Wednesday, August 20, 2008

A Crafter's Walk Through Proverbs 31: Recipe Book

"She gets up while it is still dark; she provides food for her family and portions for her servant girls." ~ Proverbs 31:15
I love the actions in this verse. She gets up. She provides. This is not a woman who is lazy or haphazard about her work, but she takes her calling seriously.

When I meditated on this verse, the theme that jumped out at me was that she was a planner. She planned to get up early, these days we would set our alarm for this! She was not the last one up in her home scrambling to get something decent on the table or even allowing her family to fend for themselves while she slumbered peacefully. She was prepared.

She was able to provide food for her family and those under her care. This says to me that she planned ahead and had the food available. She knew what she would fix. In a day where there were not electric ovens or refrigerators, planning ahead would have been even more necessary than it is now. She was prepared.

I will tell you, I have had nagging thoughts since working on this project about what I feed my family for breakfast. Is it really the best choice to just set out a box of cereal and call that breakfast? I know my children love it - but it is the best choice I could be making? My heart tells me it isn't.

How do we plan ahead so that we can provide this kind of atmosphere for our families?

First, we must ask God for His help - we know He can enable us to do the things He desires of us. And, we know He desires this because He spoke it into His word.

We must plan to rise early. Different times will work for different households, but rising early is a mark of a virtuous woman. I want to be this kind of woman!

We must plan ahead for providing food for our families. Planning a menu, doing the shopping, preparing the food. All of these things require our time and attention.

Since this verse speaks of rising early, it makes me think especially of breakfast. We can set the table the night before, we can mix the muffin ingredients the night before and have everything ready to go into the oven when we rise. I love smelling yummy things from the kitchen early in the morning. It is such a cozy feeling.

Then, we can sit and enjoy this time with those gathered around our table. Reading His word and feasting on both His word and the food He has provided.

One thought about the servant girls! I know many of you may be saying, "I could do all that if I had servants!" My Mom has told me for years of a friend of ours relating servants of the Bible to our convenience servants of today. We have an oven, refrigerator, running water and electricity. A washer and dryer. We have lots of servants and I am happy to give them their portion of the work!

In this project, we will create a recipe book where we can collect old and new recipes to be shared with our families. May He be glorified in how we provide meals for our families!

Supplies Needed:
small recipe book or photo album
scrapbook paper (one sheet)
double stick tape
cotton quilt batting
fabric for outside of book
ribbon for trim
one piece of thin cardboard to create the frame
small piece of fabric to cover frame
hot glue gun and glue sticks
printed copy of Proverbs 31:15
clear packaging tape
recipe cards or copies of provided cards
hole punch
Select a small recipe book or photo album. I already had this recipe book and wanted to recover it.
Cut the scrapbook paper to fit inside of your book. Use double stick tape to hold in place.

Lay the quilt batting underneath your book. Trim batting to fit the size of your book.

Lay out desired fabric for the outside of your book. Make sure to lay fabric right side down! Cut your fabric 1 inch larger than the size of your book.

Fold edge in half and then fold over again to hide all unfinished edges. Run a bead of hot glue down the edge and glue in place. Do one edge of your book first, then the corners on that side. And, then repeat for the other side.

To finish the corners, fold point up to edge of book as shown above.

Next, fold remaining fabric up to meet book.

Now, pull the entire piece up and over the edge - hot glue in place. Before you finish the other side, you will want to make sure that your fabric is properly cared for in the middle near the binding. I'll show mine for an example.

Go ahead and fold fabric as if you were ready to glue it, and slide under binding in the middle if possible. If your book has a different kind of binding, you could cut a notch here and let it go around the binding.

Secure fabric under middle binding. Do this at the top and bottom edge.

Complete the other side by folding corners and gluing fabric in place.

Your book now looks like this from the front.

Fold a piece of ribbon so that the ends are hidden and glue onto either the front or back inside edge. Run ribbon around the outside, fold again and affix with glue on the other side.

Cut a frame out of thin cardboard that will fit onto your book. Make it a little shorter or narrower than your book so it will fit on after covered in fabric. Lay your fabric right side down and cut the frame shape into your fabric as well. Leave at least a 1/2 inch allowance all the way around.

Make a slit at the inside corners not all the way to the cardboard frame, but almost all the way. Repeat for all corners.

Fold long outside edges over and glue in place with hot glue.

Next fold the point of the corner in.

Fold edge up and glue in place. Repeat for all outside corners. Now, fold inside edges over and glue in place.

Print verse out on desired paper. Trim to desired size and "laminate" with clear packaging tape. Hot glue into place behind the frame.

Your frame is now ready to be glued onto the front of your book.

Hot glue frame onto front of book as desired. Just a few dots of glue should do the trick.

If desired, you can print off these recipe cards, hole punch and write your recipes on!

As always, I'd love to see your projects! Please let me know if you try this or have any suggestions about the instructions. Thanks!

31 comments:

Wendi said...

Cute! Cute! I think this would be a wonderful gift for a bridal shower. Filled up with yummy family recipes or a favorite recipe from each guest.

Breakfast is an area where I also struggle. I am trying to be better about serving things other then cereal and frozen waffles!
~Wendi

Katy said...

I love that! Such a cute idea to cover that!!! :) I always love your ideas! :)

I love what you shared about the Prov. 31 woman too! So true and thank you for highlighting those things for us!
Have a great Wednesday! :)

Edi said...

Most of my recipes I print off the internet and place inside a binder...I love a craft that involves fabric but not sewing!

Our breakfasts are simple - cereal (as per my dh's request...he takes care of breakfast...started yrs ago when I began exercising in the morning - now breakfast is his responsibility). Cereal served with juice and or milk can be healthy...they are healthier than in yrs past b/c we got rid of the high sugar cereal and replaced it with fiber-filled, low sugar cereals.

Julie Willis said...

I had never thought of our dishwashers, ovens, etc. as modern day servants. Another reason to pity myself has fallen! Thank you, I'll be sharing this later with my daughters.

Angela - Life w/ Two Busy Boys said...

Excellent craft!!! Love that verse too.

Mary said...

This is adorable! I don't know that I'll be able to do this right now, but I'm bookmarking this for later.

Can you imagine having this lovely book to pass on to future generations? Perfect.

Christi said...

Monica, lovely as always! And I love your thoughts on this subject. What I'm serving/how breakfast "goes" in our home is something that's been on my mind as well.

Anonymous said...

Great idea! And oh my, I do LOVE that fabric!!!! This is such a neat thing to think about especially thinking of the *treasures* in family recipes that your family has passed down-a heritage builder of sorts!?!? The early rising I got,its better planning I need. My *girl servants* work hard for us and I am SO thankful, especially for Miss Plumb(ing)!:-)tammyp

Christi said...

Wanted to add - I would LOVE to see your ideas for what to serve for breakfast. As I mentioned, this is an area of struggle for me!

Krista said...

Good job as always with your idea and your tutoria, Monica. I especially like the pictures of easing the fabric under the 3-hole binder. Good job!

Anonymous said...

Monica,Loved your thoughts on
Proverbs 31. I escpecially liked how you made the analogy that our modern day appliances are our servants. I never thought of it that way, but you are right. I am always using my servant the "dishwasher."
Loved your craft tutorial. This would be a great gift to give for a couple of my friends this Christmas.
Have a blessed day!

LynnMarie said...

You are so smart! I have a 3 ring binder filled with recipies that I use all year round but never thought to cover the binder! Now I will. Thank you so much.

Mother of Many said...

Darling! I want one!

Jenny said...

What a great idea. I love the fabric you chose for the cover!

Amy said...

Monica,
I have been reading/enjoying your blog for some time now. I just want to say that it has been a source of encouragement for me. I really enjoy your clean heart series. I like how you are able to bring scripture into the perspective for all moms at home trying to make a difference for their kids and for Christ. Thank you for being you.

Amy

Debbie J said...

Oh Monica, I love it! I am making a new organizer and this would be a great idea for that also. (If I had the time, that is).

Dawn said...

Now that is cute!!
I love all the detailed pictures. Very helpful for a non-crafty gal like me.
Dawn M.

Anonymous said...

Very cute result of covering your recipe notebook! :) Love, Mom

Jenny said...

me again...

where did you find the cute fabric?

*carrie* said...

Monica,

That is darling! Another inspirational idea. =)

GranthamLynn said...

Oh Monica what a cute idea. I always love your Proverbs 31 crafts.
And this one is great. I loved your thoughts about breakfast too.
I am sure that your husband will praise you at the city gates.
Thanks so much for sharing your ideas with us.
I am de-cluttering my blog today and working on my blog roll.
I will be sure and link you.
Have a Blessed Thursday.
Smiles,
Sherry

Monica Wilkinson said...

Vintage Mommy - I got the fabric at www.reprodepot.com; it is called Mrs. March's Kitchen in red. However, I just checked it and it isn't listed there - so I'm guessing they are out?! I'm sorry - I realize this isn't much help :) Hope you can find some.

Anonymous said...

Monica_
Very cute!!!I got your email and i am reading it thoroughly over and over.It is helping me alot.You are very kind to take YOUR time out to try and help me,and you dont even know me.Thank you so much!!!It is wonderful what you wrote me....I will respond to the email soon.God bless you tonight.
Angela

Charlotte Cushman said...

Nice post Monica. I had a recipe book like that. :) I should have recovered it! Love you char

Linda said...

Wow! I love it! Anything homemade will look much better than the storebought version.... If I'd seen the recipe book in the store, as it was, I probably never would have bought it.. but now that I see how lovely it could be! ;)

In Holland we're VERY bad breakfast eaters. I mean, it's bread all day long until dinner. So usually it's 4 slices of bread (with cheese, peanut butter or baloney) in the morning.. then the same thing at lunch time.. and around dinner we eat a meal.

I think we've got the most boring eating habits in the whole world! *lol* Greetings from holland! ;)

Amy said...

Oh, that is SO cute, Monica! I really love your fabric choice and I always love projects that don't require me to break out my sewing machine. :)

Great tutorial and your pictures were perfect!

Jill said...

SO CUTE!!

I love to collect recipes. I am going to make one for myself and If it turns out as cute as yours I think I will make some for Christmas gifts.

Anonymous said...

Very cute idea! And very thought-provoking post.

~nanashouse~ said...

Just Perfect Ideas!! Love your book, your recipes, your attitude...Please share more :-)

Lisa said...

I've enjoyed this post, as I was looking at it I thought it would be a great 4-H project for my dd, something that she can start working on now and maybe even have lots of recipes in it by next July. I think planning for breakfast is important, I get irritated when I go to a lot of trouble and prepare something and the children don't like it. this morning I had baked oatmeal and 2 didn't eat it. Eggs, toast-my children have taken to cinn/sugar on theirs, muffins-I bake these in bulk and then freeze then set them out right away in the morning (I'm up waay earlier than the children as I see my dh off ~5.30 then they are thawed or need a quick warm up before eating with juice and a dab of butter. Baked oatmeal, egg casserole. I make double or triple batch of pancakes or waffles and freeze then we can get out faster the next time we need them. Hash-potatoes, any leftover veggies w/eggs. Those are just some ideas, I'm by no means perfect about getting this all available like I want to. We do have cereal sometimes but with 4 dd the box is gone usually w/in the day if dh and I eat it too. DH doesn't like cereal a lot due to that it doesn't fill him up for the morning with his job. ok, sorry to ramble. Lisa

American Homemaker said...

I made one of these :)

www.theamericanhomemaker.blogspot.com