My New Menu Board

One of the pitfalls of recovering from knee surgery is that cabin fever sets in fairly quickly. I am so used to having an full to overflowing plate that I just don't know what to do with myself most days. I found some great crafts and DIY projects on Pintrest and decided to get crafting. Since I can't drive right now I am left to drag my son along with me to the craft store. Nothing strikes terror in the heart of a male more than having to take a woman shopping. I'm afraid I've lost Chris to the dark side. Our niece is getting married in August and I wanted to give her a unique gift along with the standard place setting. I've made my own first to see what works best and here's how mine went together.

1 16x20 framed cork board
1 cardboard box with a lid
7 large spring clothespins
Scrapbook paper(I used paper from the Heidi Grace Line. These come from the Tweet Memories designs
2 packages of coordinating sticker trims.
1 black sharpie marker
off white satin finish interior paint
plaster of paris
water
paint brush
ruler
pencil
scissors
glue(I think a spray adhesive works best)
glue gun

I made chalk paint out of the paint, plaster or paris and water.
1 cup paint
3 tablespoons plaster of paris
2 tablespoons water
Mix the plaster of paris and water into a smooth paste and add it to the paint.
Chalk paint will adhere to any wood surface and you won't have to sand or prime the wood first. Paint the frame. I used 3 coats and allowed it to dry completely. Choose your paper colors for the inside.
I divided my board like this
8 inches for the top
2 inches for the strip in the middle
12 inches for the bottom
I needed to piece the patterns using 2 sheets of each color as the paper was 12x12. I needed an extra 4 inches to make it across.
Once I had the pieces cut, I laid them out to see if I liked the layout before I glued them down.
I then used the sticker borders to conceal the edges and give the center a more finished look.
I also used the stickers to decorate the flat side of the clothespins. This was faster and neater than painting. I used the sharpie to write a day of the week on each pin.
I spaced them out on the my board and then I glued each one to the wood frame and the board itself with my glue gun.
I cut the box in half and discarded the lid. I measured and cut another paper to fit the box and then wrapped and glued it to the box. I did the sides first, cutting enough paper to extend halfway across the bottom of the box, folded and glued. Then I did the front also cutting enough to be folded and glued to the bottom of the box. I then finished the edge with more of my sticker trims around the sides and front of the box. I used my glue gun to put glue along the cut edges that I glued to my board to secure it.
Finally, I chose a font I liked from my computer and printed out the words-Menus and Let's eat!. I then free handed the words onto the board with a pencil and ruler.

I went over the letters with my black sharpie.

My last task is to print out my recipes onto cards and store them in the boxes. To plan meals, I can pull the recipes I want to use and then clip the recipe card to the clip that indicates the day I will make that recipe.