My recipe book used to be a large 3 ring binder with photo sleeves and recipes written on 3x5 cards. This actually worked out really well for a long time, but there were some things I wasn't happy with:
- I wanted something that was easier to store. I didn't want a big binder sitting on my counter and I hated using my precious drawer space for it.
- I wanted to have larger cards. Most of my recipes couldn't fit on a single side of the 3x5 cards. This means I had to take out the recipe card while I was cooking so I could read the back. Over the years, some of my recipes have gotten messy because of this.
- I wanted to have all my recipes in my computer so I could print them off when I needed them. I knew that this would take time, but I was tired of writing out new cards if I made some personal changes to the recipe. I just liked the idea of having them all typed and ready.
- Lastly, I just wanted it to be fun and look good.
All I did was buy some of those basic 4x6 photo albums. I made covers for each section in Photoshop Elements using kits from Designs by Krista. Then I made 4x6 recipe cards. The 4x6 size and the fact that it was typed made it possible for the entire recipe to fit on the one side, and I even could fit a corresponding image. Then I just printed the recipe cards at Costco and slid them in.
The best thing is, I can always expand if I need to. I could make one specifically for meat, crockpot meals, cakes, brownies, appetizers, etc. if I need to. Each of these albums holds 32 images which is plenty. If you collect recipes...this probably won't work.
This idea isn't a fast project with all the digital work I did, but I'm so happy with the results.
Contact me if you would like a Scrap For Hire.
8 comments:
What a great idea. Stopping by from Tip Junkie...adding this to my to-do list!
Saw your link and idea up on Tip Junkie - I think this idea is my favorite. I'm kind of anal in the way that I like everything uniform. I think this is a great way to organize our family's favorites... now just to find a way to organize all those I've torn out that I want to try... hmmm
I did mine just like this but horizontally, I keep them in a scrap book shoe box. I numbered & labeled the spins. It works great, because everyone over 8yrs takes turns cooking. For my family that's 5 cooks!
What a great idea. My 11 dd loves to cook and this is a great idea for getting my favorite recipes organized but also helping her get hers started!
I love the idea that these books are small and easy to keep at hand. I dont have a large area in my kitchen to keep a regular size stash of cookbooks, but these will fit right in my recipe basket.
New follower. Love your blog!
Carole
http://frogbellysoup.blogspot.com
Love this idea! Where did you get those 4x6 picture books?? I've seen them with pictures in the front and back - did you have to cut the plastic to remove those and put in your cute covers?
I got mine at Target. They have them by all the photo albums. When you open the inside cover, you can see where to take the cover photo out. No tearing or cutting...comes right out. That's why I love it...so easy!
Interesting article. The 4x6 recipe cards are great. They fit so well, and make finding recipes so much easier!
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