Recipe Holder from Vintage Kitchen Utensils (2024)

Full disclosure- I originally posted this project for a recipe holder in August of 2014. And while I don’t like to be the kind of blogger that re-publishes old content, I’m making an exception for this one. It’s a super simple craft project and uses vintage kitchen utensils, which I happen to have a weakness for.

So, why re-publish an old post? Well, mostly because the original photos were atrocious. I’ve struggled with photography since the day I launched this website!But also from the “blogging as my full time career” perspective, the old post wasn’t in good “Google” format.

Then, I went on a junkin’ journey to Charlestonand I kept finding vintage kitchen utensils. Specifically, I found one vintage potato masher…

…after another.

It seemed like a sign! A sign that I should completely re-do that old post with fresh photos and better writing.

This project only requires two components: Vintage kitchen utensils that stand up on their own and vintage clothespins.

And I already had plenty of the latter on hand…

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Making a Recipe Card Holder with Vintage Kitchen Utensils

A lot of us cook from recipes online or torn out from magazines. But there are always those special occasions that require a handed-down recipe, lovingly written on a recipe card.

And a recipe card holder comes in VERY handy on those special occasions.

To create one, I just needed to attach a wooden clothespin to a vintage potato masher. With hot glue. It’s really that simple!

Speaking of which, Etsy is a great place to find vintage potato mashers. Just in case you can’t find one at your local antiques mall!

Ironically enough, my vintage clothespins had warped over time. The rain and sun that had beaten down on these pins worked out in my favor.

Because most vintage kitchen utensils have a rounded handle!

Either way- that was it. I glued a clothespin to the potato masher and was done.

It works swimmingly as a recipe holder! And it protects the card from getting dripped on or lost in a cooking mess.

Kind of embarrassing how simply this really is! Hunting for vintage potato mashers and other vintage kitchen utensils is really the “hardest” part.

Recipe Holder from Vintage Kitchen Utensils

Sometimes it’s the simplest crafts that bring the greatest joy. Imagine having old kitchen tools, old clothespins, AND old recipe cards from your mother or grandmother.

And combining them all together in one adorably useful project as a recipe holder!

Either way, if you ever cook from recipe cards, then you might get a lot of use out of this project! And I appreciate you humoring me with this completely refreshed blog post of an old project.

Back to my original reasoning for re-publishing this old project: the photography. Once I finished that makeover for retro canisters, I knew they needed to be photographed with my recipe card holders!

Also, these don’t need to be limited to holding just recipe cards! I could see these holding a photo, a postcard, a shopping list, or an appointment reminder. Oh, maybe a dry-cleaning receipt! Or a bill that needs to be paid.

You get the drift.

Yes, they work perfectly as vintage kitchen decor, but could definitely be used for non-kitchen needs!

And if you enjoyed this upcycling idea for a recipe holder, then you may also enjoy this idea for a vase with a built in flower frog, too!

Craft on!

S

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