Recipe card boxes may seem like a quaint idea in the Internet age, but these Joseph Cornell-inspired upcycled boxes by Karen Malcolm make me start to rethink my recipe (non) organization system.
My go-to recipe for all holiday entertaining (a buzz-inducing no-cook whiskey cookie, YUM) was handwritten by my grandmother on an index card that I constantly misplace amidst piles of recipes printed from the web and pages torn from magazines. With a wide range of software available for organizing recipes and printing customized index cards, a cool box actually seems like just the thing I need.
Rhode Island artist Karen Malcolm custom crafts these artful boxes from found objects and ephemera, working with customers to create a one-of-a-kind pieces. Her found object artwork is also wonderfully strange and unique. See more of her recipe boxes and artwork at Malcolm Studio Shop.
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Comments (15)
I had a recipe box for years. I hated looking for recipes. I finally typed all my collected recipes, put the pages in sheet protectors in a 3-ring binder complete with index. If I need to add new recipes, I simply type them, print the page(s), encase in sheet protectors and add to my binder. If I need to give a recipe to someone else, I don't have to write it up, I simply call up my cookbook on the computer and print a copy of the desired recipe. The year I transferred all my handwritten cards and clippings, I also made copies of my cookbook for family and friends as Christmas gifts.
Great tip, williamsweyr! Thanks!
The recipe boxes show no sign of any inspiration from Joseph Cornell. The object in the last photo does, but it is not a recipe box.
I love these. In this day and age, when so much of what we do is virtual, I am drawn to objects that are reminiscent of the days of handwritten letters and slow cooked foods. One of these boxes would be a perfect addition to my kitchen.
I do have a couple of recipe boxes in addition to regular cookbooks and binders with printouts in plastic sleeves. I usually remember which recipes are in the boxes and which are elsewhere.
Oh, and the boxes in the post are cool.
I've been lucky to see Karen's art up close and it's wonderful. As great as technology is, it's never a permanent thing, and I can't think of a neater place to keep my handwritten recipe cards.
The misuse of the term "upcycled" bugs the crap out of me (probably because I spend too much time surfing Etsy).
These recipe boxes are not "upcycled". They are "decorated". They may be vintage or used recipe boxes which have had new decoration added to them, but they still are not "upcycled". An upcycled recipe box would be, for example, one built from salvaged wood. Or a tea tin repurposed as a recipe box. Something like that.
Oh, and to not be a negative nelly, I'll say that I'd really love a recipe box - my fridge is crusted with recipe printouts in ugly fonts or cluttered with website logos. It would be nice to have something a little more aesthetically pleasing and user friendly.
Why do I think of Grey Gardens when I see a recipe box?
these recipe boxes are really cool... i bet if i had one of them i would be better organized and also a better cook... this is far better than keeping my recipes in my computer because i always get cookie dough stuck in the keyboard... but it smells really good whenever i boot up... great boxes!
Wow! Those boxes are too cool! I love all of the recycled elements! The one with the flattened spoons is my favorite! What a creative idea. I want to learn how to cook so that I can get an awesome recipe box from her! haha!
I love those boxes! I've been looking to get a recipe box for a while...seems like just the ticket ;)
Please. please. please. post your recipe for the whiskey cookies. They sound awesome (and especially fitting for my whiskey-loving family)!
I would use the boxes for tea bags and utilize the binder method which is great for existing recipes and magazine tear-outs. For on-line recipes and articles, I LOVE (and cannot rave enough about) Evernote. (evernote.com)
It's a free service that let's you clip and store content found online. Create folders for recipes, design ideas, crafty thoughts. Accessible on your phone too, just look up the info and you'll never forget another ingredient while at the store.
I *definitely* needed a recipe box: I had internet print-outs and post-its all over my kitchen making the recipe I needed unnecessarily difficult to find. I re-purposed my bf's business cards and write out the recipes in shorthand. I think I'll move them to an old tea box I have.
I've tried all methods of printouts, binders, etc over the years and all were inconvenient in some way.
My current scheme is that the binder and books are for the recipes to try. If the final product is good enough that I'd actually want to make it again and again only then do I put it on a recipe card and store it in the box. My recipe box itself is pretty plain and simple, it doesn't even have a lid, but I buy pretty recipe cards from etsy.
I'm pretty happy with this system so far as it makes it much easier to separate the recipes I'd pass on, recommend or make for events and occasions from those that I am waiting to try or have with only so so or poor results.