How to Decorate Wooden Recipe Boxes

Old-fashioned decorations for recipe boxes

Recipes are treasures to any cook who loves to bake or create delicious meals, whether they are Grandma's famous oatmeal cookies on a well-worn index card or casseroles cut out from a magazine. Recipe boxes kept handy on the kitchen counter are usual containers for these guides. Wooden ones can be decorated to identify them as the place where the secrets are kept.

Things You'll Need

• Box with hinge, 6 by 4 by 3 1/2 inches
• Decorative papers
• Food- and cooking-themed images
• Mod Podge, glossy finish
• Small foam brush
• Scissors

Instructions

1. Clean the box of any dust and wipe with a towel. Start with the front of the box and both sides. With a foam brush, apply a thin layer of Mod Podge on the three sides. Press on decorative paper (such as a colorful gingham print) as a background that overlaps both side corners and meets the top and bottom of the box. If necessary, cut excess away with scissors.

2. Apply a coat of Mod Podge on top of the decorative paper. Let dry. Continue with the same process to cover the remaining sides of the box.

3. Start with the box lid, and apply a layer of Mod Podge on the top and four sides. Press decorative paper down and secure to the flat surface. Make sure the paper extends over the top sufficiently to cover the sides all around. With scissors, cut a slit from the edge of the paper in just to where the top paper would crease down on two sides.

4. Press the paper on the lid down on two sides (the two sides where the paper would fit neatly--the remaining paper extends beyond the sides of the lid). With Mod Podge, secure the overlapping sides. Apply another layer of Mod Podge to cover completely.

5. Add images with more Mod Podge as desired and cover with Mod Podge.

Tips & Warnings

• When using paper with a particular pattern like gingham, arrange it so that the top lid and the bottom will match before securing the pattern to the box with Mod Podge. This project makes a very nice gift for a cook. Interesting images can be found in expired wallpaper sample books like the one in the illustration. You can sometimes get these for free from shops that sell wallpaper.