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Recipe Card Holder Craft

By Brandie Valenzuela

When I was in third grade, we made a Mother's Day gift for our Moms that I know mine loved. The gift was a recipe card holder. Over 20 years later, this gift is still in existence -- yes, it is faded, and the paint is a little chipped, but with all things considered, it still looks great, and the love that I put into it can still be felt.

Making a recipe card holder is very easy and the perfect gift for any child to give to Mom, Grandma, Auntie, or anyone else who cooks.

Here's how you can make your own recipe card clip holder:

Ingredients

Plaster of Paris	(prepared according to package directions)
Popsicle stick
Small paper or styrofoam cup	(approx. 6-9 oz.)
Wood clothespin with spring
Paint and paintbrushes
Felt in bright spring colors
Glue

What you do

Glue the clothespin to the popsicle stick, with approximately half of the clothespin sticking above the popsicle stick. The opening part of the clothespin needs to be pointing upwards, as this will be where Mom will "clip" her recipe card.

Using the prepared Plaster of Paris, pour into the cup until it is approximately 1-1/2" from the bottom of the cup. Keep a close eye on the Plaster of Paris, as you need to work with it just as it begins to thicken.

When the Plaster of Paris develops a thicker consistency, take your stick and clothespin and push the end of the popsicle stick into the plaster; center it in the middle of the plaster. The plaster should be thick enough to hold the stick/clothespin upright. Leave your project in a safe area, while making sure that the stick/clothepin does not shift.

After about 45 minutes, the plaster should be hard. At this point, you can tear off the cup. Now you are ready to paint your recipe card holder.

When I did this project in third grade, we were "instructed" to paint our popsicle stick and clothespin green, so it would resemble a flower stem. We cut out a simple flower out of the felt and glued this to the top of the popsicle stick (on the opposite side of the clothespin).

The plaster was painted brown to resemble dirt or a pot. The idea was that the finished project resembled a flower in a pot.

However, I am much more into letting children express their creativity, so when I did this activity recently with my daughter, I encouraged her to paint the recipe card holder any way she wished.

© copyright 2002 Brandie Valenzuela

Brandie is a freelance writing mother of three children. She is also the editor of the HomeMade Living ezine, and other services for parents and stay-at-home mothers. To find out more about Brandie's creations, visit:  http://www.bmvcreations.com

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