My mom has a recipe box that she started in high school Home Ec, and I just love it: almost more than anything else she owns, it makes me think of her, and what she may have been like as a teenager, and all the hours we've spent together in the kitchen making things from recipes written on decades-old index cards.

When I moved into my very first apartment, Mom's housewarming gift to me was a beautiful spiral notebook in which she'd hand-written some of her favorite recipes. It remains one of my most treasured possessions.

The monogrammed recipe box pictured above is obviously beautiful (and comes in a ton of different styles and patterns)...but it's also $80 (via Dabney Lee At Home) and easy to DIY for a fraction of the cost.

All you need: