Memories on tea towels: Raleigh mom-owned business prints beloved family recipes on tea towels

Just about everybody has a family recipe that's been passed down through the generations. It might be for Grandpa's biscuits or Great Aunt Sally's famous chocolate cake or, in my case, Grandma's celery and carrot Jello salad. The tattered recipe cards often are tucked away for safekeeping, pulled out only for special occasions.

But one Raleigh mom has a brilliant way to commemorate those recipes and honor the loved one who passed them down: Turning the recipe cards into tea towels.

I didn't use those skills much over the years until my youngest started preschool. With a little bit of time on my hands and a desire to contribute to the household finances, Crafty Ginger Mama was born. The name is who I am: a redheaded mama to redheaded kids! The "crafty" is a nod to my first foray into a sewing business, when I briefly made and sold matching tank top and scrunchie sets (!! have you heard that scrunchies are coming back?!) in high school under the Beastie Boys-inspired name, "She's Crafty."

Etsy's ease of use and reach really made it easy to get started. In December 2014, I participated in my first pop-up craft market and now do five to six markets a year in Raleigh and Durham.

Many of my products have come out of a desire to reduce disposable and single-use household items and have been developed and tested in my own home first. We use my tea towels to dry dishes and wipe up spills, and the kids are still using some of my first run of sandwich bags!

My main product lines are linen-cotton canvas tea towels (which I use as general kitchen towels) with my own original or vintage artwork, reusable snack/sandwich bags, reusable bowl covers to use instead of plastic wrap, and reusable cloth rounds to replace disposable face care products. Of course, when the holidays roll around, I can't resist whipping up a few stockings to hang by the chimney with care!

Using a photo or a scan of an original recipe, I do as much or as little Photoshop work as the client desires, and then use Spoonflower to print that actual image onto 100 percent linen-cotton canvas fabric. Then I sew them into tea towels, so they ready to use in the kitchen!

For many of us, those stained, creased index cards are a part of family history and evoke so many sweet memories - both of the actual foods and of the people who made them. One of the first towels I made was from a recipe card for Divinity in my great-grandmother's handwriting.

When I showed my mom, we laughed so hard remembering the year we attempted to make it - passing the bowl of egg whites and corn syrup from person to person, beating by hand until our arms gave out, after we had burned the motor out on a stand mixer! We all have that one dish that epitomizes family gatherings. In my family it was Apricot Cheese Delight, created in that golden era of congealed salads and involving orange Jell-O, crushed pineapple, whipped cream and cheddar cheese. I've never brought myself to take a bite of it, but the recipe is now my favorite towel!

In this age of Pinterest and recipes on our phones or tablets (which I love, don't get me wrong!), I think those handwritten cards are even more special. Often the handwriting is that of a loved one who has passed, and I warn people that these gifts make people cry sometimes! The reaction has been universally positive so far.

Overall, it feels good to help reduce the volume of disposable plastic ending up in landfills, even if just by a tiny bit. I love the flexibility and that I can model responsible entrepreneurship for my kids. They have both helped out behind the scenes at markets!

In addition, I'll be at the following pop-up markets this season: