At a recent gathering of friend over dinner, I couldn’t help but realize how much Food and Community are tied together for me.  There is something special about sharing a meal together.  Whether they are family gathered for a holiday, longtime friends who haven’t connected recently or new acquaintances, the time around the table or standing in someone’s kitchen builds a unique sense of community.  I believe we all value community in some way but I know that spending time with “my people” around a table of food feeds more than my belly but fuels my heart too.

One of the projects I started years ago when I first began digital scrapbooking (Forever Artisan) was to take some of my favorite recipes and create Recipe Cards with them.  Many of these are “Go To” family recipes we use so often I can almost quote them by heart while others may have only been tried once or twice.  Each time I made the card, I printed it as a 4×6 photo with a few extra copies to share and tucked it into a photo album that I keep in my kitchen.  This album has pockets for 4×6 photos like the Multi-Pocket Pages that Creative Memories offers (you can find them on my CM Website under Shop > Pages & Protectors).

Having a few extra copies of my most favorite have come in handy more times that I can count.  Whether it is a when a friend is over for dinner and asks for the recipe of that dessert I just served or I am taking the dish to a pot luck or to someone’s house who is having a baby or surgery, I can pull it out and hand it off.  Another tip I will share is that now that I have these in a 4×6 photo format, I also have them in my Forever Storage account where I can access them while I am out at the grocery store picking up ingredients or out of town and want to make it on vacation.  I also have found myself not pulling out my photo album Recipe Book as much these days and instead pulling it up on my phone and cooking with that version of the recipe out.  The best part of having this access to my recipes is that when I don’t think to grab a copy of the recipe, I can pull it up on my phone and share in a text or e-mail right while I am talking about it.

I have my Favorite Recipes Album available in the public side of my Forever account that you can check out by going to my Profile Page to get a few ideas for how to make your own recipe cards.

Do you have a recipe card that is written by someone you love dearly?  Would yo love to capture those precious handwritten cards in the same way?  Did you know that you can have those recipes scanned and uploaded to your Forever Storage account as well and do the same thing that I have described above?  Forever’s Media Conversion Services take a white glove approach to our precious photos and documents when they scan and digitize them.

What recipe would you want to create a card so you can share it more easily?  Join us at our next Photo Fun Day to learn more about how to create these in Artisan yourself.

Now for the Elizabeth’s 16 Gifts for 16 years:

On the first day of Elizabeth’s 16 Gifts for 16 years, I went back to where it all started with a Creative Memories product that I LOVE – one person can get the CM bookcloth album of your choosing for 50% off.  Available until claimed!

On the second day of Elizabeth’s 16 Gifts for 16 years, I am reopening the 2020 Photo Fun Club until the end of the month for the 2 remaining spots in the 2020 Photo Fun Club PLUS for the first person who replies I am offering 1/2 off one of our upcoming 2020 Photo Fun Day – FULL day registrations.

On the third day of Elizabeth’s 16 Gifts for 16 years, I am offering to the first 2 people who respond, 10GB of Forever Storage for 1/2 off.

On the 4th day of Elizabeth’s 16 Gifts for 16 years, I am offering Buy One Get One 50% off on those supplies you never want to run out of – Refill Pages with Protectors, Tape Runners, and Tape Runner Refills.  There is no limit on how many people can take advantage of this offer however all orders must be placed no later than Feb 29th and pick up at my home in Apex or at my next Photo Fun Day or Retreat.    Please use the form in the original post here!

On the 5th day of Elizabeth’s 16 Gifts for 16 years, I want to help you get those family recipes or photos of your community gathered around the table scanned and digitized so you can share them too.  For the first 5 people who complete the form below, I will offer you up to 16 of your favorite photos or recipes scanned with my next media conversion box for FREE.  I will coordinate with you on the details after you submit your request.