Meal Planner Menu Board

So a fun weekend at a triple bridal shower for my three cousins that are getting married, all within 3 months.  Here are the gifts I've made:

Now that wrapping is all I had, and I am NOT a good wrapper (maybe if I had more time), but I had some ribbon left from when I bought some throw pillows for my couch, and there was a lot, so that is what I used up to wrap the gifts.

The gift I am showing you now is the one in the pink wrapping.  To see the blue gift click here.  To see the yellow gift click here.  That was fun, didn't it feel like a pick your own adventure book?


I was in the thrift store... (sound familiar!) and I saw this cork board for $1.49.  Inspiration just flew to my mind of a project I could make with it.


I used some craft paint that I already had on hand, and painted the boarder of the cork board.


Then I used some of the scrapbook paper that I had also used for this project.  It was $1.69 per sheet at Michael's, and I used a sheet and a half.   I started by using mod podge to stick the paper to the board, but it was curling, so before I got too far I just used my "no nails glue", because I still can't find my glue gun.



I bought these clips at the dollar store, but wanted them red, so I painted them.  Yes, I painted them... they have to match!!

 

They became:



Using scrapbook paper that I had bought to co-ordinate with my background paper ($0.98 at Michael's 2 sheets)  I cut small squares and used a red marker to write the letter for each day of the week on them.  If only I had a printer they may have looked better.  Oh well, a printer was not on my shopping list for this project. Stamps would have been nice too.



I added two pockets on the board.  One to hold the recipes that you would use for that weeks meal plan, and the other to hold all the meal ideas that you can rotate through.




I found red push pins at Walmart for $1.98 and used those to hold the pockets.  Also to hold the ribbon up on the sides.



I found the back things I was talking about before and they are actually called "leveling hangers".  But I bet you if you were to ask someone for leveling hangers you would still have to describe what they actually are!


Final product:

An organized area to create a weekly meal plan, and have the recipes close by!




Very fun to make!  And if my cousin is a smart girl (which she is), she will use it now to organize meals to get into the habit before life gets too crazy to think about such things as preparing ahead!!  Really I do try my best, maybe I should make one of these boards for myself!

What do you think?  Would you use this?

Total cost:
Cork Board: $1.49
Scrapbook Paper: $3.69
Ribbon: $1.00
Push Pins: $1.98
Recipe Cards: $1.00
Clips: $1.00
Total: $10.16

I am linking to the parties on my sidebar.

56 comments:

Wendy @ Ramblings from the Sunshine State said...

That is really cute!!

M.O.T.B said...

You did a great job! Love your blog! Will be back to visit and copy:)

Leigh @ Leigh Pearce Weddings said...

this is such a great idea. i'm totally doing this!

Free Pretty Things For You said...

aww i love it when i find my kindred spirit!
Love turning somthing cheap into something Lovely!!
XoxO
Keren

Unknown said...

so pretty! I'm happy I found your blog!

Megan said...

hi! i'm your newest follower from whatever goes wednesdays! :) your menu board is AMAZING... might have to be a summer project! thanks for sharing!

Beth said...

I would totally use this! I love it!

mckenna said...

Saw you on BCD. This is such a great idea!! I'm totally making one this week. Love it!!

Recaptured Charm said...

That turned out just awesome! I'm not only impressed by the work you did, but the fact that you could be so organized with meals..lol I'd love that for my kitchen, but with me it would be purely decorative. ( I don't think about what I'm gonna make for dinner until I get home from work)

Drop by for a 1 yr blog-iversary Giveaway. A sterling silver/gem necklace is to be had! Would love to see you there.
Lisa

ellie g said...

I really like this idea! So cute!

Practically Spent said...

Good idea for kid's outings or chores too. Very cute!

Kathy @ Creative Home Expressions said...

What a great gift idea {or for yourself}. It wouldn't work for me only because everyone else in my family works in retail so the schedules never seem to work together and I'm gluten free. On the rare occasions we are all home together it's usually something simple like meatloaf or BBQ.

Donene said...

What a clever idea and so cute, I love it!

Robin said...

This is such a great idea! I love the colors and the patterns used. Oh, and I think your handwriting looks so much better than a printer could do!

Carolyn @ My Backyard Eden said...

What a perfect gift. I definitely need to make one for myself!


Thanks for sharing at My Backyard Eden!

Melanie said...

That is awesome! I love creative ideas like that, not much money, but time and creativity can do so much more! Thanks sincerely for sharing.

Unknown said...

Very cute!! Functional and pretty, the best of both worlds :0)

Decor To Adore said...

Such a clever and creative girl. My heart is going pitty pat.

michelle@somedaycrafts said...

I am so in love!! It looks great, and makes me want to cook whatever is on there!! Thanks for linking up!

Leslie said...

You're so crafty! I love it!! Posts like this inspire me all the time. Now to just find the time to do it all. :o) You really should stop by and link this up (or any of your other projects, for that matter) at today's Bargain Brag Wednesday: http://www.bargainshoppingparadise.com/2010/05/bargain-brag-wednesday-519-525.html. Come back every Wednesday and share a new project!

Ela@NewFamilyOnTheBlock.com said...

This is super cute and definitely going on my to do list. I have to plan my meals or I dont end up making what I want and end up scrounging around. This would be perfect. Thank you for the inspiration!

Jeanne said...

I LOVE THIS!!! I might just have to make one for myself! Thanks for sharing your awesome ideas!

Charity said...

Thanks for enjoying, one and all!

Payment Free Life said...

This is such a great idea! Well done!

Unknown said...

Absolutely Awesome! I love this idea :)

Shopper Gal said...

LOVING this so much that I must share with my followers! Great idea :)

Thanks!
Tessa

www.shoppergal.com

Anonymous said...

That's adorable and I totally want to make one now!

Diana said...

Spending the afternoon Blog Surfing and ended up here. I LOVE all 3 of these "gift projects". I can't wait to try them myself. So crafty AND affordable. The Menu Planner is my favorite! :)

Sarah said...

Oh this is sooo awesome. I am totally going to do this. Thanks!

Blu Grey said...

Not only would I use the menu board, my children and I are making one today! Thank you for some fun creative inspiration!

Steph @ somewhatsimple said...

I will be featuring this idea on Crazy Domestic this Wednesday as part of my menu planning workshop- I LOVE IT!!! Thanks for sharing!

Magic(k)al Melissa said...

It's absolutely lovely! And I think I will be making one and using it as a choreboard!

In the picture, it looks as though the paintbrush you used was rather small. Do you recommend a certain type and size?

And painting the clips--did you use the same paint and paintbrush? Or a special kind of paint?

Thanks!

Charity said...

The paintbrush was just a good one I had, and it worked fine. As for the clips, I used a rougher brush so I could push it inside the clip, and I used the same craft paint as the board. But I sprayed the clips after with clear enamel so they won't chip.

ford said...

Its simply gift wrapping I like its so much. Anyway,will certainly visit your site more often now.

gift delivery Philippines

Rachel @ Shawn & Rachel said...

What great idea! My sister over at "Our Journey" follows your blog and so I wanted to take a looksie. I will definitely be recreating this menu board but with a lowcountry theme to go along with our kitchen! My husband and I love to cook and we're using a regular pen and paper to chart our weekly meals...this is 10x better!!

alanaransley said...

Love this! I have been looking for a cute way to do menu planning, and I think I will steal this idea.

Unknown said...

Love this! I linked your project under "inspirational projects" on my blog!

Can I add that it's totally random that my sister happened to come across your post as well and she posted the comment just above mine! I had no idea she visited! I guess you just inspired 2 sisters! :o)

Shannon said...

Oh my! I am a mega meal planner and I love this idea!!!! I tend to write my meal plans in pencil because we change them up sometimes and this would be perfect! We're linkning this up on our diy project links for sure!
Shannon
{aka}|design
www.akadesign.ca

Anonymous said...

This project turned out just beautiful, excellent job! You are a creative lady! Have a beautiful day.

barefootinthesand said...

This is awesome!!! I was just looking for a dowloadable planner someone had done, but this is so much better!

S Shenk said...

About 1/2 way through completion. LOVE this project! I went with Autumn Red and a black and creme colored scrapbook paper. Thank you!

nicolette {momnivores dilemma} said...

I love your take on a menu board!

Lauren and Eddie said...

I pulled out an old bulletin board and a large piece of scrap fabric and I'm going to work on this TONIGHT! I'm making a few changes on mine, but LOVE this idea! Thanks for the inspiration!

Shauna K said...

This is an absolutely fabulous idea! I've been looking for meal planning ideas and this might be just the thing I need!! Thanks for the inspiration :D

Sarah S said...

Just found this and love it. I bought the cork boards but I think they might be too big, what size did you use?

Unknown said...

Found this on Pinterest. My favorite of several I have seen! Simple to make, streamlined and neat. Perfect!

MyShoesRule said...

Here is the one I made. Thanks for the great idea! http://pinterest.com/pin/197806608603152053/

Unknown said...

Awesome!!!

Nice Picture gallery you have posted.

tltl said...

This is amazing!

Lamb said...

Beautiful!

Anonymous said...

This was a GREAT idea! Thank you for the inspiration! I made one of my own and Blogged about it. I mention you in my post. I hope that's ok... Thanks again, April
http://southernlakeeriemom.wordpress.com/2012/04/18/my-kitchen-command-center/

Serg Kalash said...

very usefull (*_*)

Serg Kalash said...

very usefull

Karla said...

Oh my gosh, that is so cute! What a great way to make fun something that can be so mundane (meal planning)! I found this post through a pin on Pinterest and of course, I'm gonna pin it, too. I gotta do this! My children would freak to see such a cool board in the kitchen!

I love how you even painted the clips. Too beautiful, girl!

Jeannie-JB said...

Really Lovely - All three gifts! I recently found your blog and I'm lovin it. Your very talented and creative. Can I get on your gift list? hee hee!

Mapipi said...

This is very nice. Am also grabing the idea.

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