It turns out the only thing that could make this feel more like a Nintendo design then literally slapping Kirby in it.
And also looking through official books released by Nintendo.
They like to put pictures by themselves with borders to make it look like a printed out photo. To give that retro and comfort feeling.
@beardalaxy Thank you!
If there's one thing I'm good at is following design principles
If I see it I can replicate it.
From all the other feedback I've gotten from people. This is basically the design I'm going to settle on with slight variations for each page for the cookbook I'm working on.
Just super glad it fits that aesthetic.
@Mr_NutterButter i thought this was an actual nintendo image for a sec, fantastic job