tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85086458808469032102008-07-18T06:59:35.851-07:00Crafts, cooking, and other culinary oddities by a graphic designer and personal chef who loves food, drink, and bringing fun clip art images, wearables, home decor, and the joy of food and cooking to like-minded foodies.Chef Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12403244779701677081noreply@blogger.comBlogger33125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8508645880846903210.post-3137712740320912482008-07-15T16:24:00.000-07:002008-07-15T16:25:58.260-07:00

I do! These "Sewl Mate" statuettes, pincushions, sewing accessory stations, or whatever you call them have two things that don't usually go together: artistry and practicality. Available at LoveLaurie at Etsy, they're reasonably priced and incredibly creative. I recently took up sewing, plus I'm a foodie (Chef Margaret Personal Chef Service plug!), so this chef model is a total knockout for me

Chef Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12403244779701677081noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8508645880846903210.post-50972001803928157122008-07-13T12:39:00.000-07:002008-07-13T12:47:39.187-07:00

Since I broke our laser printer (just as I was revving up to offer printing services) I had to find something fun to do with the ole inkjet, and some really nice paper I got from Archiver's. Took an old graphic I had laying around and came up with these beauties. The utensils are roughened up a bit and printed on Bazzill paper, then I cut out a vase out of printed paper, tie a ribbon and add a

Chef Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12403244779701677081noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8508645880846903210.post-61494310669983553712008-07-13T12:32:00.000-07:002008-07-13T12:39:38.366-07:00

Wowie zowie, check out this resin-encased logo keychain I ordered from FashionCandy! I asked for a custom order, she said "Sure thing!" and I'm just panting to get it in the mail. I love resin, and I would play with it except for most of the year it's too cold here in Minnesoooota, or the summer is too darn humid and hot. We get the worst of whatever weather's out there. I'd like to move to

Chef Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12403244779701677081noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8508645880846903210.post-47956553766926144482008-06-28T09:10:00.000-07:002008-06-28T09:20:04.222-07:00

OK, my love for cooking is only equaled by my love for all things crafty, so I've opened up an Etsy shop with the name CraftLicker.etsy.com. Funny name, but a lot of Etsy folk will appreciate it. I'll be selling banners and avatars, pre-made and custom designed, business startup packages including logo design, banner/avatar, plus button and sticker design along with some actual printed materials

Chef Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12403244779701677081noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8508645880846903210.post-46073236500230248702008-06-24T11:32:00.000-07:002008-06-24T11:40:36.848-07:00

I've finally made the matching handbag to go with the wallet I finished up a while back. The bag is about 7 x 8" and is big enough to hold my nifty wallet and I've included lots of pockets to carry my keys, phone, grocery lists and client menus (folded, of course; I don't carry around a folder for such things), and there are lots of pockets on the inside too. There are more pictures here. I used

Chef Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12403244779701677081noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8508645880846903210.post-23448434173682813802008-06-19T08:41:00.000-07:002008-06-19T08:46:19.669-07:00

Kim C and... Allison You're on my email list (the list is relatively small, so if you think it's you...it is) and have won the May and June $25 Cafepress giveaway (hotmail, yahoo, and aol email users: you will receive a choice of product and choice of design). You have until July 31 to email me and confirm your giveaway prize.

Chef Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12403244779701677081noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8508645880846903210.post-41436478740834411592008-06-19T08:35:00.000-07:002008-06-19T08:41:38.190-07:00

I'm going out on a limb here and breaking out the laser printer to see how a few printing services will go over. More specifically for small craft businesses that need hang tags, stickers and such, plus I'll be exploring printing my own note cards and stuff for retail ops. What really takes the time is the trimming. The laser doesn't print to the edge, so I have to fit and trim to give folks that

Chef Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12403244779701677081noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8508645880846903210.post-88352126617675775752008-06-19T08:26:00.000-07:002008-06-19T08:35:49.660-07:00

We love buttons - they totally rock! Soon we'll be making them for fun and profit. We'll be making 2.25" buttons with pin backs, refrigerator magnet type buttons, keychains, and some with magnet fasteners so folks can spend $25 on a lapel button instead of $150 for custom embroidery. We'll be offering those at Into the Pan and also at our new etsy shop, Craft Licker. Our goal is to provide

Chef Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12403244779701677081noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8508645880846903210.post-57470042881136111822008-06-04T09:35:00.001-07:002008-06-04T09:44:55.652-07:00

This here's our new used cat, Kenny. We got him from the Humane Society last week. He's 3 years old and just got fixed 2 days before we got him, so he was a bad boy and sprayed our house for us. Yiperoonies! If you have the same problem, I can heartily recommend Feliway. Dang, it was like a miracle. He just stopped cold. We got him as a companion for our other cat Loafy. We used to have 3 cats

Chef Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12403244779701677081noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8508645880846903210.post-18876837464831283992008-05-29T07:55:00.001-07:002008-06-04T09:35:02.917-07:00

A couple years back I was finding I had time on my hands and decided I would explore the world of watercolor painting. I don't have the patience for it, really - waiting for stuff to dry so you can go the next step is really more than I can handle - but for a few months I experimented and spritzed, sponged, and splattered my way to an obsessive disorder. I found them when I was cleaning out

Chef Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12403244779701677081noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8508645880846903210.post-11409411870990206922008-05-29T07:52:00.001-07:002008-05-29T07:55:02.731-07:00

Well...here's the plan for my new handbag - not exactly a technical pattern, but the wallet turned out great, so it's time to think about a handbag for a foodie. I'll post the hopefully happy resulting bag next week.

Chef Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12403244779701677081noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8508645880846903210.post-77885164537250269032008-05-18T09:59:00.000-07:002008-05-18T10:51:11.570-07:00

I tried to give up plastic this week, to see how much I could forgo using and buying. Not that I'm a greenie or anything. I read an article recently that a few years after the precursor to man-made plastic, a scientist set out to make a synthetic replacement for ivory billiard balls (to save the elephants) which started its own chain reaction. Just goes to show how good intentions don't equal

Chef Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12403244779701677081noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8508645880846903210.post-88525877249267786022008-05-18T09:28:00.000-07:002008-05-18T09:55:52.633-07:00

I can't say I'm overly excited about it, but recently I opened Cafepress.com/cooksnotecards to give my culinary-cooking-chef-food-etc. note cards and greeting cards and Christmas cards a bit of breathing room. The real story is that Cafepress put a new limit on how many sections one shop could have. 500 is the limit, and I was up there at almost 400 with all my categories-within-categories, so I

Chef Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12403244779701677081noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8508645880846903210.post-48157300469636633012008-05-09T13:29:00.001-07:002008-05-09T13:49:35.929-07:00

What's the difference between printing a large postcard and folding it yourself, and buying pre-folded cards? For starters, you'll pay roughly 40% more for pre-folded cards, though you get the envelopes for "free". Those envelopes, people, are cheap; you can get note card sized envelopes at Office Depot, 100 for about $10.00. Another difference is that with a large postcard you can print in full

Chef Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12403244779701677081noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8508645880846903210.post-40807450549574856192008-05-04T10:15:00.000-07:002008-05-04T10:47:37.417-07:00

I've been doing a lot of postcards lately, and that usually means coming up with a tag or header (plus the content, but that's another story) that makes...sense, and if it's snappy it's all the better. I like snappy. There's probably hundreds - I won't claim millions - of ways to introduce a personal chef service. I do 100% personal chef subjects in the postcard arena currently, so my brain can

Chef Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12403244779701677081noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8508645880846903210.post-90904331143767712992008-05-02T06:14:00.000-07:002008-05-02T06:47:40.800-07:00

I've just recently had some instances where folks are confused about the difference between a rack card and a postcard, so here it is in a nutshell: Postcards Postcards are cheap and plentiful. These are "throwaway" items you can give away or mail like candy (OK, candy is cheaper, but if you want to promote healthy dining, candy sends the wrong message). If you're on a budget - a pretty tight

Chef Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12403244779701677081noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8508645880846903210.post-67490047750321252082008-05-02T05:26:00.000-07:002008-05-02T06:10:00.422-07:00

If you're on a budget and need marketing materials, you can't beat a postcard for flexibility, but you have to decide how you're going to use it before you design it. As Chef Margaret Personal Chef Service and Into the Pan, I've mailed postcards in the past, but currently I use them as "throwaways" at networking meetings, give them to business partners as informational pieces, put them into

Chef Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12403244779701677081noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8508645880846903210.post-85706864109405437082008-04-27T08:37:00.000-07:002008-04-27T08:56:01.276-07:00

It's nice to have a blog; I previously posted I would be making myself a cool wallet with chicken and pepper fabric, so it pretty much has to get done or I'll have egg all over my face, eh? After thinking and thinking about it - mostly thinking I was going to royally screw it up then have to start all over again - I just buckled down yesterday and sewed my little heart out. It turned out pretty

Chef Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12403244779701677081noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8508645880846903210.post-13361293776191557982008-04-27T08:29:00.000-07:002008-04-27T08:37:45.046-07:00

Holy cow - is this cool or what?? The Precioussss (that's my darling offspring) has made me an octopus chef - well, technically it was just the octopus because she wasn't looking forward to making the hat part, but she did make me a little wooden spoon out of Sculpey. I made the hat out of a bit of leftover curtain. The Precioussss is awesomely talented, but she has no ambitions there. Not that

Chef Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12403244779701677081noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8508645880846903210.post-9227141851300582262008-04-20T07:47:00.000-07:002008-04-20T08:08:00.861-07:00

OK, let's say you can't afford to have me create your logo and business card. Your budget is a big fat zero for graphic design, even by uber-reasonable me. What ya gonna do? Normally I send people to Vistaprint.com for such things. They do a decent job and their cards aren't overly flimsy (but are just on the edge of it; still, you can't beat the price). However, 123print.com has a much better

Chef Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12403244779701677081noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8508645880846903210.post-68564788545462812972008-04-20T07:39:00.000-07:002008-04-20T07:46:21.022-07:00

I have a small section in my Cafepress shop for silly-funny-stupid slogans - all food related, of course - and this one sort of came out of the blue...hence the blue color. "I've had a nuf...and it was darn tasty" I'm sure it can't be original. No, I didn't check first, preferring to be ignorant and just liking it. This will be one of the few text-only products I'll use for myself. A nuf is

Chef Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12403244779701677081noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8508645880846903210.post-27760574398253313812008-04-16T16:22:00.001-07:002008-04-16T16:29:14.124-07:00

I just got an email - it was technically spam, but sometimes you get lucky - from JustOnePlate.com. Absolutely fabulous pictures of food and...recipes from restuarant food folk. This chocolate cake put me over the edge. I've already eaten my salad and meat for the day - I need dessert! Unfortunately it will be a low fat lemon yogurt.

Chef Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12403244779701677081noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8508645880846903210.post-43120938690119895972008-04-16T14:08:00.000-07:002008-04-16T14:14:01.971-07:00

A Cuoco Pazzo - A Crazy Chef - wanted a nifty logo in the style of my Flaming Coffee Guy aka Flaming Chef Guy (right) for his new restaurant in Depew, New York. It turned out pretty awesome! Best of luck in your new business venture!

Chef Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12403244779701677081noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8508645880846903210.post-16081424798893199722008-04-13T07:14:00.001-07:002008-04-13T07:36:24.086-07:00

Many of you may have glanced around Into the Pan - my beloved world headquarters on the net - and discovered my small work and living space redecoration project - and I never claimed the job was ever done, so now I'm in search of really cool cooking, eating, drinking or otherwise foodies related switch plates and outlet covers. Found some really nifty retro switchplates, and it so happened they

Chef Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12403244779701677081noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8508645880846903210.post-85003309042831284332008-04-12T07:58:00.001-07:002008-04-12T08:08:27.120-07:00

This contest will run from April 15 - April 30. Into the Pan will design the postcard for use with Vistaprint.com ordering; it can be for a regular postcard or oversized. Into the Pan does not do the printing. Your subject/design must be food and/or drink related. You must sign up for the newsletter to qualify for the special drawing; one winner will be announced on May 1.

Chef Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12403244779701677081noreply@blogger.com