My Menu Board

So I am a few hours late. Okay, like 12 hours which is half a day but I am here and I am posting. I thought that for my first post (I mean since I changed things in my mind) I would blog about something I created that I am so thrilled is done. It keeps me in order and it makes me happy every time I look at it.


See! Isn't it beautiful???? This is my menu board! YAY!!!!! This baby keeps me in line (when used properly).

Okay, so this is how it started out. Well actually this was just the manageable size that fit in my house nicely. Let me tell you real quick how I decided to do something so crazy. First off I went onto all kinds of other blogs trying to find someone who had already come up with the design I wanted. While all the ones I saw were cute, I wanted to be able to use my recipe cards (that was a project *and still is* of it's own that I did not want to go wasted). So, I began to formulate what I wanted and how I wanted it to work. It took several sketches, and I am not that great at sketches, to come up with the final project. But I finally came up with it and then started to collect the materials needed to make it happen. The metal is a 3'x4' sheet that I got from Home Depot and the board is 4'x5', which gave me 6" on each side for what I wanted. The board was much bigger than this, so I had my incredible husband help me cut it to the right size. I think the board is 3/8", but I am not for sure on that.

I then sanded the board and painted it black (I wish I had step-by-step pictures here, but you will just have to imagine it cause I don't). I also took a metal scourer to the metal sheet to rough it up a bit.

Then I centered the metal on the board and used Gorilla Glue to stick it on and let it sit over night.

I found the coordinating paper the colors I wanted and cut them all to 10"x10" which left me with just about an inch space between each paper to see the metal, cause I love it!

Then, because I am a perfectionist, I marked with pencil exactly where each paper was supposed to go and then used mod podge to adhere it to the metal. Just as a note, if there is anyone out there that sees this and thinks they want to do it, I did one paper at a time. Also, one BIG key to mod podge is making sure you have a tool to press out the bubbles so the paper is right up against the metal (or wood or whatever you are mod podging onto). I used a big purple scrapper. Also, I did NOT do a layer of mod podge over top of the paper. I did on one paper and the paper started bubbling, so I did not finish. After the mod podge dried I took a straight blade to the metal and scrapped off he excess, came off like a charm!!!!

From there I used my Cricut and Sure Cuts A Lot program to cut out the days of the week in black vinyl. Just so you know, I only did 6 of the 7 days of the week because 6 is an even number and I figured Sunday is a day of rest for me and my family and we usually either do homemade pizza or breakfast so it is nothing I need to plan for. I believe I cut the days of the week out at 1 1/2" or 1 3/4", and with the font I chose it fits perfectly (one of the added benefits of using the Sure Cuts A Lot program was that I could see it on the mat, and what it measured before I even cut it out). I then used transfer tape and applied it to my board on top of the cute paper.

Then I searched and found a cute saying online. I cut it out of paper and mod podged that on the top and bottom of my board, in the 6" extra space above the metal.

From here I enlisted the help of my amazing husband again and found the right spot to hang it on the wall. We found the studs and took drywall screws and screwed it into the wall. I have to say at first, I was very nervous about the permanency of this. In the end, I decided that I wanted what I wanted and if I moved I could just take it down and patch up, right???? Because of the size of this board, we were able to screw this into four studs both on the top and bottom. I don't think it is going anywhere!!!!

I then added some "accent" screws to the metal. This does serve some function as I did not want to put the Gorilla Glue too close to the edge, so the screws to help keep the metal up against the board, but mostly I think they just look awesome!

Then because my mother-in-law gave me a beautiful apron for Christmas, I needed a place accessible so I could not only use it, but display it. So I bought some rob hooks and attached them to each side of the board, again in the 6" extra space on each side of the metal.

Then, I made magnets with the same paper I had on the board. I did this by buying clear accent gems from the Dollar Tree and magnets from Wal-Mart. I took the gems and traced them on the paper I wanted. I then cut the circles out and mod podged the paper to the gem and let it dry. Once dried I glued the magnets on with Gorilla Glue and let that dry over night. The next morning I sanded the edges of the paper off to create a better finish.

That is the end, and here is the final project.


{Yes! I know the "my" needs to come up a bit because everything slants down to it. I am currently formulating the fixing of this, it is just not on my priority list}

Now because this board sits on a wall opposite my stove, I needed a place to take my recipe card and keep it in one place while I was cooking. So I made this.....


which sits on the wall right next to my stove. This keeps it up off my counter and it less likely to get all messy. However, I do plan on laminating all my recipes to completely avoid the smudges. This was a piece of metal that I cut down to be the right size for my wall. I cut it using metal cutters, of course and some big help from that amazing husband.

This is a project that was a bit long, but it has been well worth it. Now I just go through my recipes at the start of the week and decided what we are going to have. This also allows me to look at my calendar and see if there are nights that we MUST have a crock-pot meal or two because of my busy life.