Our Family's Favorite Recipes

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Stacey Kingman

http://staceykingman.blogspot.com/

Intro:

I have been crafting and cooking for over 30 years, and this little project is one that has been on my mental to-do list for at least the last ten! I have a collection of absolute-favorite family recipes that I have put in this mini-book for easy reference. I know many of them by heart, but my family does not and now the recipes will be readily available for them to cook without me, if necessary (you know, for when I’m out getting a pedicure or important stuff like that). After choosing recipes and collecting photos, I created a simple sketch that would let me compile my book quickly but creatively. I had so much fun choosing papers and adding embellishments (lots of fun punched shapes!), but once I decided on my sketch, I didn’t have to put a lot of thought into my individual pages. If you’ll look closely at my book, you’ll see that every page - including the cover – uses the same basic sketch that has just been flipped around a bit to allow variety in design, yet maintain consistency throughout.

Difficulty rating

Instructions (Print version)

Instructions (inside pages):

Trim patterned papers to 6 ½” X 6 ½”, round corners, adhere to each page.
Print recipes on pieces of 3” X 5” cardstock. Using the Stamp Press, stamp the harlequin pattern over the recipe to cover the entire piece. Following the sketch, adhere the recipe and its corresponding 3” X 5” photo to two facing pages.
Punch accent squares and adhere next to the recipe. To create the scalloped frame, punch a square with the Large Block Party Squeeze Punch. Center the Extra Large Scallop Sentiment Squeeze Punch over the negative square and punch again.
Cut a 1 ½” X 5” strip of paper to take the place of the squares in the sketch on the photo page. Adhere recipe title on this piece.
Add personal comments about the recipe (I used alphabet stickers and did this right on top of the photo.)
To embellish, add punched accent pieces, stickers, or rub-ons to the squares (or in place of the squares).

Instructions (cover):

Trim patterned paper to 7” X 7”, adhere. (The front of the book is a bit larger than the inside pages, so expand the sketch a bit for your cover.) I did not round the corners on the cover piece.
Trim patterned paper to 3 ½” X 6 ½” (I used part of a flash card), stamp with large harlequin image, adhere to book cover.
Cut solid cardstock to 6 ½” X 1”, punch scalloped border, and adhere to the bottom of the title piece.
Add alphabet sticker (or rub-ons, handwritten letters, etc.) to create title.
Create a house with punches (Nice Tri XL, Scallop Sentiment Large) and hand-cut heart. The main house rectangle is 1” X 1 ½”.
Punch four squares to adhere below title piece. Adhere squares and add accents.

Tips and variations:

Flip the sketch around so that some pages have a portrait-oriented photo and recipe and some have landscape.
Change the side of the photo you put the squares (or circles or whatever you decide to use) on.
Instead of using squares or a strip of paper, adhere a large title in that place next to your photo.
Repeat some elements throughout the book – I rounded corners and used brackets and frames to highlight fun embellishments as well as stamping each recipe card with the same fun background design.
Make sure you choose a stamping ink that is light enough to be read through for your recipe cards. I tried several before I settled on the one I used.
Is your recipe too long for the 3” X 5” box? Make two recipe cards and leave the photo out. Or stack the recipe cards. Or do a front-and-back card that is removable. There are lots of ways to make this work for you!
Don’t be afraid to add journaling right on top of your photos. The photos are fun, but you don’t need to be able to see every bit of them for the page to be meaningful.
Use a variety of fonts for your page titles, but keep the journaling/notes text consistent (all the same stickers, all handwritten, all computer printed, etc.). Along with repeating the sketch throughout the book, maintaining one type of text style will add continuity to your pages.
Decide how flat you want your book to be and live with it! I put it that way because I usually add lots of lumpy, bumpy embellishments to my little books, but I want this one to remain flat when closed, so I am committed to using only flat paper embellishments. Do what you like!
Don’t feel like you have to finish this in one day. Mark blank pages with recipes you want to add and then take pictures of the completed foods as you make them throughout the year. Pay close attention to what meals your family requests over and over and make sure you reserve a page for each of those!