The End - Parade of UnAward Winning Artisan Projects

So, here we are at THE END ... the Piece de Resistance ... the project I spent more than 20 hours and more money than I wish to admit on ....


When my friend Cheryl (hey, girl!!) and I were brainstorming about what I could POSSIBLY do for a 3D/altered project for my Artisan Award entry we were bouncing all kinds of ideas off of one another ... it's always nice to have more than one brain at work at a time. One thing led to another and then it just hit me ... a COOKBOOK. I said to Cheryl, "No-no-no ... that's a great idea, but there is NO WAY I'm gonna do that much work!" Famous last words ... as soon as the idea was hatched I KNEW that I was not going to be satisfied with anything less ...

Here is my hybrid MDS/tactile cookbook. I'm SO proud of how this turned out!! (And sooo sad that I just pretty much gave it away!).

In all actuality, I had recipes planned to make up 30 pages (there was a whole section on slowcooking in there, too!). I did 6 pages of recipes for each category ... salads, soups, main dishes and desserts.


The hardest, most painstaking part of this baby was actually typing the recipe cards. Since I created those in MDS, the way these are set up require you to type each line on each card separately, since each line is its own text box. And every time I clicked on one it would move ... just a tiny bit ... which would require me to move it back!!

It took me what felt like EONS to get those darn cards typed up. But I am particularly happy with the quilt on the front cover. I love sewing on paper ... and I was really pleased with the outcome on this.

The tabs on the recipe cards are tactile ... meaning that they are punched from real cardstock with real brads. There is a "space" punched out on the recipe card template in MDS that you can fill in with whatever you want. I decided to add a little three-dimensionality to it. The paper on the cover is actual paper from the Sweet Pea dsp kit. All of the paper on the backgrounds inside the book were printed out on my computer using MDS.

I also used MDS to create the word "favorite" for the little oval punch out on the front cover. With some clever punching and masking in the program I was able to mask off the rest of the definition from the favorite stamp ("Define Your Life").

Ever wonder what creative genius looks like at work??? This is it, baby!!! This is what my lovely craft room looked like after finishing the last of my Artisan projects. AAAAAAACCKKKK!!! "A clean desk is the sign of a sick mind ..."

Thankyouthankyouthankyou for allowing me to share my projects with you. And as many thanks for your votes of confidence and encouragement. I really did put my heart and soul into all of these ...

... as did Jan. Here is her final SUPERB project:

Jan's Final Hurrah

Paper: Chocolate Chip, So Saffron, Pumpkin Pie, Rose Red, Bermuda Bay, Whisper White, Sweet Pea Designer Series Paper (actual paper on cover – paper generated by MDS on inside)
Ink: Pumpkin Pie Craft, Rose Red Craft, Chocolate Chip Craft
Accessories: On Board 8 ½” x 8 ½” Album, My Digital Studio, Go Go Boots Alphabet Medium Sizzlits Dies, Little Leaves Sizzlits Die, Modern Label Punch, Trio Flower Punch, Round Tab Punch, Large Oval Punch, Small Oval Punch, Scallop Oval Punch, ½” Circle Punch, Small Heart Punch, Boho Blossoms Punch, On Board So Tweet, Chocolate Chip 1” Double Stitched Ribbon, Chocolate Chip 5/8” Grosgrain Ribbon, Old Olive 5/8” Grosgrain Ribbon, Pumpkin Pie ¼” Grosgrain Ribbon, Bermuda Bay Polka Dot Grosgrain Ribbon, Pumpkin Pie Striped Grosgrain Ribbon, Apricot Appeal ¼” Grosgrain Ribbon, Whisper White ¼” Grosgrain Ribbon, Chocolate Chip ¼” Grosgrain Ribbon, Silver Brads, Paper Piercing Tool/Mat Pack, Clear Embossing Powder, Sewing Machine
(DO YA THINK I USED ENOUGH SUPPLIES FOR THIS, OR WHAT??!??)