Cookbook Kitchen Utensil Holder

Kerry Hammond is here on Crafty Thursday showing us how to make a bookish craft that will look great in your kitchen.

This craft is extremely easy, but you have to have patience and a sharp blade. You’ll also need a cookbook you’re willing to use. Since you’ll be gluing the pages together, you’ll no longer be able to see the recipes. 

You need a book that’s thick enough to hold your utensils once you cut out the center pages, and large enough to stand on the counter without falling over.

Materials:

• Cookbook
• Razor Blade or Exacto Knife
• Mod Podge
• Paint Brush
• Straight Edge
• Potato Chip or Binder Clips

Step One – Start Cutting
I used my straight edge (which is actually a trowel) to start my first cuts so that they would be straight. Run your blade down next to the edge and repeat until you have your three-sided opening started. It will look like a “U” with 90 degree angles rather than a rounded bottom. I left a few pages in the beginning and end of my book. This makes the opening smaller, but I liked the look of it. You can also cut all pages from cover to cover, for a slightly different look.

Make sure to measure the length of the handles of the utensils you plan to put in. If you make your hole too deep, they won’t stick out at the top as much. I learned this the hard way and a quick fix was to put some wine corks into the hole to bring the level up. They were light enough that they didn’t add much weight to the book. 

 

Step Two – Keep Cutting
You don’t need your straight edge past the first cuts. Once you have the starting edges, they work as your straight edge for additional ones. I only cut through about five pages at a time and removed them before cutting the next five. The corners can get a bit hard to get to, but the good news is that unlike the book safe craft, no one sees inside your cookbook, so if there are some pieces that you can’t get to, they won’t show. 

Step 3 – Mod Podge
With a paintbrush, apply Mod Podge to the inside edges of your cut out. This is just so that when you move the utensils in and out of their new home, they won’t tear at the edges of the cut-out pages. 

Next, apply the glue to the inside covers of the book, gluing them to the first page inside. If you’ve cut all of your pages, you will be gluing the cover to the cut out the first page. If you left pages like I did, you will be gluing the cover to the entire first page.

Once you glue your covers, start painting the Mod Podge on all outer page edges of the book. Make sure to paint the top edges around the hole too. Be especially careful not to overdo those spots and get a lot of glue inside your hole. 

Step 4 – Let Dry
Let your Mod Podge dry. I put my book on the edge of my table and put a heavy object on top to weight it down and press the pages together. The reason I said to be careful not to get too much glue near your opening is because I also used potato chip clips to clamp my edges so the pages around the opening would stay down.

Step 5 – Repeat Mod Podge Step
I had to do two coats of Mod Podge. After it dried I noticed a few openings, so I reapplied everywhere and let it dry again, weighing it down and using the clips on the opening edges.

Once your book is dry, it’s ready for its utensils.This craft makes a great gift for a cook. I made mine for a friend who not only loves to cook, but has a collection of cookbooks she displays in her dining room.