Monday, February 23, 2015

In which I create a Family Menu Board

Psst. Guess what? 

I made something in the last two weeks I've been MIA. I know a few friends who will be super happy that I've gone back to a few DIYs. 

I present: Our Family Menu Board!



It was super fun to make, and it wouldn't have happened if Levi hadn't sat me down for a brainstorming session.

Turns out he was concerned that we were constantly getting stuck in ruts and forgetting all the different meals we enjoy making. He wanted a way to choose a meal. He also had concerns that we spent most of our time eating rice--especially various kinds of white rice. It was important to him that we vary our grains each day to have as healthy a diet as possible.

I present to you, my solution!


As you can see, I've taken the typical menu board idea you see everywhere on Pinterest and modified it for our needs.

I wanted the ability to move things around with magnets, but I also wanted to be able to write on the board like a chalkboard.

So I went to our local craft store and purchased a metal sign (this one said "Fishing Lodge" on it) and some chalkboard paint. It was craft paint instead of spray paint because I wanted to be able to do the project now and it'll be a few more months before the temperature outside is high enough to spray paint again. We're so loving waking up to -20 temperatures outside . . . and that's without the wind chill added on!

Anyway, after two coats of chalkboard paint, I tacked it to the wall with simple, gold tacks and did my best calligraphy for the word "MENU."


After that, I crafted my supplies. I purchased some small clothes pins, wooden circles, two different kinds of craft magnets, chalkboard markers, business cards, and some gold paint.

The clothes pins were painted gold, and then I glued a tiny craft magnet on the back of each one. Then, using a Sharpie, I wrote a day of the week on each one.

The business cards were for our menu items. I cut each one in half, lengthwise and wrote a meal on each one. If meals could be changed depending on the items used (i.e. curries, stir fries, daals, etc.) then I just kept the title as general as possible.

The grain buttons (which I also expanded to include various protein and starch sources) were crafted by gluing flat magnets to the back, painting them gold, and then writing the item names on the front once dry.






I'm super excited by how it turned out! It's already so nice to plan our meals a week at a time, and it makes grocery shopping much easier. We buy less "random" stuff at the store now. What do y'all think?

No comments:

Post a Comment