What's For Dinner? {DIY Menu Board Tutorial}

Inspired by a number of DIY menu boards I have spied on Pinterest, I decided to finally make my own.  My son is infamous for asking me almost every single day, "What's for dinner?"  Now I can just point at my nifty, pretty menu board when he asks me. ;)

Plus, it has actually given me motivation to start menu planning religiously every week.  I am finding that weekly meal planning has become essential for keeping us on a budget.  And getting to write out our menu for the week on this pretty menu board makes it fun. :)

Making your own menu board is fairly easy and doesn't have to be expensive.  I lucked out when I found this gorgeous frame for just $1 at a yard sale!  I suggest to check at yard sales and thrift shops before running out and buying a brand new frame.  Just keep in mind that if you like the style but not the color of the frame, you could easily repaint it.  Just make sure that it has its glass.  Replacing glass in a frame can be a little more costly.  

All in all, I had less than $10 in the whole project.

So what will you need to make your very own menu board?

A 8x10 or 10x13 frame with the glass (I used a 10x13 for mine.)

Wooden M-E-N-U letters (I bought mine unpainted & painted them to match my scrapbook paper, but you can just buy already painted letters.)

Letter stickers (Make sure you get a couple of packs so that you have enough Y's. Although, I have found that you can cut a W diagonally through the middle & make a Y in a pinch. )

Scrapbook paper of your choosing (You can usually buy single sheets at your local craft store for less than 75 cents each.)

Tacky glue

Dry erase markers

Any additional embellishments you would like to use (Scrapbooking stickers are perfect for this!)

Affix your days of the week to the scrapbook paper using your letter stickers.  You could also use a stencil to do this if you have one handy.  I will admit that affixing the individual letter stickers to spell out the days of the week was the most tedious part of this DIY project. (This is also the part when you should add any additional stickers or embellishments that you have  to your scrapbook paper.)  Once you have your days of the week on your scrapbook paper, insert the paper into your frame. 

Now for the M-E-N-U.  If you have painted your own letters, allow them to dry completely before gluing them to the glass.  Decide where you want your MENU letters and then affix them to the glass with the tacky glue.  Please note- Once the tacky glue has set, you will NOT be able to move the wooden letters again, so make sure you get it right the first time. ;) 
Allow the glue to dry completely (at least a couple of hours).  Using the dry erase marker, write our your menu for the week and then proudly hang on your kitchen wall! 

*Note: I had to use different MENU letters after I initially made my menu board. I hung up the first one with one of those strips and hooks & the whole board came crashing to the floor.  The glass broke & those wooden letters would not pry off of the glass.  I had to replace the glass and use new wooden letters for the board.

Here is another bright and cheerful menu board I made for a good friend of mine for her birthday.  For this one, I used some scrapbooking embellishments. 

Are you ready to make your own pretty menu board now?  :)