One of those projects has been to come up with a message board/menu board solution for our kitchen. Since we moved here a year ago, it's been this:
I actually haven't spent the last year holding this white board up on our freezer door; that's a new bonus feature from the past week. And the impetus for actually doing this project. You might also note the chip clip marker-holder, a real must-have. I call it Contemporary Mom on a Budget. It not only holds your marker most of the time, but it keeps you guessing when you open and close your freezer door. Where will the marker end up?? Under the buffet, or in a toddler's mouth? The possibilities are endless!
So obviously, reliability is an issue, as is general space and organization. I love my pretty menu planner notepad, but I have to walk across the room and squint to find out what's for dinner. The white board contains grocery list, wish list, and both Joel's and my to-do list. And my little project board is running out of space! (That's probably more my fault than an actual shortcoming of the white board, but still.)
I think I've made my case. Project Message Board commencing. Since I used my newly reorganized playroom/schoolroom/craft room, as well as my newish rotary cutting board and cutter (thanks, Mom P.!), I thought I'd show off with some process photos.
One element of my message board plan is to have a dry-erase menu board. I've shopped around and envied those I've seen on other moms' refrigerators. But I haven't found the perfect one to coordinate with my kitchen colors, such as they are. Meanwhile, I've noticed the Pinterest trend of repurposing old picture frames, using the glass as a dry-erase writing surface and doing any number of things in the background, from scrapbook paper to fabric to bare wall. I just happened to be surfing Pinterest (which I rarely do, actually) the other night, and inspiration struck at precisely 9:57 p.m. So that's when I started this project, obviously. It took about an hour, and felt so good to indulge my inner night owl.
I started out using remaining material from when I made our kitchen valence. I am a super matchy-matchy person, at least in fantasy if not in practice. Also, I have a huge fear of both commitment and failure when it comes to putting anything on my walls. (This might be why I am just now getting around to decorating our walls, a year after moving in.) If the fabric appears elsewhere in the room, my odds of decorator's remorse decline significantly.
By the way, if you consider yourself crafty, or would like to be, invest in a rotary cutter! It makes small sewing and craft projects in which you need to actually cut straight lines SO MUCH EASIER! I just put my fabric down with the photo frame backing on top, and cut around the edges with my rotary cutter. Easier than slicing pizza. Here's my fabric cut perfectly to size, on top of the cardboard backing piece.
I thought this fabric might have too many bold/dark colors going on to be able to easily see dry-erase marker on top of it. It needed to be a little muted, or lighter somehow, so that the writing would really contrast. Remember, the goal is not to be up close and squinty in order to read this thing. My actual thought process went something like this: I need something whitish...translucent...so you can see through it...like white tissue paper or vellum or....hmm a white plastic grocery bag is kind of the right idea.
Yes, yes I did.
Rotary cutter to the rescue once again (seriously, thank you, Mom P.!), and then I taped the edges of the plastic bag to the back of the cardboard frame backing. My fabric is in there between the layers. I pulled the bag taut as I folded and taped, so it wouldn't look too wrinkly on the front.
Moment of truth now as I flipped it over...
Wow, nice! The plastic bag nicely muted the fabric and didn't even look *that* tacky. Let's see how it looks inside the frame, behind glass:
You know what, I am actually kind of proud of myself.
Now, if there's one thing I've learned in the course of crafting/DIYing/being cheap, it's that my handwriting is not the stuff of artful display. My best calligraphy skills look like something that belongs on a middle school love note. Our babysitter puts me to shame, as I find my children's names all beautifully scrolled on the sidewalk in chalk. I really don't have an inferiority complex about it...yet...but when it comes to labeling my new menu board, I was obviously not going to write "Menu Board" at the top in sixth grade 3-D bubble lettering and call it a day.
Remember when I made our Advent Calendar? I still had some of my stick-on letters left. The Lord smiled upon this project because I had all the capital letters that I needed. It is good that they give you lots of N's and S's in these alphabet sticker sets.
The final product, complete with the current week's menu in my awesome handwriting. I totally meant to take a picture before writing on it, but I forgot. Thus you find yourself graced with proof that while my penmanship is legible, it is not fancy. That's about as good as it gets, right there. I'm considering adding a narrow matting inside the frame, but I also like it just the way it is (which, incidentally, reminds me of a Daniel Tiger episode we watched this morning. I like you, I like you, I like you just the way you are!).
Unfortunately, this will probably sit on our buffet until I finish the larger message board part of the project. Then they'll be hung on the wall along with my cast iron skillet in an arrangement that hopefully looks tasteful and decorative. For certain, though, it will hang reliably and not come crashing down in the middle of the night to scare the hoo-ha out of me (Joel sleeps through all things, though, so don't worry about him).
Thanks for reading along! More to come, as I've been in an absolute frenzy of projects lately.
Cool, Liz!
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