I got this idea a while ago, but it’s taken me a while to actually execute it. Finally, yesterday, I made it happen. My idea was to copy a recipe in my grandmother’s handwriting to a tea towel, and I love love love the way it turned out.

Grandma Gulley (or Nanny, as we usually called her) had this recipe for Sour Cream Apple Pie that was my absolute fave. I used to make it every year for the holidays, but Nanny taught me to use canned apples and I can never find them in stores anymore (only apple pie filling, which is different). I tried peeling and dicing my own apples one year but it was a lot of work and I think the different texture of the fresh fruit threw things off. So anyway, my Nanny passed away in 2004 and I have a lot of things from her–her/my engagement ring, some costume jewelry, handbags, mixing bowls, etc. But one of my favorite things is the recipe card for sour cream apple pie that’s scanned and saved on my computer. Whenever I want to make some pie I just click click click and there’s the recipe in her handwriting.

To copy it onto a tea towel, I had to cut and paste some parts to make it more into a square shape, then I enlarged it to be just shy of 28″ wide and had it printed at Office Depot for $7. I just uploaded my file from home, paid online, and picked it up that afternoon. Easy peasy. When I was ready to trace it, I rolled it out and taped it flat onto the floor.

Then I taped down my 28″ square tea towel, which had already been washed, dried, and ironed. Cat optional for this phase of the project.

I decided to start at the bottom so as not to upset Pistachio, who was laying there so sweetly and not ruining everything like she usually does when I’m working on something. I just traced Nanny’s handwriting right onto the fabric using a Sharpie. I googled it ahead of time to make sure it would work and from what I understand the only risk is that it may fade a bit with washing, which is okay with me as that would just give it a more authentically old-fashioned look.

Bam. I knocked this one out quickly during Jack’s naptime. I find projects like this so relaxing!

To say I love it would be an understatement. My only regret is that I don’t have the perfect spot in my kitchen to do it justice. I may hang up a hook for it to just hang there and look pretty. And I suppose perhaps I could dry my hands on it too.

I’m totally inspired now to come up with more ideas for sharpies and tea towels. I mean, I’ve already got the sharpie, and tea towels are pretty inexpensive with a coupon at places like Hobby Lobby or Michael’s. How cute would two of these be as cafe curtains in a kitchen? The old-fashioned handwriting is really what makes it so charming. Nobody writes like that anymore, especially not me! My chicken scratch is barely legible.

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