DIY Vintage Recipe Display

Recipes are one of the “things” in my family.  From the time I was a  young girl, I can remember vividly my grandma’s old wooden recipe box, full of her handwritten recipe cards.  You know, the old 3×5 version, stored neatly in their place.  Not only does my grandma make delicious food, she also has wonderfully neat handwriting. Since she no longer cooks and bakes like she used to, I’ve decided that preserving these handwritten pieces is a must!  So, today I am sharing my DIY Vintage Recipe Display with you.  

You can really create this recipe display out of just about anything you have.  For me, I took a trip to Hobby Lobby, and found an already finished board, with a nice white frame around it.  Since the wood was already distressed, it looked handmade and I just had to add the details!  I have also see this done with old pie plates, chicken wire frames, etc.  There are ENDLESS ways to put this together.  Even a shadowbox and some recipe cards will do the trick!

Since I was highlighting recipes already written on white recipe cards, I felt like I need to add some color.  Hobby Lobby has various sizes and colors of mats for photos, and I thought this would be the right touch.  It certainly was!  

To put this together, I first taped the recipe cards and the photo mats together.  I wanted to make sure, before I glued them onto the board, that they were going to stay together since it would be hanging on the wall.  Also, I felt as if the thicker material of the photo mats would be more sturdy against the hot glue when I adhered it to the board.  A few streaks of hot glue, and it was all done!  

But, if you’ve been a reader for a long time, you know that this wasn’t finished because….there was no vinyl on it. Right?!  After every meal, my grandparents would pray, “O, give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good.  His love endures forever.”  I took the first half of that, and cut it out to add to the top and bottom edges of the board, just outside the frame.  

As you can see, this was SUPER simple, and only took me a few hours to put together.  I think I spent more time thinking about it and getting the idea in my head than I did actually assembling it!  But, now there is a pretty, decorative wall hanging for my mom’s kitchen, with memories of her mom right in front of her.