wine bottles look great this way! I like to use them to hold fake flowers.

I love how this green wine bottle "vase" came out!
I just applied removeable stickers before spraying with cream,
then a little silver paint to give it a pearlized effect! Remove stickers and, Voila!

I slid this one into some mesh from a sack of clementines
and gave it a quick spray for a pretty design!

Rope from Home Depot was all I needed
to jazz up this empty bottle of gin!

I've even seen these crafted into "chandeliers" or converted with a light kit into a lamp in home furnishing catalogs! Now, I'd love to try that!

chandelier from
Pottery Barn

Next time you pop open a bottle of wine or a soda, save that bottle to start your collection and see what YOU come up with!  Most of all, have fun!

-D.

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Fantastic Cardboard Picture Frames

You have some photos that you want to hang up on your wall... then you discover that you don't have any frames.  Don't panic!  If you have a flat piece of cardboard, some paint (acrylic works well) and some ribbon or paper, you've got yourself a backdrop that just needs to be dressed up a little!  

Supplies: acrylic paint, glue gun, ribbon, paint brush (or foam brushes are faster!), cardboard, and photo

Depending on the size of your photo(s), determine the size "frame" you will need and cut your cardboard into a square accordingly (i.e., 12"x12", 8"x8", etc.).  Next, paint one entire side of the cardboard - you can paint a solid color or any way you like.  Let the paint dry, of course... Acrylic paint dries fairly quickly!  You can usually continue your project in about 30 minutes.  Now, you can frame your frame with pieces of ribbon,  patterned scrapbook paper or anything you choose.  Just cut the ribbon/paper strips to the size of the four sides of the square.  Take each piece of ribbon and glue it down, overlapping and folding over the corners.  


Position your photo however you want to display it -- it doesn't have to be centered to be framed! -- then using photo corners or another acid-free adhesive, attach your photo onto the cardboard frame.  You're done.  You didn't have to drop a fortune on picture frames and you repurposed part of a cardboard box that may have ended up in the trash or recycling bin.

This is one I made for a corner accent frame in my living room.  Simple and sweet.  :)

Helpful hints:
- Don't feel like you have to spend an arm and a leg on painting supplies.  "Folk Art" brand acrylic paints run at close to $1 for a 2 ounce bottle (which lasts me a long time.)  I've even seen them for $0.50.  I have a select few colors that I really like straight out of the bottle, but you can always make your own shades using the primary colors... very elementary school art-style!  :)
-Check dollar bins at craft stores like Michael's or JoAnn's... I always find really decorative ribbon there.
-Like I said before, for projects like this that don't have detailed painting, foam brushes will work the easiest to apply the background color.
-If you want to hang this on the wall with ribbon, simply attach a piece on the top middle of the frame using hot glue to secure it in place.  I don't like to put nails in my walls, so I simply attach damage free hanging strips to the "frame" and then place on the wall.


Enjoy the weekend!



- MB

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The fabric-covered junk box!

If you are short on cabinet/drawer space, then you, like me, might need a junk box.  ;)  It doesn't have to be something fancy.  Take an old box (like the ones baby wipes come in, for example) and look through your fabric scraps - or ask a seamstress near you to donate some!  My fabric is courtesy of a good friend - I don't sew!!  :)  If you want to be precise, then by all means, measure and cut the fabric to fold over the outside of the box - kind of the same way you wrap a present.  See how non-precise the seams are on the outside?  It doesn't really matter, though...

If you are short on time, for example, like me, then it doesn't matter if the edges of the fabric are still somewhat ragged or not cut in a straight line!  Just gather the fabric around the box, fold over the edges of the box, and hit it with a stapler - inside the box to hide the staples.  Voila!  Put this baby on a shelf and when company comes -- or if you're just sick of looking at the mish-mosh of items strewn about -- toss that stuff inside!  I couldn't believe it, but I actually had someone ask me where I got the box sitting on the shelf next to our kitchen, or did I make it?  :)  Of course, your junk box probably should not have stuff sticking out of it or showing like mine - ha!  It isn't overfilled or anything... !!!  

I even made one of these last winter for kids to toss their gloves, hats, scarves and winter accessories into, since getting them to hang those things up is nearly impossible!
 
~S.

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Embellish some plain baby clothes!

Want to make a quick personalized gift for a new momma?  It's not as hard as you may think!  This is a quick and easy project that you will love to make and baby will love to receive!  I'll walk you through it ! ;)

You'll need a pack of plain white onesies or little baby tee-shirts, some stitch witchery (you can get this at JoAnn's or Michaels),  fabric scraps, and an iron.

1. Cut your desired shape out of both the fabric and stitch witchery and pin the design in place on your onesie (the stitch witchery should be in between the layers).
2.  Cover the onesie with a damp press cloth and set your iron on "wool" with steam.
3.  Press the design for 10 seconds on each side of the fabric being careful not to slide the iron.  Let it cool off then make sure the design has stuck (if there are any loose edges, go ahead and press it again).
4.  Afterwards, you can finish it off with a quick zip through your sewing machine or sew it by hand to give the border a more defined edge.

It's as simple as that!  And I guarantee, Mommy (& baby) will love it! :)
-D.

I just cut out baby's initial from some cute fabric

Of course, I couldn't resist adding a little something cute to the butt!

This little dino was the perfect embellishment for baby's bottom! :)

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:: WELCOME! ::

Welcome, friends, one and all!!  We three sisters are kicking off our brand-new blog!  Since creating art and handmade, beautifully simple things is something near and dear to our hearts basically since birth [insert laughter here!], well, we thought why not share it with the world?!  First of all, we have to tell you, we think the word "craft" is such a generic term.  That word summons memories of that goopy, sticky paste and the smell of that rectangular manila paper (is that the technical term?!) from elementary school art class, doesn't it?  The word craft doesn't pay homage to all of the possibilities out there when one is equipped with the right tools and the proper amount of inspiration!  That said, we truly hope you will enjoy our little blog, which, right now, seems so small out there in the vast expanse of Internetland! Stay tuned!

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