How to Display Preserved Letters and Handwritten Recipes

It’s not every day that you can frame your loved ones’ handwritten letters and decorate with something that turns you into a blubbering sob fest.

I mean I’m certainly one to boohoo over those P&G Olympic mom commercials or the Subaru commercials that show the kids growing up too fast and driving off into the sunset to college.

But home decor? Not so much… until recently.

Thanks to my mom pulling out these tear-jerker handwritten recipes that she collected over the years…

How to preserve handwritten recipes and letters for framing

Related: 28 Creative DIY Wall Decor Ideas for Your Blank Walls

Do you see that Betty Crocker cookbook? That’s seen some love, y’all. You know a recipe is good when it’s smeared and wrinkled and splattered all over.

When my mom handed me this giant stack of recipes written by my grandmothers (and herself), I knew they were destined for a frame. But I knew I also wanted to protect them because these precious gems need to last forever.

How to Preserve Handwritten Letters and Recipes for Display

Warning: This is not a method meant for preserving historical letters and documents. Here is an in-depth process of how the Smithsonian recommends you preserve historical documents.

This process I’m using laminates the paper while protecting the ink from UV damage so that sentimental letters and handwritten recipes can be hung for display in a frame on the wall. I did this so that if the recipes are ever handled by my family members in the future, the paper won’t be easily ripped or damaged.

For a more expensive, less permanent option, you can use UV blocking acrylic in a frame (Home Depot will cut it to the size you need in-store).

Supplies

How to preserve handwritten recipes and letters for framing

Why Letters Need UV Protection

I could have just stuck these sheets in frames, hung them up, and called it a day, but since it’s entirely possible the ink would fade over time from the sunlight and light bulbs, I used this UV laminating film to preserve the ink’s integrity. (You can use it for preserving your kids’ art as they grow up too.)

UPDATE: Once you put laminating film on a letter or handwritten recipe, there’s no going back, so as an alternative, you can use UV blocking acrylic in a frame (Home Depot will cut it to the size you need in-store). 

The instructions say to use them in a laminator, but I found that a hot iron worked just fine.

How to preserve handwritten recipes and letters for framing

Step 1 – Slide Paper Into Pouch

Just separate the laminating sheets, and slide the recipe paper between them.

Step 2 – Iron

Press the pouch with a hot iron on the ironing board. Set it to low heat and gradually increase the heat as needed so the film sticks to the paper properly. Ensure that the film stays smooth without any wrinkles in it as you iron.

I would use a piece of cardboard underneath the sheets on the ironing board for a harder surface to help smooth out any bubbles.

Step 3 – Trim and Frame

Once the film is properly adhered and cooled, cut the film to the size you need and place it in the frame!

preserved and framed handwritten recipe art

Related: Free Oil Painting Kitchen Art Prints

See those smudges? That’s the good stuff. My mom, Elaine, wrote that one using my great-grandmother Gussy’s chicken and dressing recipe she handed down before I was even born.

I love that I stuck with floating frames for these. There’s just an extra element of charm to see the rough edges of old paper.

preserved and framed handwritten recipe art

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This one was written by my maternal grandmother, Janice, for a recipe that was handed down to her by her mom, MeeMaMa Winnie, who passed away just 8 weeks after Olivia was born at the age of 96. Thanksgiving was never complete without her pecan pie (and it’s Robert’s favorite).

preserved and framed handwritten recipe art

And my paternal grandmother, Kitty, wrote this one and even signed her name. She could cook like nobody’s business but passed away when I was 12. Even though I couldn’t find her famous Swedish pancake recipe, her Swedish meatballs will do. (Pretty sure the pancakes were made from memory every time anyway.)

I hung them up right beside our stove where I try my best to keep up with their legacies in the kitchen.

framed handwritten recipe art for the kitchen

Related: The Secret to Find Free Printable Wall Art Online

I finally decorated the shelves beside them too with a few pretty things, like this landscape art I printed for $3.00 and put in a thrifted frame.

American landscape art - $3 printable to place in any frame

Joanna Gaines’s “people” sent this Magnolia crate to me a couple of years ago (because I’m pretty sure it wasn’t Joanna herself), and it’s been perfect for sticking our mail in when we come home every day before sorting it.

decorated kitchen shelves vignette

Related: Where to Buy Vintage Art Online and How to Print Digital Art

And you might recognize that thrifted scale that I painted to look like a rusty antique.

It’s all just a little corner of happiness.

Now that I’ve framed the recipes, I’m thinking I need to dig up old love letters Robert and I have written to each other… even thought I might have to turn this house upside-down to find them.

Kitchen shelves with dark green cabinets and framed handwritten recipes for art

This little project is definitely proof to me that I need to spend more time handwriting things like notes to loved ones and recipes to hand down to Olivia. There are so many little things that end up being the big things one day.

Now that this spot is all decorated, the kitchen refresh is finished! I’ll be sharing the full reveal of this space next week (hopefully).

UPDATE: See our budget kitchen refresh here!

Until then though, you can see all of our kitchen updates here:

Are there any sweet handwritten momentos that you’ve used as art before? I’ve heard you can turn recipes into kitchen towels too. Hmm….

If you want to save this post for later, you can pin it here:

How to preserve handwritten recipes and frame letters

Frequently Asked Questions

What are some gift ideas for preserving handwriting?

I love these small shops that offer preserved handwriting gifts in the form of cutting boards, jewelry, plates, or dish towels.

How do you turn handwriting into font?

Here is a great tutorial that can help!
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53 Comments

  1. Thank you so much for this wonderful way of preserving these treasured memories from great-grandmothers to our daughters, daughters. I am a retired pastry chef with many recipes that my grandmother shared with me and my granddaughters are asking for. Now that I am no longer busy with catering I can do this project of love to pass on to them.

    Thank you Lauren

    1. So glad to hear that, Gloria! Maybe you could scan them and have a copy for everyone or make a book of the copies.

  2. Great idea, but you can use UV glass instead of lamination, and just place between two sheets. Lamination is not easily reversible and is not considered archival. Or you can scan and keep the originals in a safe place. Also would hang in an area well clear of any moisture.

  3. Totally wonderful project, made me tear up thinking about all of my family’s “use forever” recipes; might be nice to make a framed collage also for the recipes I use all the time. Also made me think about Christmas cards I have kept that are absolutely to the heart beautiful. Do you think it would be needed on card stock?
    Thank you so much for such a wonderful project.

    1. That’s a great idea! Yes, I would still laminate them with the UV film. I had a note from my favorite teacher written to me on cardstock that I framed and kept on my classroom desk when I became a teacher myself. Within 3 years, the ink had completely faded to just barely visible. It’s worth the UV laminating step, speaking from experience.

  4. What a lovely idea to display them in the kitchen where you can see them every day! There’s just something so personal about familiar handwriting, isn’t there?

    I would like to suggest that before you laminate an irreplaceable item, consider scanning it so you’ll have a permanent copy in case something should go wrong. And then you’ll also have a back up in case of a disaster such as a house fire (which I hate to mention, but if the worst happens you won’t lose the record of Grammy’s recipe in her handwriting).

    1. That is an EXCELLENT point! I’m going to go back and add that into the post. Thank you, Beth! I think I might scan the rest to put them into a book and give copies to family.