This is a great way to preserve family traditions and remember loved ones during the holidays. This recipe card Christmas ornament is a great way to display heirloom recipes and keep traditions alive! They make great handmade gifts too!
My Grandma was famous for her Swedish Rolls. These labor-intensive amazingly delicious little cookies were something our whole family looked forward to every Christmas season. She would start baking them weeks in advance and put them in the freezer so that she would have plenty to pull out when the whole family gathered in her home.
A little over 10 years ago my Grandma passed away, and although I’ve tried my hand at her Swedish rolls I’ve never quite gotten them as perfect as she did, I suppose eventually with years of practice I might!
After she passed I was lucky enough to inherit her recipe box. It doesn’t look like much, just a wooden box with recipe cards, magazine clippings and worn dividers but inside it is so much more.
This simple little box holds recipes from many loved ones some still with us and some that have been gone for many years. It has samples of their handwriting, recipes the loved, and I feel like it holds a little piece of them for anyone who wants to share in their favorite recipes. My great grandmothers are represented great aunts, and my other grandma, I love seeing their writing with their little notes and recipe cards that are spotted with time and ingredients from years of use.
I’m not sure how out of my grandmothers 2 daughters and 5 granddaughters that I ended up with her recipe box but I am so thankful that I did!
I wanted to share a little piece of it with my other family members though, give them something that they can hang on their tree at Christmas time that honors my grandma and lets them think of her whenever they see it. And if they really want they can try their hand at the famous Swedish Rolls!
So I came up with the idea of this recipe card Christmas ornament. This ornament doesn’t use the original recipe card but insteada colorphotocopy , that way you can make more than one! They are super simple to make and I think a great way to remember loved ones. Food is something we associate so strongly with people and holidays so turning a recipe card into a keepsake ornament is a great way to pass that love around!
[convertkit form=791925]
Here’s what you’ll need to make your own heirloom recipe card Christmas Ornament-
A Color photocopier- I used my all in one printer.
A recipe card
4×6 Canvas Boards – I found mine at the Dollar Store but you can also find them on Amazon
Cardstock or heavyweight paper
Christmas print paper – you can buy preprinted, use wrapping paper, or print your own
Ribbon
Glue Stick
Hot Glue Gun
Spray Paint Clear Coat
Sequins, stickers or other decorations
a popsicle stick
First you’ll need to make a color photocopy of your recipe card. Use your cardstock or heavier weight paper for this. I find that thin printer paper lets the background print show through so you’ll want a heavier weight for your recipe. Make a copy of the front and the back (I had some technical difficulty trying to get them both on the same paper so I did 2 separate pieces. If your printer is cooperative then you can do both sides on one sheet!) Once you have them copied cut them out.
Next you want to lay your canvas on your Christmas print paper and trace around it. You’ll want 2 pieces one for the front and one for the back.
The next thing you want to do is cut about 6 inches of ribbon. Using your hot glue gun use a small drop to secure it on the front and back of your canvas. Try to press the glue as flat as you can so it doesn’t create a bump in your final product.
Now using your glue stick cover the back of your print paper with glue, paying careful attention to the edges. Lay it on your canvas and press firmly. It helps to use a popsicle stick to run across it and really press it down and get it well adhered. Repeat on both sides.
Next cover your recipe card photocopy with glue and press it on using the same technique.
Once all your paper is glued down on both sides you can do a little bedazzling if you’d like! I found these super cute little gem stickers at the dollar store and they look great. You can also use stickers, ribbon, sequins… whatever you’d like to dress it up with!
Once you have it all finished you’ll want to coat it on the front and back with a spray paint clear coat. That way it is protected and preserved and it also helps make sure everything is sealed on tight.
Once your clear coat is dry you’re all set! Your heirloom recipe ornament is ready to decorate someone’s tree!
They also make a great decoration for the kitchen too!
