Recipe Cards Revisited

I was looking through Somerset Life magazine (Spring 2011) and was treated to some really inspiring ideas!  There was a particular one that really caught my attention, where Diane Rose Geer (Romancing the Recipe Card) had turned some vintage recipe cards that she had purchased (cast off  by someone else), into Cookbook Bookmarks!

I instantly new that I had a sentimental interest in trying this project out myself.  About 13 years ago, shortly after I got married,  my wonderful Grandmother lovingly gathered together a collection of hand written recipe cards as a gift for me, that she and other family members had been cooking from for years.  These are recipes that I grew up with; comfort food, cookies, and cakes passed down from my Great Grandmother, my Grandmother,  my Aunts, and my own Mother.  All of them hand written with little notes, and dates and names in the corners, smudges and all!

I was very touched and appreciative of the gift,  but over the years they have spent too much of their time (I’m ashamed to admit) on the shelf.  Some of the recipes are outdated, but  only need an ingredient tweak here and there  to revive them!

I now have a mission to revisit  these recipes both in my kitchen and in my craft room!

So for this week’s Crafty Creations Challenge (anything goes) I’ve made these three bookmarks.

NO RECIPE CARDS WERE HARMED IN THE MAKING OF THESE BOOKMARKS!

🙂  I just had to add that.  I did photocopy the recipe cards so that I could make multiples of these. I plan on giving them as gifts back to my Mother and Grandmother  to complete the circle of the recipe card’s life so to speak.

There are a few recipes that gave me pause, as I was going through them again, when I saw my Aunt Jackie’s name in the corners indicating that they were her own.  Sadly, she passed away, 1 year ago this Spring.  Something moved in me when I thought of her and all the wonderful times we had shared together at  my Grandma’s home (her Mother’s) and how we had probably at some time even shared this particular recipe together.  For the last year I have mostly thought of how sad it is that she is gone, and how much I miss her, but  these few cards reminded me of the life she lived and the happy memories she left behind!  I never thought of recipe cards as  records of lives lived; a scrapbook of sorts, before now.  But that really is what they are.  They fill me with memories.  They recall childhood smells, and tastes and  special moments shared.   Each one is tied to a loved one, a special time in my life or in theirs!  That makes them very special  indeed.

I cut the 4″ x 6″ photocopied cards in half and they cover the front and back of  blue, kraft, and vanilla cardstock pieces cut to 6 1/2″  x  2 1/4″.  I embellished each with scraps of dp, charms, brads, bits of string and cuts of ribbon, jewelry findings and buttons.

Please share your thoughts on these,  I am always happy to read and respond to your comments!   Thanks for stopping by and have a creative day!

Deena