Make a personalized recipe binder...

I have noticed in the past couple of weeks in my effort to catch up (do we really ever actually do that?), that making a grocery list is really tedious when all of your recipes are in 10 different books and printed slips of paper all over the kitchen desk.

A couple of years ago, a friend of mine said she kept hers in a binder. So I decided I would start collecting the ones I use the most and put them in a binder also. But I didn't want just any old binder, so the other night, I came up with this...

It was very easy to do. All you need is a basic white binder from the office supply store (the kind you can slip your paper into the plastic sleeve), pretty scrapbook paper, card stock, ribbon, a hole punch and your computer, printer.

Simply cut your scrapbook paper to size, you will need a piece for the front, back and the binding side.

Print your title on white cardstock (or whatever color you choose) and tape or glue it into place on the front scrap paper piece. I also printed the word recipes for the binding side (not shown very good in my photo). Slip your finished paper into the binder.

I used a hole punch through the plastic and the paper to make holes to tie my ribbon into.

For the interior pages, Simply fill your binder with plastic sleeves, buy some matching cardstock in different colors for your different sections (teal for dessert, pink for main dishes and so on) and print your recipes to paste on your card stock. The plastic sleeves will protect the paper from splashes and spatters while you cook.

These would make pretty Christmas gifts don't you think?

For a more detailed look at how to create one of these binders... head over to my tutorial