Visit my Vintage Kitchen

 

Some days I would love to go back in time and visit my grandma's kitchen. It was really small but I remember the curtains and the wall of cupboards with the old white table right next to it where my grandma would be sitting every time we came to visit. 

The big white kitchen sink had a drainboard on one side with barely enough room for all the dishes to dry, and from the window above the kitchen sink you could see out to her tiny backyard where there was a clothes line for the weekly laundry. There actually wasn't much to my grandma's kitchen because it was so small, but the memories of that little room with the pretty curtains, the worn linoleum on the floor, and the back door where we would run outside on a spring day are still with me all these years later.

I also remember the dining room with the "real" table and chairs. There was always a lace tablecloth covering the table, but on top of that pretty tablecloth there was also piles of mail and magazines. I loved looking through all those pretty magazines with pictures of lovely ladies (most of them wearing aprons and cooking something), beautiful homes that were so different from my own home, and lots and lots of recipes. 

But my favorite room at grandma's house was the front porch! There were windows on all three sides so I could watch the neighborhood kids playing on the sidewalk, and even though there were piles and piles of "stuff" all around me on the porch, I still loved being there in the spring sunshine. Outside the porch door, on the cement steps was the milk box where the milkman would deliver milk, cream, and butter every day. And when the daffodils popped up every spring, that was truly a lovely place for a little girl to dream.

So, when I was a young wife and mama, I was determined to create those kinds of memories for my little ones . . . and eventually we had a big, old-fashioned kitchen with floor-to-ceiling built-in cupboards with a flour bin and a countertop for all my baking utensils. The pretty curtains, the hearts-and-flower wallpaper, the blue tile floor, and the old-fashioned phone on the wall were all a reflection of my memories of grandma's kitchen. And the big kitchen table, right in the center of my big kitchen, was the center of the whole house.

With my Betty Crocker Cookbook in hand, along with all the recipe cards I had collected over the years, we baked bread and cakes, canned tomatoes, green beans, and peaches, and made jams and jellies to last through each winter. There was even, at one of our houses, a milk box outside the back door where the milkman would deliver milk, cream, cheese, and eggs a couple of times a week. 

All of those memories inspired me as I was working on my Vintage Kitchen altered book / journal. It was so much fun including real vintage recipes and advertisements, images of old cook books, dairy cards, and vintage apron pattern envelopes. I even made a tiny blank book to use for adding more recipes!

There are pockets and envelopes filled with tiny recipe cards and tags, and there is even a little file folder with lined paper inside to write on, too. 

The strawberry paper and red accents just seemed to remind me of an old-fashioned kitchen, with a bit of red ribbon and ivory lace, as well as old newspaper advertisements, and tea-dyed paper give this sweet altered book the feel of a true vintage kitchen. Out the back of the book is a tri-fold embellishment with button closure that features a large clock to remind us that time does not stand still, but memories remain for a lifetime.

Inside that tri-fold page is a pocket with the tiny blank book for adding more recipes or notes, along with a few more tags and vintage recipes. And then, the whole beautiful book is tied up with a red gingham ribbon! How perfect is that as a reminder of a simpler time when mama in the kitchen was just part of life. 

This altered book / journal was created with love and sweet memories . . . . I hope that you enjoy looking at the pictures of my book, and if you would like to learn how to make an altered book of your own, you can always email me at vintagewhimsystudio@gmail.com 

You can also visit my new Etsy shop, Vintage Whimsy Studio, to see some of my other altered books / journals as I will be adding more new listings every week. Thanks for stopping by!

Nina