My Crafty Side: Family Recipes as Kitchen Decor

As I said in my "About Me" section, of this blog, I am passionate about a few things: Family, History, Crafting. This project blends all of these into one fantastic creation.

After Christmas, this past year, I wanted to do something with the plate-shelf that ran all around the top of the kitchen cabinets. Over the years, I had displayed plants, knick-knacks and dishes on the shelf. I really wanted to do something totally different. I've looked at the trendy decor: Roosters, Tuscan, Contemporary. While, I love many of the looks of those styles, it wasn't what I was looking for...

So, I came up with something that would blend Family, History and cooking!

I asked each of our family members what the one thing was that they remembered Mom, or Grandmas, cooking? I printed those recipes on scrapbooking cardstock, along with a picture of the cook, and their complete names (including maiden). I cut each card down by a couple of inches, all around the edges. Then, I used a special punch to create a cut-out design, at the top and bottom of the recipe card. Next, I mounted the cream colored recipe card onto a textured red cardstock, that just happened to match the wall color, perfectly! I bought 8" x 10" unpainted wooden frames from the local Dollar Tree store, and wooden embellishments from Hobby Lobby. I spray painted all the wooden parts, an off-white/cream color. Then glued the wooden embellishments to the frames.

I then displayed the recipes along the plate shelf with some family china, a small metal wall sculpture that was painted cream, a store-bought "Family" sign and a few other red/cream what-nots that I found at Hobby Lobby.

I have a double window in the kitchen. I made a valance out of scrap styrofoam sheets; covering it with red toile and dark red fabric. I used window sheers, along with a lacy tablecloth fabric, to make the curtains. Red/White China was placed above the valance.

I love the very personal look to my kitchen decor. And, I like that some of our family's most loved recipes are on display, not stuck in a box or a book.

Till next time...