My Menu Board

Well, it's finally done.  After creating 106 dinner ideas for it, I finally finished my menu board, printed out all the recipes and planned the next four weeks of meals.  I got the idea for my menu board from this one here, but since it didn't have the meal ideas with it, I had to do that part.  So here's how I made my menu board.

Materials:
-12 x 16 frame with glass, with two hanging hooks when turned sideways (I actually used one without glass then had to get glass cut to fit)
-2 coordinating colors of 12 x 12 scrapbook paper, 2 pieces of each (I used brown with cream polka dots and red)
-Letters for the days of the week and the word Menu.  I used a sheet of preprinted letters I bought about 10 years ago called Heartstrings upper medium BB014 from bearypatchinc.  I don't think they are around anymore.  You could use any stickers or cute letters you print and cut out yourself.
-White card stock
-Meal ideas that go across.  You can print out 106 dinner ideas here.
-1 skinny box, like the kind a small flashlight comes in.   Mine was 1 1/4 inches wide by 6 inches tall.  This will be used to make the holder for the meals you aren't using this week.
-7 small binder clips
-a hot glue gun and glue
-a paper cutter

Instructions:

Open up the frame and pull out the cardboard. This is what you'll glue the background paper to.  If the frame doesn't have a good sturdy piece of cardboard in it, just use a piece of posterboard or cardboard you have handy (I actually a sturdy cardboard mailing envelope).

Cut two strips of the contrasting (I used red) color, one to go behind the days of the week and one to go behind the unused cards (also covers the seam from the backgound paper.  My red strips were 1 1/2 inches wide and almost 3 1/2 inches wide. Both were 12 inches long.

Glue the background paper down, using a small strip from the second piece of paper to cover the last bit where the contrasting color won't be covering.  Use your hot glue gun.


Glue the contrasting strips down with your hot glue gun.




Hot glue the letters for the days of the week and the word menu down.  Be sure to leave space along the edges where the frame will cover.  Lay them all out first before gluing to make sure everything is spaced evenly.


 Put the frame back together and close it up. Everything else gets glued on top of the glass.

Glue the binder clips so that they line up with each day of the week.

Cut the box in half to make two smaller boxes and cover each half with paper, just like you are wrapping a present.  Glue the two box halves side by side then add the contrasting paper as decoration.

Print out these phrases: "It's Been A While" & "Recently Used" onto a piece of white cardstock and cut to fit the storage box; glue down with hot glue.  Note: I used the font "Throw My Hands Up In The Air" set on bold for all the wording.  Glue the box onto the glass with hot glue.

Print out the meal ideas onto white cardstock, but print the ones for Leftovers, Going Out to Eat, and Eating at someone Else's House on the accent color paper instead so they are easier to find.  Cut all the meal ideas into strips.  My strips are 7 inches long and just over 3/4 inches tall.  Laminate the strips if desired.

All set to go!  Happy meal planning!