A Charming and Functional Recipe Journal Project

There’s nothing quite as charming as an old family recipe book that gets passed down from generation to generation. It’s especially nice to pull that book out now that Thanksgiving is just around the corner. But if you’ve ever had a recipe book, then you know that the pages within this precious family heirloom have a tendency to be dynamic. Recipes change over the years, and each generation adds a little something extra or adjusts things more to their own personal liking. The pages of a recipe book are alive with creativity, love, and delicious secrets!

This project is about starting your own family recipe journal, which is a bit more functional than a book. By using a ring binder you can add or remove pages, use page pockets, and even insert envelopes — pretty much anything that can be hole-punched is fair game. This particular project is beautiful, practical, and perfect for the holidays.

Materials for the Family Recipe Journal Project:

– Ringed Binder
– Ephemera
– 7gypsie Printed Postcards
– Tag Envelopes
– Tim Holtz’s Idea-ology Page Pockets
– Ecology Natural Filler Kraft Paper
– Grubby Tags
– Rub-On Stickers
– Pen

Family Recipe Journal Project Tutorial

Step 1 – First and foremost, you’ll want to pick a ringed binder — for this project we used one of Tim Holtz Idea-ology designs.

Step 2 – Write your recipes directly onto various pieces of ephemera. We wrote some of our recipes on 7gypsie printed postcards and envelopes. The envelopes are especially handy because you can stuff them with recipes written on tags, cut-outs from magazines, or recipes printed from online sources.

Step 3 – You can also use Tim Holtz’s Idea-ology Page Pockets. The pockets are great for adding handwritten recipe sheets, or those recipes that you find on the back of food packaging like flour, oatmeal boxes, and other similar items. We even wrote some recipes on the Ecology Natural Filler Kraft Paper and Grubby Tags, which added a sweet rustic and worn look to our journal.

Step 4 – Next, punch holes into all of the ephemera pieces, envelopes, and journal pages that you’re using and bind them together in your binder.

Step 5 – Add some decorative rub-ons to the cover of the album for an elegant, finishing touch.

This is a fun and functional project with a lot of creative potential. It’s a great way to start collecting treasured family recipes as well as a lovely way to commemorate the recipes used during a special occasion like Christmas or Thanksgiving. Make one for yourself and watch the pages multiply with tasty new concoctions, or get one started with a few of your favorite recipes and gift it to a friend or family member.

Want Even More Inspiring Holiday Projects?

The holiday season is upon us, but there’s still plenty of time to craft some homemade party favors, décor accents, seasonal cards, treat bags, and much more! Explore our entire collection of holiday-themed projects and find over 160 creative ideas to help make this time of year a little extra festive.

 

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