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"My best friend, Lynn Kelly, asked me to go to a scrapbooking class with her, and I agreed only because I thought I could learn new techniques for making cards," relates Cheryl from Fort Collins, Colorado.
"I was totally hooked from the first session. Something about scrapbooking fascinated me. No matter what you do, things work...and suddenly, you've created this wonderful page with fun little pieces of paper and metal."
Cheryl made a scrapbook for her stepson, Allan, and three scrapbooks for son Kelly. (Allan, Kelly and stepson Ehren are Marines. Son Matt plans to become a police officer.) Then she started making them for friends.
Impressive Beginning
"One day, when I needed a hostess gift, I put together a mini scrapbook using recipes," says Cheryl, whose recipe collection fills 20 large file boxes. "I had so much fun, and it was such a hit, that I started making recipe scrapbooks for everyone. The more I made them, the more shortcuts I devised."
Her scrapbooking instructor was impressed with the mini cookbooks and asked Cheryl to teach a class. The response has been so positive that Cheryl has been teaching for over a year now.
Meanwhile, she and Lynn have developed a kit for making the cookbooks, which features a CD with 100 recipes, theme ideas, food quotes, 80 sample pages and more. Cheryl's husband, Steve, a CPA who loves to cook, is setting up a Web site for the business, The Cropping Cook.
Easy to Get Started
"Our kit is designed for people who already have some scrapbooking skills," Cheryl says. "But you don't need a kit to get started.
"If you are a beginner, nothing could be easier than creating these little books. I use blank 6-inch-square books that are available from craft stores for about $4. Initially, everyone relies on store-bought items to embellish the pages, but you can use items found around the house...especially if you're a scrounger like me."
Cheryl, who works full-time at Colorado State University, collects everything from old cookbooks and magazines to vintage postcards and antique advertising cards. She also dresses up her cookbook pages with common items, such as beads, ribbon, paper doilies and colored paper.
"I know if you make one cookbook, you won't be able to resist creating another...and another," she assures. "It is simply a joy!"
Cheryl's Tips
Inspired by the sample pages from one of Cheryl's cookbooks? She offers these helpful hints for those of you planning to create your own mini cookbook:
- Card stock is easier to use for scrapbooking than regular 20-weight paper.
- You will need a copier (or access to one) to copy images onto the card stock.
- For embellishments, consider old postcards, wrapping paper, sheet music, postage stamps, old greeting cards, drawings in vintage books or clip art.
- Look for food history stories and food-related tidbits in magazines or newspapers. Save them or type them on your computer. When a recipe contains an ingredient that relates to one of the items, retype it in a decorative typestyle and place it on the page.
- Copy old family photos. My husband's grandfather owned a music store and was a vaudeville performer. His photos helped make a fun recipe book for my in-laws.
- The cookbooks are easy to personalize by using items or pictures of interest to that person. Two of my friends are crazy about owls, so I used copies of vintage soap labels with owls on the pages of their cookbooks.
Editor's Note: Cheryl's kit costs $25, which includes shipping. To order, or for more information, write to: Cheryl Miller, The Cropping Cook, 1640 Independence Rd., Fort Collins CO 80526.
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