Every family has a box of recipe cards in someone’s handwriting, and every family means to copy them before the box is lost or split between the cousins. This page makes the book from phone photos of the cards. It finds each card in its photo and straightens it, numbers the pages, writes the contents from the titles you type, and leaves ruled lines under every recipe for the notes the next generation will add.
What the book has
| Page | What is on it |
|---|---|
| Cover | the title (Our Family Recipes, or the family’s name) and a line under it, framed |
| Contents | every recipe’s title and its page number |
| A page per card | the title, the card (as photographed or the writing alone) and lines for notes |
| Last pages | lined pages for notes, when the booklet needs them to make whole sheets |
As a booklet each page is 5.5 × 8.5 in (A5 from A4): four to a sheet, printed on both sides, folded and stapled. As full pages it is one recipe to a sheet of US Letter or A4, for a binder or a print shop.
Photographing the cards
Lay each card flat by a window and hold the phone straight above it, without the flash. Leave a little of the table around the card so the page finds its edges; if it misses one, choose the card’s ⌗ button and drag the four corners onto the card. Cards with a recipe on the back: photograph the back too and add it after the front.
Printing the booklet
- Print on both sides, flipping on the short edge, at 100 percent. Plain paper works; card stock for the outer sheet makes a sturdier cover.
- Stack the sheets in the order they print, the first sheet outside.
- Fold the stack in half and staple twice along the fold, from the outside.
What it costs
Nothing. No account, no watermark, no limit on copies. The photos of the cards never leave your device.
For one card made into a gift, the handwritten recipe gift puts it on a tea towel or a cutting board, and the handwriting ornament hangs a line of it on the tree.
Questions
How do I make a family cookbook from old recipe cards?
Photograph each card flat in daylight, add the photos here and type each recipe's name. The page straightens every card, numbers the pages and writes the contents. Download the booklet, print it on both sides of plain paper or card stock, flipping on the short edge, fold the stack in half and staple it twice along the fold.
How many recipes fit in the booklet?
Up to 40 cards, one a page, after the cover and the contents. A booklet's pages come in fours, so the last pages are left as lined pages for notes. Each sheet of US Letter carries four pages of 5.5 × 8.5 in; each A4 sheet four A5 pages.
Should the pages show the card or just the writing?
The card as photographed keeps what makes it the family's: the yellowed paper, the grease spot, the crossed-out quantity. The writing alone, on clean paper, reads more easily and prints lighter on ink. You can switch and look at both before printing.
Can I make copies for the whole family?
Yes. The PDF prints as often as you like, and a print shop can bind the full-page version with a spiral or a cover. Nothing about it is tied to an account.
Are the photos uploaded?
No. The cards are found, straightened and set into the book in your browser. Closing the tab erases them, so download the book before you go.