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…

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 Here is an in-depth process of how the Smithsonian recommends you preserve historical documents.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

• 8×10 float frames
• UV filtering laminating film
• Iron and ironing board
• Scissors
• The most loved looking recipe/letter in your possession

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.

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!

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.

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).

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.

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.

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.

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.

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:

• Memory foam layered kitchen rug and grout refresh
• Green painted kitchen cabinet update
• Kitchen refresh mood board plan
• 5 tips to create an organized command center
• Arbor art printable set

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….

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