Recipe Box

This recipe box started with a simple family-centered idea: make YaYa a warm, sturdy place for handwritten 3×5 recipe cards. I wanted it to feel useful first, but still carry enough detail that it felt personal every time the lid slid open.

The finished box combines a hand-built wooden body, a sliding lid, a CNC-carved YaYa inlay, and separate brass letters set into the top. It is a small project, but it has the kind of design puzzle I like: a practical object with one detail that makes it unmistakably custom.

Starting With the Digital Fit

Before cutting the wood, I modeled the recipe box in Fusion 360. That let me work through the proportions, the card storage cavity, and the way the lid would slide into the box instead of opening on hinges.

The CAD work was not about making the project complicated. It was about removing guesswork from the parts that needed to line up: the lid rails, the 3×5 card opening, and the inlay area on top.

From Parts to a Working Box

Once the design was settled, the build moved back into the shop. The box parts were cut, checked, and assembled by hand, with the sliding lid kept front and center as the feature that had to feel right.

That fit-up stage is where a small box either feels good or feels fussy. The lid needed to move smoothly without feeling loose, and the box needed enough weight and finish quality to feel like something meant to stay in the kitchen.

The YaYa Lid

The lid carries the personality of the project. The YaYa pocket was carved on the CNC, while the brass letters were carved separately and inlaid into the wood. That mix of wood grain and brass gives the box its keepsake feel without taking away from its everyday purpose.

A Practical Keepsake

In the end, this is still a recipe box. That is the point. It is made for handwritten recipes, family favorites, and the little cards that tend to gather their own history over time.

For me, this is the sweet spot: using Fusion 360 and CNC work where they help, then letting hand assembly, finish work, wood grain, and brass bring the warmth. The result is a small box with a job to do and a story built into the lid.