Recipe Scrapbook

I wish I were really crafty.... but I'm not.

I try to create things but the vision in my head is never quite what ends up as the finished product.

So I flit from blog to blog, looking at all kinds of cute things that all you creative people create.  The beautiful jewelry, the beaded bags, the darling decorations made out of shells, knitted hats, crocheted  leggings, handbags, and totes and so many marvelous things.

Anyway, Chablis has never had the least bit of interest in cooking.  In fact, up until about 2 months ago she was lucky if she could boil water or make mac and cheese.  Suddenly she decided that she might want to learn a little about cooking the basics.  So for the past couple of weeks she's been picking out recipes and helping me cook.  Or rather I stand and boss her around the kitchen.  And then I take pictures of her making everything and the finished products.

Well, that gave me a great idea for a Christmas present for her.  I went over to our local Archivers store and bought a big recipe album.

It came with recipe cards and blank album pages and stickers.

I found a tutorial on how to make Subway Art in the Picnic program over at "You Seriously Made That?"  And then I made this cover sheet and printed it on an 8 x 10 photo page.   I put all of Chablis' favorite foods on it.  And no, I didn't spell shallots wrong.  Shalet is a rice and bean dish that my grandmother taught me to make.

Then I started filling out the recipe cards with all the foods she's been learning how to make. I slipped each recipe into a clear photo page and on the back of each recipe I slipped in a photo of the meal on the card.

I made sure to include our favorite Gingerbread cookie recipe...

And the very 1st cookie recipe she ever made all by herself!

I included some photo's of the whole family as well....

I wrapped it up and gave it to her for Christmas and she loved it!  Now, I know that all you people who can scrapbook can do a much better job, but I have to say that I was pretty happy with the finished product.  Chablis has already started adding more recipes to it and every time she cooks something she's screaming for me to come take her picture.

Not only will she have a personalized recipe book to treasure, but it will also contain photos that she can go back and enjoy many years from now.  And since everything is placed inside the plastic photo sleeves, everything is protected from spaghetti sauce drips, or cookie dough, or whatever.

So if you're looking for a cute gift idea, you might want to consider making one of these recipe scrapbooks.  It's a great way to create some memories while you're cooking and preserve them at the same time.

Bon Appetit!