Flip-Pal™ Mobile Scanner Blog Hop Week #3---Retro Recycled Spice Racks

Welcome to week three! Wow time is flying fast! I'm so addicted to my kitchen crafts I might just keep up the Thursday craft posts even after the blog hop is over...but in review...

week 1: Easy Illuminated Crystal Ice sculptures

week 2:Retro love bubble cookie tins

This week:

What's the first thing a chef looks for when shopping for a new kitchen tools? Knives? For me, it's always the spice rack. If it fits my retro-funky-disco-Brady-Bunch groove...then it's on.

If it also represents some pivotal moments in my cooking career...even better. This bad boy spice rack could easily have been used by Alice in the Brady kitchen. Minus the beehive hair and the lame jokes...and you've got me. Okay...maybe I do tell a few lame jokes. I've never dated a butcher though.

I want everyone to have one of these. The scanner goes places and does things I can't even contain my joy about (short of mopping my floors...and pairing up socks).They're amazingly convenient for scanning old scrap books, random fabrics, wall paper...really anything you can't fit in your regular scanner.

Special thanks to the The Flip-Pal™ mobile scanner Design team leader, Kathy Peterson.
Kathy Peterson is a Design Expert, Best Selling Author, TV corespondent on LIFETIME TV, Product Developer/Licensor and Master Gardener. It's an honor to be part of her team!

For the blog hop, Kathy picked 6 designers across the country to help create some unusual craft projects of their choice using the Flip-Pal Mobile Scanner. So far, I have been not only excited to see what the other creative minds have devised...but also excited to have new friends. Can I just say how zany fun it has been to get to know these gals on Face Book these last few weeks?

As for this week's adventure. I had to decide what I wanted on my jars. First thing to scan for this project...the red polk-a-dot June Cleaver shirt I love. It just seemed like the perfect accessory for the spice rack-o-glory.

This gingham was scanned from my first Better Crocker Junior Cookbook cover...1950's version. It belongs in my kitchen. It's where I first learned how to cook. Thanks grandma. I'm giving you my permission to click on the individual pictures and download them if you want the scans. I'm thinking these patters are far too retro-land-cool to not share with y'all. Isn't that nice of me. Bow your head in utter love and appreciation...and then tell your friends they can get these here. My favorite is the swirlie whirlie pink fur. Yes...every kitchen needs pink fur...but since it's probably not the most sanitary accessory for the creme brulee...the scan will have to do.

See the black and white check design? That's from my first pair of chef-pants I wore in culinary school. Isn't that something awesome to have in the kitchen?

See this nasty old spice rack? It needed some help. I found this little gem at a thrift store. I shop at thrift stores. Sue me. I'm frugal to my core. It's how I was raised. You make due or do without. So...I'm making due on the budget we have. Case in point...I needed a revamp on my spice rack.

The price was right.

It's totally okay to do this with an old spice rack you already have in your kitchen. Then it's like free...except you bought it...a long time ago. The spice rack I have currently has been loved for ten years...and the lids are starting to fall apart. They've been refilled about 25 times each. I'm a chef. I use spices. This one didn't have any spices in it and the jars were almost new. You know who you are if you donated it to a thrift store. Probably a non-chef-a-roo who thinks a spice rack is a decoration in the kitchen. Next to your muffin tins that have never been used. I love you. I'm coming to your house next week to teach you a private lesson. As for this spice rack...it did need a full sterilization. Just to be sure it wasn't an off cast from the Adam's Family. Cousin It could be in there.

I also polished up the chrome stuff. It was actually plastic, but looked really nice once it was clean.

I cut the scans in strips to fit the lids and applied them with Weldbond glue.

Now I can have fur in my kitchen...but not in my soup. Plus...I can have my favorite fabric designs close to my heart.

Now...time to think...what else can I use this rack of jars for?

--->How about an awesome way to store beads for jewelry making?

--->Buttons or notions for the sewing room?

--->Sprinkles and cupcake/cookie decorum for the bakery?

--->Display jars for the pet-slave-minion-entourage of little blue Smurfs? Okay...no Smurfs or gnomes (or taxidermy stuffed dead mice).

--->Less gross...what about a centerpiece full of Valentine's candies for decorating sugar cookies at a party?! Now you're cooking with gas.

How about a Birthday Gift for a friend who loves to cook with her kids and a case of cookie mix? So...I gave this one away. (Happy Birthday LISA!--Hope you enjoy it! )

There you go. Super cute!

Now hop over to the other gals in the design team and see what else crafty-cool is being made today on the The Flip-Pal™ mobile scanner. Don't forget to enter the drawing for a free scanner of your own Here. Yes! They're giving one scanner away a week!

Kathy Peterson is a Design Expert, Best Selling Author, TV corespondent on LIFETIME TV, Product Developer/Licensor and Master Gardener.
Linda Peterson is a wonderful multi-talented designer of jewelry and mixed media projects!
Chef Stephanie Petersen baker, food display artist, and cooking instructor.
Christy Tomlinsonis a fabulous paper and mixed media artist and more!
Amy Andersonis a delightfully talented decoupage queen, knitter and loves to sew!
Melissa Langer is a fun and energetic pug artist. Her art is all about crocheting and painting pugs!
Pat Sloan is a very talented designer and quilting expert!

End note...Lisa just posted this picture. It seems her little daughter couldn't wait to make cupcakes with the new cupcake-deco rack! Sweet. Now I feel totally complete as a human. Smoooches!

There you go.