UKScrappers Blog Hop

Welcome to the Cre8tive blog and our first ever Blog Hop...if you are participating in the UKS blog hop, you probably came here from Crafty Templates , welcome to our little corner of the web. 

Please comment at the end using your UKS username  for a chance to win a UKS prize and if you like what you see we would love it if you followed our blog. Don't forget to check out UKS to see the full list of links and info on the prizes! In addition we are offering a 10% discount for today only so enter the code UKS-HOP at the checkout on our site www.cre8tiveonline.co.uk to get the discount on your order. 

Right so on to our project... At the moment my recipes are stored in an old exercise book that is splattered with cake mix and is looking decidedly dog eared! I have been looking for a box to turn into a recipe box and when I came across this pine chest I knew it would be perfect. I like pretty but I also like practical so because it is going to be in a kitchen I wanted to make it wipe-downable so I have kept the decoration flat and the surface will be sealed and the recipe cards themselves will be laminated so they to will be protected too. I have also organised a recipe swap for our next crop on 26th November so please check back to see what lovely recipes people come up with.

The first step is to choose the papers you want to cover your box. I used this picture as inspiration for my colours.

Cut strips from your papers in random thickness's. Lay the strips of paper in the order that you like ready to stick to your box.

To stick the strips on your box you need to use an adhesive like decoupage glue or the Ranger glue and seal. Using a foam brush to apply the glue you need to make sure that the strip is covered in glue right to the edges so that when you stick the strips down they are not going to peel up at the edges. For the first strip cover in glue and then use the catch as a guide for the angle to stick as in the picture.

Trim off the pieces that are hanging off the edge of the lid and keep the bottom one as you will need this to stick to the front of your box shortly. (the part with the white on in the image above).

My second strip is cut to 3cm wide which fitted perfectly over the catch. Using the piece you have saved from the step above use it as a guide to cut the angle for where your 3cm strip will meet the bottom of the lid. Keep the section cut off the 3cm strip as you will need this later as well.

Stick your strip down trimming off the bottom corner to go to the left of your catch as in the image below.

The fiddly bit is cutting around the catch but the glue actually makes this easier. Because the paper becomes more pliable when the glue is applied you can use a pokey tool to gently 'draw' around the catch (see the image below). This indicates where you will need to cut and you can then peel the strip back just enough to cut the marked area with your scissors and then re-stick the trimmed piece around the catch.

Shut your box and stick the two strips you saved earlier to continue on the line of the strips on the front of the box. Again you will need to trim around the catch.

Continue adding your strips in the same way all across your box (I left the ends of the box blank but you could decorate these as well if you wanted to). Once you have used one of each of the strips you laid out earlier you can repeat the pattern.You will need to do the same over the hinges at the back as you did with the catch at the front.

To finish the outside of the box cut a scalloped circle from white card using the Woodware 3 1/2" punch. Cut a strip of black card 4cm wide and then trim off a triangle from each end to make a banner. Die cut 'Recipes' and stick to the banner. Your box is now ready to seal.

For the inserts for your box you will need to cut black card to 18cm x 11cm for each of your main dividers and then white card 23cm x 18cm for your sub-dividers. So I did ...
Starters (black)
-Soups (white)
Mains (black)
-Fish (white)
-Meat (white)
-Vegetarian (white)
-Pasta (white)
-International (white)
Puddings (black)
-Hot (white)
-Cold (white)
Baking (black)
-Cakes (white)
-Biscuits (white)

I decided to add a little decoration to my main dividers to tie in with the box so each one had the top corners rounded and 2 strips of paper going the other way to the box. I stuck them in random places on the front but used the first one to line up the angle of the strips as below. They then had a banner with a die cut title stuck to them as on the lid of the box.

The white card is going to be made into pockets to hold your recipes so you need to score at 11cm, 11.5cm and 12cm. I used the brilliant Hougie Board.

Once scored fold as in the image below and corder round the corners. Add a banner with a title for each pocket.

Again to line up the banners place them next to each other as below. Note the banners are near the top of the dividers so they can be seen more easily when looking in the box.

I hope you like our project and that some of you will give it a go, let us know if you do. I have left links in the instructions above for the products used. Don't forget to take advantage of the 10% discount and please do follow us if you can.

And finally your directions onwards...the next blog to hop on to after ours is Creative Craft World. Bon voyage!