Recovered recipe box

Hello! Scott is currently taking some off work and he's been cleaning up a storm. I don't think our house has ever looked this neat, plus we've donated a heap of stuff to the op shop so our karma levels are at a peak ~___^ I've been feeling a bit bad for not contributing since I mostly sit at my computer all day. I mean, I'm doing homework, but it doesn't really feel very productive when you're reading articles all day and then all you have to show for it is a couple of pages of notes! So over the weekend I thought I'd go through our recipe collection and make it so it didn't consist of post-it notes and ripped out magazine pages shoved in an old plastic sleeve.

I've had this paper mache box in the craft room for quite a while, and it's a good size for fitting postcards inside it so I decided to transfer the recipes onto my postcard collection and use the box to store them. However, it was pretty boring looking, so I first needed to make it look pretty! ^___^

I used mod podge to stick scrapbooking paper on to every side of the box and lid but the edges didn't look very neat, even after I had trimmed them down.

So I used washi tape to edge all of the ... edges ... (mmmm, word difficulties!) and trimmed the excess with a scalpel so the ends were nice and flush.

I didn't want to make this box too "this is a box for recipes!!!" in case I decide to use it for something else one day but I did use some tea pot and saucer patterned paper for two sides of the box, and added a "slice of the good life" sticker to the lid which I thought was a subtle reference to what is currently inside.

The "so very lovely" piece of paper on the lid is from another sheet of scrapbooking paper; the kind where the whole page is covered in these little quote like designs and you can just cut out the one you want to use. My kitchen has kind of a retro vibe, mostly because I insist on buying homewares from opshops, so I think the font will help the box fit in with the rest of the decor.

 

As you can see, I've still got a while to go before I get anywhere near filling up this box with recipes! And I must give a shout out to Rebecca for inspiring me to do this project by actually sending me postcards with recipes written on them; I've gotta admit, it's pretty fun to find a risotto recipe in your letterbox ^___^

My final assignment for my degree is due this Friday (gah!!) so after that I'll be trying to finish off this big (well, bigger) project that I've been doing for my brother's wedding. I hope I finish it on time! ^___^

- Lisa xx