DIY...The Ultimate Menu Board..My Review

A popular "Board" on Pinterest is "DIY" (Do it Yourself). We all would like to think we have the creativity and most importantly the TIME to do our own projects. The myth, I believe, is DIY means anyone can be creative and it is cost effective (which I think is not ALWAYS the case). However, in this case it is.

So let's talk about the "Ultimate Menu Board."  First, as I mentioned I'm not your suzy homemaker. I cook, sometimes, and I NEED to follow a recipe. I also try to think I am organized, I am but more of a chaotic organized.  So as I was searching on Pinterest "DIY" projects I came across this Menu Board. Here is the blog it came from:  http://clairsfairytale.blogspot.com/2012/01/ultimate-menu-board.html

For someone like me this is a great planning tool. My husband thinks our kitchen is a restaurant. He will decide in the middle of the afternoon what he wants for dinner, and then expects all the ingredients to make the meal to be in the kitchen or pantry.  Then after a minor meltdown, he runs to the store to get what he wants and then ends up spending more than intended.  Now with a one year old who is eating table food, this is just not happening!  We don't cook every night because of his work schedule and like most families we seem to circulate the same recipes.  When we do try something different, and we liked it, the recipe gets lost and then we can't find it.  I like this menu board because it keeps things organized recipe wise, and if you shop weekly like we do it's easy to see what was already cooked or not (which is why there are two compartments).

So here is my version and yes it is cost effective! Minus the recipes which I have yet to do!

Total cost of project approx .$8.50
Frame: $1.99 Xmas Tree Shop
Pink Bins and Clothespins Dollar Tree: $3.00
Scrapbook Paper: $3.00 Yard Sale
Hot Glue Gun: Free
Elmer's Glue: .$50 Walmart

I put the scrapbook paper through my printer to get the letters I wanted
I think you can probably use any kind of paper to decorate the inside of frame: Scrapbook Paper, Wrapping Paper, Cardstock, Construction Paper etc.

Again, I ran the scrapbook paper through my printer to get the Days of the Week on the paper.  I then used Elmer's Glue to glue the paper to the clothespins, and then used the hot glue gun to glue the clothespin to the frame.

The Result!

I don't have access to a laminator. So laminating sheets will work for when I type out my recipes.

REVIEW:  This project is fun, quick, and inexpensive to make.  I think the most timely part will be typing out the recipes or however you chose to have them displayed. Quick note:  The pink plastic "holders" are from the dollar tree, hot glue does NOT stick well and peeled off. They are meant to be hung on a fridge so I put the hot glue on the magnet park on back and got a better stick. I ran out of glue so I actually used velcro strips to attach the bottom bin.

So this project gets :