Eat, Drink & Be Married

About a month ago I was asked to make a custom recipe book with Eat, Drink & Be Married on the cover. I loved the quote and design and knew I wanted to make a recipe book in the size and shape I offer in my shop. Over the weekend I finally had some down time and got it added! It can be purchased as is, or the bride and groom's names and wedding date can be added as well.

I love this quote so much and knew it would be perfect for other items in my shop as well. I decided to add it to a cutting board.

And a recipe box.

I'm also hoping to make some custom cards soon to make these boxes into guest book alternatives. One side of the card will have room for a message for the bride and groom. And the other side will have name, address, email and phone information. So the box is useful after the wedding and still has those special wedding wishes in it :)

New Recipe Books

Back in January I talked about my biggest goal for 2014 being Growth. One way I'm growing my business is by looking at items that sell well and expanding on their lines. As I showed last week, I listed several new button designs with still more in the works. I'm also working on new recipe book designs. I've listed three new designs in the last week and have seen a great response from them!

This tree design came as a custom request after seeing my carved tree guest book. I think it makes a great gift for newlyweds :)

And these next two are designs I've had in my head for a while now and finally got them made. Everyone has favorite recipes that Grandma and Mom used to make. These books are a great place to keep all those recipes.

In the coming weeks, I'm hoping to introduce new cuff link designs and wedding invitation designs. I better get back to work!

Bridal Shower Ideas

I recently introduced my Recipe for a Happy Marriage Recipe Boxes. I'm so happy with how well they are doing! They make such great bridal shower gifts and wedding gifts.

Just last night I also listed another great shower gift idea...Recipes for the Bride Recipe Book! Isn't the bride just beautiful!

Both the recipe boxes and books are a perfect gift for the bride from everyone attending the shower or wedding. Just send the attendees a card along with their invitation, have them fill it out and bring it back. The bride leaves with so many great new recipes to start her marriage. And how great is it to have everyone's handwriting on those cards...how personal!

New Recipe Books

I've been working on several new items lately and one of them is new designs for my Recipe Books. My original design has done well, in fact it just sold yesterday! I wanted to have a wider selection to take to shows with me as they make great gifts and I've started getting them added to my Etsy Shop as well.

I have two new designs so far and hope to add at least two more as well. The first is a basic design with a fun wooden spoon design.

The second is special for the holidays and I hope it does well this holiday season.

The other ideas I have in mind are a "Recipes for the New Bride" book and some sort of "Generations" book or "Family Recipes Through the Years" book. Something that families can pass on from one generation to the next.

New Ideas...They Just Keep Coming

I just can't keep my brain from working over time! I've had a pretty nasty cold this week, but my brain refused to stop working...a good problem to have I guess :)

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I've come up with two more new ideas for my Etsy Shop that I just love! As I talked about on Monday, looking at our own shops can be the best place to find inspiration! Expand on existing lines and come up with new ideas :)

This Recipe Book uses the same concept as my guest books, but it has cute little kraft-colored recipe cards inside :) And of course, it can be personalized upon request!

I've also been working on a line of engraved baby photo albums as well. This Woodland Baby Album is next in the series! I love the woodland theme on the wood cover...how perfect!

I'm sure I'll be back soon with more ideas for you to see :) This brain of mine just keeps on tickin'!

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Have you been expanding on any current lines in your shop or creating any new projects? Tell me about them in the comments :)

Team Treasury-Christmas Lights

One of my favorite things to do during the holidays is drive around town and see all the beautiful lights! I hope to one day be on a normal schedule (I work nights) so we can hang outdoor lights and have someone actually enjoy them...LOL!

Until then, Linda of pruitthandcrafts has curated this beautiful Christmas Light and Favorite Things Treasury for our EtsyBloggers Team:

Thank you for including my New Red and Green Paisley Holiday Recipe Book Linda!!!

Holiday Recipe Books

I hope I'm not too late in the season to post these, but they were too cute to pass up! I found these great recipe cards and made fun covers to go along with them! Perfect for gift giving or storing your own favorite holiday recipes in! Pink, Blue and Red...A great color combo! Red and Green Paisleys Gingerbread Men...All in a Row I have enough cards to make a fourth book and I think I'll make one to give as a gift :) Are you making any handmade gifts this year?

Treasury Time

A big Thanks to Storybeader for including my Recipe Books in her latest Treasury :)

Deb from Storybeader on Etsy offers both beautiful jewelry as well as handmade books in her shop! Here are two of my faves:

Blank journal - Purple Petals

Native American Zuni bear set

New Colors!!!

I've had fun working on lots of projects this weekend :) One that I'm really excited about is my Family Favorites Recipe Books...they are now available in 3 colors!!! I had them in pink before, but have since added green and blue!

These would make great Christmas gifts! With such a great price, you could give one to everyone in the office, make them a stocking stuffer, add them to a gift basket...the possibilities are endless!

If you're looking for another color...just let me know. I love custom orders and can make these in any color you would like :)

More Bind-It-All Fun

I should really be working on getting stock ready for my up-coming craft shows...but I'm just having too much fun with my Bind-It-All. This little toy is so addicting!!!

Here are my latest projects using my Bind-It-All:

Happy Home Address Book

Beautiful Blooms Address Book

Beautiful Blooms Matching Notebook

Pink Family Favorites Recipe Book

And I still have more ideas floating around in my head that I'd love to work on!!!

So Many Projects...So Little Time!

Gosh...where to start today? I have so many projects I want to work on and can't quite decide where to start!

I have two Family Word Albums covered in cardstock waiting to be cut out and decorated. Do I start there? I have about 20 more of these I'd like to do though and I think I'll do them all together. So do I start covering more of these with cardstock?

I also have about 5 pair of flip flops waiting to be worked on. I have all of the inside pages cut out and waiting to be covered in patterned paper and decorated. Do I start here?

My Recipe Books seem to be selling well, so I bought larger index cards to make some different sizes and different patterns of these. Maybe I'll start here.

I also want to make some Address Books to add to my Etsy Shop. I'm trying to decide what size to make them. The first one I printed is 8"x8", but I'm starting to think this may be too big. Should I do 6"x6" or 4"x4"? Maybe both?

While I was at the State Fair, I found these really cool agates that I just couldn't resist. (Sorry for the poor photos...they're really hard to photograph!) I'd love to drill holes in them and just add jump wires, but I'm not sure how to go about this without cracking them! So I was told to wire wrap them. Not sure how to go about this either! So with everything else on my plate I'm going to try and learn a new technique!

Where to start, where to start!?!

Notebook Frenzy!!!

I'm on a notebook making frenzy! If you didn't already know...I just LOVE my new Bind-It-All and love making new things with it! My latest creations are notebooks...Super Cute Notebooks I might add :)

Check 'em out!

I also made a Recipe Book...but will have to make more because it already sold (insert dancing here)! So I'll be busy with those as well :)

What would you like to see me make with my fun new toy? I'd love to hear your ideas!