By: Brandie Valenzuela

When I was in third grade, we made a Mother's Day gift for our Mom's 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 perfect gift for any child to give to Mom, Grandma, Auntie, or anyone else that cooks. Here is how you can make your own:

You will need:

Plaster of Paris (prepared according to 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:

Taking the popsicle stick and clothespin, 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 want to catch it right when it begins to thicken.

When the Plaster of Paris has set to a thicker consistency, take your stick and clothespin and put the end of the popsicle stick into the plaster -- centered in the middle. If the plaster is thick enough, the stick/clothespin should be able to stand upright. Leave your project in a safe area, while making sure that the stick/clothespin does not shift. After about 45 minutes, the plaster should be hard. At this point, you can now 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 pot was then painted brown to resemble dirt or a pot. The idea was that this was supposed to look like 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.

©2002 Brandie Valenzuela

About the author

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

Back to The Holiday Index!