A bit ago I shared with you the printable recipe cards that I created for my son, who has been big into learning to cook. Since he mentioned that the one thing he wished he had was a place to keep all of the recipes he is learning I decided that I could create a whole Kids Cooking Gift. This gift is easy to customize and inexpensive to create. I used my Cricut Explore for portions of it, but if you don’t have one, I’ve shared alternative ways to create it! Read on if you have a little chef in your family that would love their own recipe box and supplies for in the kitchen. This would make a great gift, or a project that you can work on with your child together!

DIY Kids Cooking Gift Idea

Supplies: Affiliate links included

DIY Kids Cooking Gift Idea

Paper Mache Recipe Box
Acrylic Craft Paint
Paint Brushes
White Cardstock
Painters Tape
Wooden Spoons
Large Clothespin
Kids Apron
Vinyl – Optional
Transfer Tape – Optional
Iron On Vinyl – Optional
Cricut Explore – Optional
Full recipe card set, which includes dividers, main dish, side dish and dessert cards, a measurement abbreviation cheat sheet and pre-filled out cards!

Directions:

DIY Kids Cooking Gift Idea

To create the apron I used my Cricut Explore Air 2 to cut my son’s name and an oven mitt out of iron-on vinyl – making sure to mirror the image before sending to the Cricut.

DIY Kids Cooking Gift Idea

Weed the excess vinyl and then follow the directions on the iron on vinyl to adhere to the apron. You could also use the Freezer Stencil Method or Fabric Markers to decorate the apron.

DIY Kids Cooking Gift Idea
Decorate the paper mache recipe box however you desire. I took the easy route and painted it with acrylic craft paint. Note: I used painters tape to ensure that I didn’t get paint on the bottom since I was painting the top a different color, but when I peeled the tape up it did pull just a tad bit of the paper mache up. Keep this in mind if you use painters tape and make sure to do so very carefully. I ended up skipping the tape when I painted the bottom portion, I just carefully cut in with my foam paintbrush. Allow the box to dry. Add another coat if necessary.

DIY Kids Cooking Gift Idea

I used my Cricut Explore to cut a “recipes” image I found in the Cricut Design Space Image Library out of vinyl. After weeding the excess vinyl, use transfer tape to adhere to the top. You could also use alphabet stickers or paint.

Printable recipe cards for kids including main dish, side dish, and dessert cards, category dividers and a measurement abbreviation cheat sheet

Print the colorful recipe cards onto cardstock and cut out.

DIY Kids Cooking Gift Idea

Place the cards inside the recipe box.

DIY Kids Cooking Gift Idea

Lastly, I created some painted wooden spoons. I wrapped painters tape around the wood spoon handles and painted the ends the same colors as the recipe box. Allow to dry completely. Note: These are not dishwasher safe.

Printable recipe cards for kids including main dish, side dish, and dessert cards, category dividers and a measurement abbreviation cheat sheet

I placed the large clothespin in the recipe box to be used as a recipe holder.

DIY Kids Cooking Gift Idea

That’s all there is to it! A fun and colorful gift that is perfect for the little chef in your life! You could use a mixing bowl as a gift bag, and could easily add in oven mitts or recipe ingredients to fill out this gift. My little man has loved having his own place to store his recipes and having a custom apron he can wear when cooking.

This post originally appeared on Darice’s Blog in November 2016, where I am a paid contributor.