Create a special DIY wedding shower recipe book for a perfect group gift! This cookbook is both practical and an amazing keepsake for the newlyweds.
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One of my favorite group gifts to give at wedding showers is a recipe book! It is such a fun gift that everyone can easily contribute to. It’s both a beautiful keepsake and a practical gift that is sure to get lots of use. I have made a few of these and today I thought I would share how I make mine.
Below is the tutorial for crafting the actual recipe book using a 3-ring binder as well as advice for how I have gathered recipes from guests. I hope you find it useful!
The recipe book is created with a three-ring binder. Using a binder allows you to rearrange things easily and also allows the newlyweds to remove recipes when cooking or baking. A few years ago, I shared how I made my own recipe binder that can accommodate both printed recipes from online and recipe cards. By using different types of page protectors my binder was able to hold both. You can choose how you want to include recipes in your binder – print them out or have guests fill out recipe cards.
Supplies Needed
- 3-Inch Three Ring Binder
- Sheet Protectors – for printed recipes
- Page protectors – for recipe cards (I’ve used these page protectors for 5″ x 7″ recipe cards)
- Decorative scrapbook paper (the paper I used is from the DCWV paperstack “Watercolor”)
- Binder dividers: pictured in this tutorial are the Avery Tab Dividers and the Recipe Kit from SeeleyLaneDesigns Etsy shop.
- Double-Sided Tape, Clear packing tape, 110lb paper and a paper trimmer may come in handy if using a printable kit and making your own tab dividers.
Decorate and personalize the binder!
Pick out decorative scrapbook paper. It can be food or cooking-themed, floral, or can match the theme of the wedding shower if it has one. Cut the paper to fit the front and back of your binder. For the size binder I was using, 12″ paper worked well, it just needed to be trimmed down slightly to fit inside the plastic covers on the binder. I used paper from the DCWV paperstack “Watercolor”.
Next, personalize the binder by creating labels for the top of the binder and spine. You could do this many different ways including stickers, stamps, decorative paper or on a computer. I decided to create my labels in Photoshop using graphics from Freepik.com. Freepik has loads of great cooking and recipe-themed graphics that are free for personal use (be sure to read their guidelines for use). I used “Cooking Background Design” and added the names of the couple.
After printing my design, I cut it out and framed it with two more sheets of coordinating scrapbook paper. After adhering it to my large background with double-sided tape it was ready to be slid into the protective sleeve and the cover was done! The dimensions of my paper for the cover are as follows in case it is helpful:
- Black Floral paper from DCWV paperstack “Watercolor”: 10.875″ wide x 10.75″ tall
- Teal paper from DCWV “Watercolor” paperstack: 8.625″ wide x 7.875″ tall
- Solid black paper: 8.125″ wide x 7.375″ tall
- White paper with design printed: 7.875″ wide x 7.125″ tall
After creating the label for the cover of your binder, don’t forget the spine!
Organize the inside of the Recipe Book.
After the outside of the recipe binder is decorated and personalized, it’s time to focus on the inside. Organization is key! You can purchase binder dividers and create sections in the binder for “Sides”, “Entrees”, “Vegetables”, “Desserts” etc. The picture below shows a set of Avery Tab Dividers. They come in a set of 8 tabs, so if you have 8 sections these are perfect.
Another option, and my favorite, is to purchase a recipe binder kit on Etsy. There are lots of different options that are all PDF printables available for instant download. I purchased one from Seeley Lane Design that included all of the divider pages plus over 20 pages of Kitchen Tips. Including the kitchen tips at the beginning of the binder really took my recipe binder to the next level. Not only would the newlyweds have sweet recipes from family and friends but the binder would also serve as a valuable resource to have in the kitchen any time they are cooking!
The picture below shows the printable tabs and dividers from the Seeley Lane Design Recipe Book and Binder Kit. I printed the dividers and tabs on 110lb white cardstock so they would be durable. To attach the printable tabs, I used double-sided tape and adhered them to page protectors. I covered each tab in clear packing tape after they were attached to the page protectors.
The binder is now set up and ready to go – all it needs are recipes!! Depending on the type of shower you are having you can collect recipes a few different ways.
Collecting the Recipes
Option #1: Send a recipe card with the wedding shower invitation. Guests can fill out the recipe card at home, then bring it with them to the shower to turn in. There are beautiful recipe cards on Etsy, many that include printable directions that can be sent with the recipe card as well as signs for collecting them at the actual shower. This Bridal Shower Recipe Card set by Shades of Grace would be perfect! Be sure to check the size of the recipe cards you want to use and purchase page protectors to fit them. I used page protectors with 5″ x 7″ recipe cards as shown in the picture below.
Option #2: Ask guests to email their recipes to you. With this option guests will email you their recipes before the shower and you can then print them or transfer them to coordinating recipe cards or documents you can print. Your guests will most likely send recipes in all sorts of formats including PDFs, Word Docs, pictures or in the body of an email – so be prepared to transfer the recipes!
If you are having a virtual shower or a shower that includes lots of out of town guests joining virtually, the second option works well. For the virtual wedding showers I helped plan this past year, we sent invites via Paperless Post and included an extra invite page asking for guests to send their recipes a week or two before the shower date. This gave us time to assemble the binder, wrap it and get it to the bride before the shower so she could open it up over Zoom!
However you decide to create your Recipe Book, it is sure to be a memorable gift the newlyweds will treasure for years to come! Desserts, dishes to bring to pot lucks and holiday recipes are always favorites! Would you love to get a recipe book like this?
