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
