What's In YOUR Pantry?

So I have been on a mission to organize my pantry (or the Bomb Shelter as my dahling hubby refers to it as)into a state that he has NO choice but to conform to the impeccable organization of each and every piece of it!! This has become a weekly chore of "straightening out" the disarray that it has ended up in because he continues to just toss stuff WHEREVER!!! I got a little carried away and personalized baskets and carried on into my spice cabinet so I will be posting three consecutive posts to break it down a little!
So ladies and gents, please let me introduce you to what "Tupperware" meets "Dollarama" meets a little "CREATIVITY" can do for you....

Welcome to my pantry! I got this wreath at Homesense about two years ago - I love love love it!!!! Spilling with olives, artichokes & pears with many hues of green, I think it screams..."Come In..."

Can you hear that????? Ahhhhhhhhhhh - that is "Organangelo", the organization angel singing his utmost praises to this immaculate pantry!!!!

This is the top two left hand side (LHS) shelves! The modulars are from Tupperware (I hosted a party and earned a lot for free, but did shell out some of it) and I purchased the little black baskets at Dollarama (3 for $2). The modulars house loose ingredients (i.e.: flours, sugars etc.). The baskets house things I want easy access to that are self contained (i.e.: jello, seasoning packets etc.). I will show you how I assembled the labels for the front on the baskets in the next post.

Second from top shelf on LHS - Major "go-to" daily use modulars...

Second from bottom shelf on LHS - all my baking supplies (chipits, nuts, etc) and oils.

Bottom shelf LHS - home of my "must-have" Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer for easy-peasy access, breakfast supplies, crackers, popcorn seasonings and snacks.

Here is a close up of our popcorn seasoning basket - it it great because when we have movie nights, you can just grab the whole thing and bam - they are all together for your choosing!

Floor bottom LHS - my bag-o-recycled-bags, my onion bin and my potato bin (both Tupperware - vented so contents don't spoil as quickly.

Floor bottom right hand side (RHS) - this area won't normally be so "POP-CONCENTRATED" - there was a great sale on these and we were having a party so stocked up! This area will be refurnished with large baskets that will hold my tupperware containers that I will use to put leftovers in the fridge or freezer (one for containers, one for lids. Convenient easy access!

This is the RHS bottom shelf - it is home to my morning routine of COFFEE!!!! There is our Costco K-Cup Box, along with a basket that holds other ground coffees. To the right of it is our film/foil station. To the left - other powdered bevies...including the hubby's "Workout Protein Supplements"(whatever is in them?!)

This is the second and third from bottom RHS shelves - I recently had these "soup shelves" added into my pantry, as well as the very top shelf on both the LHS and RHS of the pantry for additional shelving space! It has made a world of difference!
Right now the bottom soup shelf is holding Jaxon's baby food in the jars, as well as baskets at the end with his snacks and rice cereals. This really makes it easy to see what I have for stock and what I am running low on (currently NOTHING at the time of this photoshoot! LOL!!) The main shelf holds canned goods like pasta sauce, cheese whiz (don't judge me!)jams, jellies, salad dressings and boxed products. PLEASE NOTE* These are all UNOPENED, as they are not shelf stable once the seals are cracked!

Baskets containing Jaxon's snacks and rice pablum...

Middle shelf on RHS - baskets in the corner containing snacks and sides...soups and all canned goods, followed by my collection of Epicure Seasonings tucked into the far right corner...

These baskets hold stuff I "shouldn't" have in my pantry probably...but do! Cookies, candies, pre-done sides like rices and noodles, oh yah...and the healthy granola bars are tucked way back in the corner!!! Might need to re-visit this set up!

Second from top RHS shelf holds all of our cereals - Tupperware containers keep these fresh with pour spout tops.

And finally the top RHS shelf with stuff that I don't need all that often...excess garbage bags, excess Ziplocs, gloves - stuff I need to call the hubby to help me reach!

I put a couple hooks on the wall on the LHS to hang aprons off of...for a quick grab!

I simply love this apron my girlfriend sent me in the mail - "Chefabella" - how fitting!!

Well, that's it folks - hope you enjoyed a little sneak peak into my secret obsession of ORGANIZING!!! Stay tuned for my spice pantry re-vamp and learn how I am going to tackle my fridge and freezer!
MWAH~

Recipe Card Dividers Tutorial...

So those that know me know I am a recipe junkie!!!! I have recipes collected from my grandmothers to my mother to friends from near & far. I also love to play with recipes and alter them to create wonderful yummy concoctions to please my palate!!
But I have struggled with how to "organize" all my treasures!!!! And then I found these...



I have purchased 4 (yes...four...as I said I have ALOT of treasured recipes!!!) for my project. I print all my recipes on 4x6 recipe cards, so these tins are the PERFECT FIT!!!!

This tutorial will teach you how to make some amazing recipe card dividers that will have your recipe box gasping in sheer excitement!!!!

We will start off by talking about some of the products you will need to make these beauties....

A Scotch TL901 Thermal Lamintor - awesome investment!!! My DH bought this for work, but I have scooped it up and totally earned it's value back ten fold!!!! We got it at Wally World for $35 - best price we could find around!


1-2 packages of Scotch Thermal Laminating Pouches (20 pouches per pack - 5mil - 135x185mm) - I found these as well for the best price at Wally World at approx $5 per pack...


One package of velum paper and my pdf of "The Ultimate Recipe Label Collection"...


DSP packs...I used two of these to complete this project, but keep in mind I made ALOT of dividers...


Word Window Punch (SU), Making Memories Chocolate Brown Paint, & Make Up Applicator Sponges...
You will also require adhesive (I used my PINK ATG gun which worked marvelously!!!) and a pack of recipe card dividers (I picked mine up at the Dollar Store for $1 for a package of 50! Smokin' deal!!!)


LET'S GET STARTED: Place adhesive on one side of recipe divider card. I did two cards per 12x12 DSP piece. Place them on one edge of DSP, butting right up on top of each other. Once adhered, use exacto knife and trim them off DSP.


Flip your recipe divider card over and run adhesive on the unfinished side, lining up on the excess paper from your DSP sheet...


If you haven't done so already, turn your laminator on to heat up. I recommend with this laminator to change the Heat Setting Switch to 5mil from the regular 3mil setting, as these are thicker objects going through your laminator...


Trim the excess DSP from around the recipe divider card...


I then took a chocolate brown paint and some make-up sponges (these are cheap and work great for edging!!) and applied a quick coat of paint to all edges of the recipe divider - it antiqued it up a little!!! It also helps to cover the edge of those nasty cream colored divider cards from the Dollar Store!!! LOL!!!


Finished altered recipe card dividers.....



Place your altered recipe card divider into the laminator slip...Next you will have to take the categories that you print out on velum or card stock (I used velum as I liked the finished look it gave my projects!) and the Word Window punch, and punch out your category title. Carefully place this on the top tab part of the recipe divider (I chose not to adhere these down as you can see the adhesive through the velum - it just sealed it in place when I laminated it! - If you are using regular card stock you can definitely adhere to divider!)


Feed the lamination sheet, sealed side first, into the laminator and watch the magic begin...


Coming out of the bottom of the laminator...


When it comes out of the laminator, this is what it should look like...carefully trim the excess with an exacto knife.


And here is the finished product!!

I hope you have enjoyed this tutorial and I would love to hear everyone's feedback on this project.
If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me via email at bella013175@hotmail.com
MWAH!!!

A Safari Shower for A Little Someone...

Last weekend had me craftin' like crazy to make a fun, unique & practical gift for a friend for her baby shower. After lots of thought and head scratching, I decided to do a set of stamped onsies and 48, yes - you read right - 48 thank you cards! I also bought a Safari themed scrapbooking kit to get her started on "the addiction"! To my surprise, when I arrived at the par-tee (which started at 2pm and went till 3am!!) I was thrilled to find out her baby's room theme was Safari! Woot woot for me!! She seemed very pleased with the gift so I thought I would share some snapshots with you! All images were stamped with black Stazon and colored with Copic Markers, then heat set.

My Xmas Advent Calendar.....

So this is the post that many of you have been waiting for....it all started with one little mini muffin tin, some paper, some magnets, some punches, some markers...and of course...some chocolate!!!! I had seen this done before a couple of times and wanted to try it out for myself. So this is how I made it...I cut large circles out of cardboard (using heavy material so it would stand up to lots of touching!!) I used the Big Shot to cut these out. Then I cut the same sized circle out of DSP that was Christmas themed and adhered it to the cardboard circles. I then used little magnets (2 per circle) and stuck them to the back with glue dots.
Then I placed each circle over the muffin tin hole. Now comes the fun part...time to embellish!
Using Christmas Themed Stamp Sets (all from Stampin Up) and Die Cuts for the Big Shot, and punches too...I got busy!!! I also used glitter, brads, paperclips & ribbon, as well as dimentionals to pop each embellished circle. Then I used the Big Shot once again to cut out letters to spell..."Days Till Christmas" and used my 2 Way Glue Pen to adhere them onto the top piece of cardstock and bottom piece of cardstock.

I punched tiny little snowflakes out and freehanded the numbers on them because I didn't want them too big, taking away from all the other goodies on the advent calendar.
So this is the finished product!!! Let me know what you think! All that is really left to do is tie a ribbon to the top to hang it (my neighbor is going to do that tonight for me) and fill with Choc-o-late!! YUM YUM!!! Hope you enjoyed!!!! I am offering this as a class in a couple of weeks if anyone is interested. Cost for the class will be $50.00. What a great way to celebrate the holiday season!!!

MWAH~

And Yet Another Project...Diaper Cakes!!!!

Awhile back, I had seen some of these genius little gifts in a baby store....Diaper Cakes!!! So I took it upon myself to try to assemble one of these little gems (well not so little after I finished!!!) I have given these out as shower gifts for probably the past twenty or so baby showers that I have attended, with many people asking HOW DID YOU MAKE THAT???????

So I thought I would post the instructions that I use......

HOW TO MAKE A PROFESSIONAL DIAPER CAKE

Ingredients:

• I package of Brand Name Diapers (approx. 96)
• a round cardboard cake tray or round metal/aluminum pizza pan - this is the base
• scrap ribbon (approx. 4 yards)
• more ribbon for the cake itself
• hot glue gun
• goodies to decorate your cake based on color & theme

For a 3 tier cake with 96 diapers you will need:

• 48 diapers for the bottom layer
• 32 diapers for the middle layer
• 16 diapers for the top layer

To start, take your round tray and place something round and fat in the middle of your tray (this could be a tin of food or soup, a roll of toilet paper, etc.)

Starting with the bottom tier, we will use 48 diapers. Pick up three and space them in your hand, bottom part facing out to the left ~ do not open them up! Layer them slightly so they overlap ~ one, then the second one slightly to the right of it, and the third slightly to the right of the second one. Bend them slightly to give them a slight curve. Place them, on end, leaning

against your round object in the middle of your round tray. Add more diapers to the outside of your diapers~ you will be adding the diapers on top of each other in the round.

You should use 40 out of the 48 diapers in the outside layer. When you have all 40 diapers pinwheeled around your object...you now use a piece of your scrap ri

bbon to tie your diaper tier. Tie it snug with a bow ribbon, not a double knot, as you will want to remove this later.

You are left with a hole in the middle where your round object is...the other 8 diapers fan into that hole.

Repeat for 2nd layer using 28 diapers on the outside layer and 4 on the inside layer.

For the top tier, you will want 14 diapers on the outside layer, and 2 diapers in the middle inner layer.

Once all 3 layers are complete, go back and straighten out the diapers and double check to make sure your spacing is even & uniform. Your scrap ribbon is holding them securely so you should be able to pull & push them into place and make them even.

Now it is time to add YOUR ribbon. Without removing the scrap ribbon just yet, you will want to measure out the length you will need & add 2" inches to that to create a nice, clean edge.

Cut the ribbon & wrap it around the tier. This is when you will use your glue gun to glue the ribbon to the ribbon. (Careful not to get glue on diapers!) Wait until glue has cooled before carefully reaching behind the ribbon to remove the scrap ribbon.

One layer of thick ribbon is great, however more is very appealing! To add ribbon, you will want to glue the new layer directly to the first layer that you have secured on. Make sure it is straight & glued all the way around so that it does not slip. Use a smaller width of ribbon for the second layer of ribbon you are attaching.

• First layer of ribbon should be 2" inch width of floral ribbon
• Second layer of ribbon should be 1" inch width of floral ribbon
• Third layer can outline the top and bottom of the 1" width ribbon by using 1/16th grosgrain ribbon.

Decorate the cake with the goodies from the theme or color theme you chose. Attach objects to the cake with colorful diaper pins. Your imagination is your only limit!!!!

Other things to take into consideration:

• NEVER use tape, not only does it look bad but will damage the diapers.
• Use brand name diapers unless you know the parents are using store brand. What a shame if your cake isn't used the way it was intended to be used because the diapers weren't something the parents were confident in.
• Diapers ABSORB, very well ~ that is their purpose after all!!!! They absorb smells & fluids. Keep your completed cake in a dry location, away from dank smells (smoke, food, gases, etc.) Wrap in a cellophane bag if need be.
• Simple and elegant is better than busy and cheap!!! Use items you are proud to give the new family
• Have fun with your cake!!!! Make it something original that the recipients and guest will never forget!!!!