Thanksgiving is the perfect time to collect material for a recipe scrapbook. Don’t let the holiday come and go without getting grandma, Cousin Maggie or Aunt Ruth to jot down their time-honored directions for your family’s favorite pies, green bean casserole or stuffing.
Once you have the handwritten recipes in your possession, you can work on organizing your memory album. Some scrappers create working recipe books, which feature heavy-duty, plastic page covers. The added protection allows them to use the book in the kitchen and wipe down the pages when spills occur. Meanwhile, other scrappers prefer to design themed recipe books, which include all desserts or all appetizers, and they store the book with their other memory albums and don’t use them on a daily basis.
To make your recipe scrapbook really stand out, it helps to have appetizing photos of the featured dishes. Be sure you set out the dish in a well-lit area before snapping the pictures. For example, if you are including a recipe for triple berry muffins, aim to shoot them in a brightly lit room so they appear light and airy. Likewise, you can set the mood for a fancy dinner entree by placing it on a pretty table setting with elegant candlelight illuminating its finer features.
In addition to snapping photos of the finished product, consider taking pictures of the chef in action making the prized dish. Try varying your angles and taking images which detail the step-by-step process of turning a few ingredients into a culinary masterpiece.
Finally, don’t forget about themed embellishments. Along with the recipes and photos, you want to include cooking or baking-themed scrapbook decorations. Fortunately, stickers, borders, clip art, and picture frames that feature items like rolling pins, kitchen utensils, and a chef’s hat and apron are readily available online and at scrapbook supply stores.