I've been promising myself the past several years that I would gather up all of my favorite family holiday recipes from the four different cook books, three loose recipe cards, and five different pieces of paper they are all written on and put them all together into ONE easy-to-access holiday favorites recipe album, so I finally did it!
I started with one of the several different Melissa Frances Kitschy recipe albums Ellen carries:
There are also coordinating 6-inch and 12-inch papers Melissa Frances patterned papers that match these albums that you could use on the chipboard album cover, but since I didn't plan very well in advance(!) and was looking for more of a vintage style as opposed to retro/kitschy, I chose some beautiful Conservatory 6x6 papers from 7 Gypsies:
I thought they were the perfect combination of colors, a little bit Christmasy but yet still just plain vintage that would go well in my kitchen or for any holiday! I also decided to give the album a little bit different shape for the cover, by using this nice, big 7" x 9" Melissa Frances Label style "backdrop" piece of chipboard for the cover:
It's good and sturdy (and a real bargain at just $1!) and easy to cover with the "patchwork" style of papers I chose. For covering chipboard with paper, my favorite adhesive, especially for something that will be kept in a moist, hot environment, is Royal Coat Decoupage glue. After adhering the papers to the chipboard cover, sand the edges and then sponge the edges with Brushed Corduroy Distress Ink. Then give the top of the paper a sealing coat of decoupage glue, too, to help make it water-resistent. After covering the chipboard label, I punched holes in it using my trusty Crop-a-Dile, that would coordinate with the Kitschy album cover's holes and bound everything together with the binder rings included in the kit.
For the cover, I made a flower accent by die cutting Grungepaper with Spellbinders Nested Peony dies and inking them with Worn Lipstick & Fired Brick Distress Inks. I thought this thicker, sturdier paper would hold up better than regular paper in a moist, hot kitchen environment:
I alternated inking each layer of flower with a different Distress color, to give the flower more depth. To create dimension, I used thick foam tape between the layers of flowers:
But because I'm pretty certain the foam tape would end up eventually not holding the suede-like fabric texture of the Grungepaper together over time, I used Tim Holtz's Tiny Attacher to secure the flower together in the center, minus the smallest flower. Then I added the last, smallest flower to the center to cover up the staple:
The Maya Road chipboard letters were colored with YG93 Copic marker, to match the greens in the papers. I LOVE using Copics to color chipboard -- it dries fast, is easy, not messy, and with 346 Copic colors to choose from, you're sure to find just the color you need!
The last finishing touch was this pretty Maya Road Yellow Ruffle Edge Trim that matched these papers perfectly! It is securely held in place with Copic's 1/8" X-Press It High Tack Double-Sided Tape:
The bonus to using this larger chipboard label as an album cover is that you can flip the recipe cards over to the front of the cover and the covers stand up & open and act as a built-in stand, for easy viewing of your recipe!
I hope this album sparks some creative ideas for you -- if not for recipes, then maybe for some favorite family photos! Thanks for visiting the CLASSroom today! ~ Sharon
Paper: Melissa Frances Kitschy Kitchen Homemade Recipe Album, 7 Gypsies Conservatory 6x6 paper pack, Tim Holtz Grungepaper,
Ink: Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Inks-Worn Lipstick, Fired Brick & Brushed Corduroy, Copic marker YG93,
Tools: Spellbinders Nested Peony dies,
Accessories: Maya Road Mini Alphabet Chipboard Set-Noah & Yellow Ruffle Edge Trim, Ranger Ink Blending Tool, WRM Crop-a-Dile, Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher, EK Success 3D Dots thick foam tape, Copic X-Press It High Tack Double-Sided Tape, Royal Coat Decoupage glue, sanding block,
