A scrapbook compiling family anecdotes, chronicling events, and conveying the tone and feel of your clan is surely a great way to pass memories through the generations. Long before scrapbooking was a verb, women passed cherished recipes along in much the same way. So it is no great surprise that recipe scrapbooking has evolved as the next great homemade family heirloom.

Recipe scrapbooks will often be smaller than the 12 x 12 albums used for other scrapbooks, because of the function that they serve. A recipe scrapbook may sit on the counter during dinner prep, or be thrown into your purse on your way to the market. Whether for your own use, or as a gift, making a recipe scrapbook is bound to result in a meaningful, personal, and highly useful creation.

Recipe for a Gift

One of my favorite gifts at bridal showers has always been the recipe box filled with index cards provided by the attending friends and family of the bride to be. Imagine how much more beautiful and personalized a recipe scrapbook could be. Along with recipes and ingredients, older and wiser women can include sage marital wisdom, family stories or funny quotes.

A recipe scrapbook could also make a great hostess, teacher or graduation gift. Each of these can be personalized in a different way. For instance, each family could provide the teacher with a recipe, and decorate a page for a whole class gift. If the book is for someone you don’t know that well, using vintage style pictures of food taken from old cookbooks or wine bottles can make a cozy looking album. What graduate isn’t in need of recipes, wisdom, a taste of home once in a while? I recommend including conversion and measurement charts in all your recipe books, for those fresh out of the nest, and the rest of us with faulty memories.

A Messy Kitchen is a Happy Place…

There are tons of resources that will provide food related quotes, themes, and even complete kits for your recipe scrapbook. A quote can provide a theme and a starting place. For example, “A Messy Kitchen is a Happy Place…This one is Delirious!”

Try this recipe for assembling your family recipe scrapbook. Start out with some vintage looking cardstock, or a blown up page from an old cookbook for your backdrop. Place your directions and ingredients on pages facing each other. Then use photos of your family cooking and eating to personalize the page. You may wish to journal comments from family members on their favorite dishes. Finally, get creative in your use of embellishments. Wine, food, and spice labels, pages from cooking magazines, or clip art can all be fun.

For families with long distance relatives, the recipe scrapbook can be a great way to communicate across the miles. Try making a one based on the region of the country where you reside. Wouldn’t relatives in Cape Cod love to get a recipe book full of Southwestern recipes, post cards and family photos from their relatives in New Mexico?

Whether as a gift, a treasured family heirloom, or just a fun and creative way to cook, compiling a recipe scrapbook is a great way to use your cropping time. The inspiration, tools and methods are as endless as recipes themselves. So get cooking, and get cropping!