Latest Project

My latest house project has been a fun one! I always struggle to remember what meals I have "stocked up" for in a given week. As a result, I feel the daily panic of my hubby's innocent 4:00 question, "So what's for dinner?" I always run to the cabinets, saying to myself (and to him!), "I know I bought enough to get us through the week... I just have to remember what it is!"

One day I saw a menu planner available from Pottery Barn, and I loved it! It outlined the days of the week, and all three meals for each day. Brilliant! However, it was around $70, and was on a whiteboard (tacky!).

So I brainstormed, and decided to make my own menu planner. I have a small kitchen currently, but wanted to make something large enough to fit the purpose, and to last for many years (and kitchens) to come! I measured the only space in my kitchen that would be suitable, and sent the dimensions to a friend of mine who installs kitchen cabinets, asking him if he happened to have an extra cabinet door in the general size that I was looking for. He did! And despite the fact that I offered to pay him for it, he insisted that it was being thrown out and I could have it for FREE! Yay for being cheaper than Pottery Barn!!!

I quickly bought the rest of my supplies. A can of chalkboard paint, a few cheap stencils, white acrylic paint and a set of small brushes, all of which will be added to my stash of supplies for future projects! Last night once the kidlet was in bed, I started painting!

I forgot to take a "before" picture until after the first coat of chalkboard paint was on... oops.

I couldn't resist putting my adorable puppy in the top part of this picture... :-)

Once my two coats of chalkboard paint were dry, I used a pencil to stencil in the words. Here is a pic of my hubby informing me that my words are not level.

That's better!

Next came the really hard part for me, painting the letters. But I ended up finding it fun!

It's amazing to me how dirty a chalkboard can get after a few hours of sitting on the floor with me working over it!

I was very careful with the layout, and discovered that I had room for a "grocery list" spot at the bottom of my chalkboard! This is almost my favorite part!!! No more paper floating around the counter for me!

The finished product. I LOVE IT! And what did it cost? A few hours of my time, and the cost of paint. YAY!!!