Before I could start filling up my new recipe book, I had to make a cover page and gather some materials that I’ll need for this project.

I started by going to Michael’s to get a small multimedia book, pencil crayons, an assortment of pink paper, and some paper doilies. I plan to use the pencil crayons for create drawings of the food I make; The pink paper is to use for the background of the pages; and the paper doilies are to use for decoration on the pages.

I also stopped my the thrift store to look at magazines and picked up an old recipe book with great baking pictures, and a music workbook. I love the look of sheet music, so I am hoping to use some for the background of some of the pages.

My cover page process started with wrapping the page with a blue gingham fabric that I had in my craft basket. I love gingham patterns, so I have been collecting some as I see them in stores. After folding over the edges I covered the back with a piece of light pink paper to create a more finished look.

I then had to decide how to make the title, the verdict was cross-stitch. I have done small and big cross-stitch projects before so I am familiar with the skill and the process of designing a pattern. The tool that I use is FlossCross, an online pattern creator that has all the DMC thread colours for easy physical re-creation. Once I planned out the pattern I got started on stitching it onto a piece of off-white 14-count Aida cloth I had from a previous project. After stitching the pattern I glued it to the blue gingham cover page and added some lace as a finishing touch.

I love cross-stitch because of the finished look and I find it the process of it very peaceful. If you are new to cross-stitch or want to try it out, here is a great tutorial on the two main cross-stitch methods that I found useful when I first started:

This video explains the main cross-stitch methods, but there are lots of other great videos on youtube that explain how to start or finish a row of stitching in more detail.

Overall, I am really happy with the way the cover turned out. When I take on new craft projects I often get disappointed when my end product doesn’t meet my expectations. While I may have big ideas, my actual skills are sometimes not enough to recreate them the way they are in my head. So for this cover page I wanted to make something that showed off my personality and preferences but was still simple.

Now that the cover is done I am ready and excited to get started with my baking and crafting. Stay tuned for my next post on my classic chocolate chip oatmeal cookies!

— Sofia 🎀

Ever since I was little, one of my favourite things was to help my mom bake in the small kitchen of my childhood home. She would set up a little stool for me to stand on and give me instructions on what to mix together, remaining calm when I created a flour explosion or accidentally allowed too many egg shells into our bowl. She baked all of our Christmas cookies, birthday cakes, and muffins for our lunch boxes every week.

The pictures above are of me and my family members with the beautiful birthday cakes that my mom made.

As I entered my double digits, I reached the age when I could cook and bake by myself, so I got started on trying to be a baker just like my mom. Even though my mom still baked for us, I started to make my own baked goods. I fed my family chocolate chip cookies, brownies, blueberry muffins, and more. I even started making my own birthday cakes, still with some much needed assistance from my mom.

Now, I have a little folder full of recipes that I have collected over the years and in little ways I have made them my own. I held onto them with the goal of one day having my own recipe book that I can pass on to my children with the hope of giving them the same happy memories I have when I think of baking with my mom.

And so, I thought of an idea for this blog that would combine my love for baking and my passion for multimedia projects. My goal is to create a recipe book with hand crafted pages for each of my favourite recipes that I can add to and pass down one day to my family. I hope to make each recipe as I create its page and post my culinary and crafting process.

As the title says: let’s get started!

— Sofia 🎀