What is the Best Way to Scrapbook About an Awesome Meal

Food can be so much more than just a way to nourish our bodies. Both the taste and smell of certain foods can trigger memories. We have associations between specific types of foods and celebrations. Some foods remind us of our childhood while others help develop cultural connections. There are entire blogs and websites dedicated to food. Many people (myself included) have taken to photographing some of their meals. It should be no surprise that documenting our meals has made it’s way into the memory keeping world. Which leads us to ask… what is the best way to scrapbook about an awesome meal? What are the stories we should be telling?

Food Preparations

You Can Make Your Own Sandwich all by Yourself by Christy Strickler Supplies| Cardstock: Bazzill; Patterned Paper, Stickers: Carta Bella;Letters: Basic Grey, Jillibean Soup; Flair, Wood Veneer: Studio Calico; Cork: Elle’s Studio; Enamel Dots: My Mind’s Eye; Other: tags; Based on Scrapbook Challenges Sketch # 206

There are many times in which the food prep is just as important as the meal itself. The kitchen is often said to be the heart of the home which leads us to find deeper stories hidden within photos of basic meal time preparations. Do you have memories of baking cookies with your mom? Who taught you how to cook? Is there a specific way you cook a traditional family recipe? Many of us have these stories, but have we documented them?

When it comes to photos from your kitchen, it’s likely that one group of photos can tell more than one tale.In the layout above, I documented how my son chose to make his own sandwich. It’s a milestone in his independence. It also tells the story of how I allowed him to have a place in the kitchen with me. I have plans of pairing these photos with some photos of him in the kitchen as a teenager. He loves to cook. I can easily tie present day photos with these to tell that story.

Food prep photos also give us a peek at our present day lives. Think about how appliances and food labels have changed over the years. Do you still write your grocery list on a paper pad? Or are you using an app? Is there something in your kitchen that was passed down to you? Perhaps a blender or a set of cookie cutters?

This older layout on the left is a quick collage of labels taken from the supplies I used to cook our annual Thanksgiving dinner. I included a simple title and a journal card sharing our menu for that year. Not only does it tell the tale of what we ate, it also shows what foods were available to me in the Bahamas at that time.

Don’t take food prep photos at face value. They can be more than just a photo of you making a meal.Use them to create more meaningful layouts.

Traditional Foods

Delicious Caramel Apple by Christy Strickler |Supplies Patterned Paper, Die Cuts, Transparency, Letters: Basic Grey; Jewel, Felt: Freckled Fawn; Stamps: Elles Studio, Studio Calico; Other: twine, doily, ribbon, tag; based on Scrapbook Challenges Sketch #226

It is highly likely that your family has food based traditions. Usually, the traditions are based around a holiday, time of year or celebration. These food based traditions may be easily overlooked because we are so comfortable with them. It is important to note that many traditions may be culturally based. Take the above layout for example. My son spent much of his early years in the US. Candy apples were a traditional fall treat found in our local grocery store,served in our home and at class parties. When we moved to the Bahamas, candy apples weren’t readily available. Could I make candy apples at home? Yes! The point I am trying to make is that you never know where you may end up living. Some food based traditions are based on your geographic location. Some are based upon an individual family. Family dynamics change as people move or get married and new traditions are created. Documenting those changes can play an important role in your family’s story.

Food- Just Because!

Weekending by Christy Strickler Supplies| Patterned Paper: We R Memory Keepers, Pebbles; Buttons: Jillibean Soup; Other: Letters; part of the MSE Project Life 2015 Blog Post Series

Sometimes there isn’t a deeper story about the meal. If this is the case, I generally add a photo of it to my monthly Project Life spreads. Weekending was one such pocket page. I snapped a photo of a typical meal at our favorite weekend lunch spot. There is no big story there. It is just a quick glimpse at a typical weekend. I have done full layouts about our lunch spot before and really didn’t feel the need to do another.

Use pocket pages for food photos if:

It’s a beautiful gourmet meal and you would like to remember the place and the food presentation.

You have documented a meal like this before and don’t feel it needs a full layout to tell the story again.

You want a small collection of photos to document your meals on a vacation.

Some meals don’t have deep stories but it’s still ok to document them. Pocket pages are the perfect solution to allow you to document your foodie favorites without cluttering your albums.

You might be asking yourself whether or not you need specific themed supplies to document your food stories. The answer is no, of course not! The layout above about the candy apple was created with a fall themed kit. Check your supplies for seasonal or other themed kits that may fit your story.That being said, there are some cute products perfect for documenting meals and time spent cooking in the kitchen.