Scissors and Glue Sticks and Paint, Oh My!

I've been in a project kind of mood the last week.  I've completed 3 fun projects that have made a big difference in my kitchen, so I thought I'd share them with all of you.  The first 2 projects are fairly simple, so I will just describe how I did them.  The last one was a little more involved so I will give more of a tutorial on that one.  Hope you enjoy and maybe get some fun ideas for your kitchen too!

Back to School/First Day of School Countdown:
With school starting in just a few short weeks, I found that my girls were constantly asking, "How many more days until school?  Now, how many more days until school?"  My hubby and I are super blessed to have 2 girls who LOVE learning and LOVE school!  (We pray those feelings last!)  I thought making a school countdown would be a good visual example of how many days are left until school begins AND I knew it would help with my patience level as it makes for one less question I need to answer during the day (mommy confession).  This was a SUPER simple project.  I choose 4 different sheets of colored paper, cut them into strips, and taped them into a ring in an alternating pattern.  I made as many rings as days that are left until school begins.  I then chose one of the pieces of paper, cut it in half and wrote their own title of the countdown so they each had their very own.  Here is the finished product!

Our oldest is heading BACK to school, but our youngest is heading to school for the FIRST time!

Each night they take one ring  off the chain.

Menu Board:

The next project I tackled was creating a Menu Board.  I've been wanting to get one for quite some time but was a little shocked when I searched for one on Etsy, and couldn't find one for less than $25 (at least the type/size I wanted).  I decided this was definitely a project I could handle on my own.

I started with purchasing 3 coordinating 12x12 sheets of paper, letter stickers, and a fine tip Dry Erase Marker.  I already had an extra 11.5x13.5 black frame lying around the house so I didn't need to purchase one.  I then arranged the paper in a way that I liked, cut it down to size and glued the pieces of paper together.  Then, I used the stickers for the wording.  The whole thing ended up costing about $12.50, so I saved half of what Etsy wanted, and I got to customize it just the way I wanted!  If you wanted to save money, you could forgo the stickers and hand-write on the paper the days of the week.  I love the way it turned out and I know this is going to help me be even more coordinated with my meal planning.

Up close - the finished product

Use the Dry Erase Marker directly on top of the glass.  Easily erases for changes in your weekly plan, or to begin a new week!

Refrigerator Frames:

The final project I tackled was a cute idea I, of course, found on Pinterest.  I thought it looked so charming that I decided to try it and I have to say, I'm kind of obsessed with how it turned out!  I will first start by stating (rather, showing) the problem. I give you exhibit A...my messy refrigerator:

Messy, cluttered refrigerator!

And now, I give you Exhibit B...the finished product...

Clean, organized, and cute refrigerator!

Ok, so how did I get from Exhibit A to Exhibit B?  Well, let me show you!

The project started with a trip to Goodwill.  I was in search of some light-weight wood frames.  It's very crucial that you get LIGHT weight frames (I will explain later why this is important).  I was pleased to find EXACTLY (even down to the color) what I was looking for at my local Goodwill.  The most I paid for any of the frames was $2.99.

These frames came exactly like this, with no glass or backing to them which is exactly what I was looking for.  They were also very light weight AND in the colors I wanted...thanks, God!

There was only one frame I purchased that I needed to change the color on.  So I picked up some acrylic paint from Michael's and went to work painting the frame...

Changed this frame from Gold to Grey...took about 30 seconds.

While my newly grey frame was drying, I began working on the next step...adding magnets to the back of the frames.  I picked up these magnets from Michael's.  These are awesome because they come with a sticky side so you can apply the magnet to whatever you like.

Purchased at my local Michael's

I started with one of the larger frames.  It is important to remove the metal bracket from the back of the frame before proceeding.  They come off with just a little tug...

Pulling off the metal bracket

Then, measure the width of the back of your frame and cut strips of the magnet accordingly.  Peel off the protective strip from the sticky side of the magnet...

Then, firmly apply the adhesive side to the frame.  Continue to do this around the entire back border of the frame and....Voila!  You have a frame magnet!  Here's an important tip: the reason why it is crucial to purchase light-weight frames is otherwise, the magnets will not hold the weight of the frame.

I wanted to make one of the frames look a little different than the rest.  So I decided to use some rope I had lying around the house to string from opposing sides of the frame in order to hang birth announcements, flyers, invitations, etc. from it...

Some extra rope I had from a previous project.

Cut the rope down to size and use a stapler to attach the rope to the back-side of the frame...

This is what the back of the frame looked like once completed...

I found some mini clothespins (also at my local Michael's) and put them on the rope in order to hang things from them.

Mini Clothespins

After applying the magnets to the back of all the frames, I re-arranged our refrigerator and came up with this!  Like I said, I love, love, LOVE how organized and clean it looks!

Finished product!

So, I hope you enjoyed these projects and ideas!  Do you think you'll take a stab at any of them?  Let me know if you end up trying any of these projects out and please send pictures if you do! <3  TTFN.