Turn a Shoebox and an Old Cookbook Into a Recipe Box Worth Keeping

I needed a place to keep my recipes together, so I covered a shoebox with pages from a cookbook I’d picked up at a thrift store for a quarter. The recipes on the outside once belonged to someone else, and the ones going inside would be mine. The same book supplied the pages for my decoupaged terra-cotta pot.

As I clipped the pages, I found handwritten recipes tucked inside with pins. One printed note from 1925 called cake nourishing food, which made me think I’d been born in the wrong era. Finding someone else’s handwritten recipes got me thinking about which meals my boys might want to make for themselves someday.

Cover the shoebox with cookbook pages

Gather a shoebox, an old cookbook, Mod Podge, a small paintbrush or sponge, a ribbon, a tag, and stamps. Brush Mod Podge onto one section of the box at a time and lay the pages over it. Overlap the edges so the cardboard doesn’t show through. Trim a few pages to fit where you need smaller pieces to cover the box.

I used a rooster stamp and letter stamps from Hobby Lobby to make the recipe tag. Tie a ribbon around the finished box, slip the tag onto it, and set the box on the counter where you can reach it while you cook.