What Size Should You Frame a Recipe Card?
A recipe card is small. That's part of its charm in the box and part of the problem on the wall. Here's how to choose a size you'll still be happy with in ten years.
How big is a recipe card?
Most are 3x5 inches. Cards from the 1970s onward are often 4x6. Older recipes turn up on all kinds of paper: notebook pages, the backs of envelopes, office stationery, an insurance company slip. Measure yours before you choose a frame.
Framing it at its real size
A 3x5 card in a 5x7 or 8x10 frame with a mat looks lovely on a shelf or a desk. On a wall, it disappears. From more than a few feet away you can see that it's a card, but you can't read it.
Framing it as a large print
Enlarging the card is what turns it into something you notice every day. The handwriting becomes something you read from the doorway, and the stains and pencil notes become part of the picture rather than marks you have to lean in to find.
Which size for which wall
| Size | Best for |
|---|---|
| 8x10 print | A shelf, a desk, or a frame you already own |
| 11x14 | A small kitchen wall, beside a window, or a gallery wall with family photos |
| 12x16 | Most kitchen walls. Our pick |
| 16x20 | Above a counter, a sideboard or a dining table. Read from across the room |
Mat or no mat?
A mat adds a white border inside the frame. It gives the card room to breathe and suits older, more formal kitchens and gallery walls. Without a mat, the card fills the frame and reads bigger and more modern. Neither is wrong.
A few rules of thumb
- Hang it with the center of the frame at about eye level, around 57 to 60 inches from the floor.
- Above a counter, leave a hand's width between the backsplash and the bottom of the frame.
- If it's going in a gallery wall, choose one size larger than you think. Handwriting is finer than a photograph and needs the room.
- Keep it out of direct sun and away from the stove.
Our sizes
8x10 comes as Print Only, $39, for a frame you already have. 11x14 comes in all four styles: Print Only, Print + Mat, Framed and Framed + Mat. 12x16 comes as Print Only, Framed or Framed + Mat. 16x20 comes as Print Only, Print + Mat or Framed. You'll see your card in each size and frame before you pay, so you don't have to guess.
At a glance
- What it is
- Your handwritten recipe card, printed large on fine-art paper and framed, exactly as it was written.
- What you send
- One phone photo of the card. The original stays with you.
- Prices
- Prints from $39. Framed from $109.
- Sizes
- 8 × 10 to 16 × 20 inches. Frames in 8 colors.
- Preview
- Free, before you pay.
- Shipping
- Ships in 3 to 5 business days. Free on every US order.
Questions
What sizes and frame options do you offer?
Sizes range from 8x10" to 16x20". You can choose between an unframed fine art print, the print set into a thick window-mount board (Print + Mat), a classic framed print, or a framed print with a mat border. Frames come in eight colors: Black, White, Natural, Brown, Antique Gold, Antique Silver, Dark Grey, and Light Grey.
What's the difference between Print Only, Print + Mat, Framed, and Framed + Mat?
Print Only is the fine art print itself, ready for you to frame. Print + Mat is the print set into a thick window-mount board, ready to hang on its own or slide into a frame you already own. Framed comes in a solid wood frame with acrylic glazing, ready to hang straight out of the box. Framed + Mat adds the window mount inside the frame for a gallery-style border. If you already have a frame you love, choose Print + Mat. If you want it ready to hang with no extra steps, choose Framed.
What size is a standard recipe card?
Most are 3x5 inches. Many from the 1970s on are 4x6.
