"What's for Dinner?" Just Got Easier To Answer: DIY Menu Board

My latest project was so simple and cheep that I'd considered not counting it as a project at all.  But, since I technically think that it is one, I have now crossed off number 11 of 20 DIY crafts/projects on my 30 before 30 list.  (Holla!)

While I was searching for free printables for my Home Management Binder (which I've almost completed--more on that in another post) I came across some amazing menu board ideas.  I especially loved the variety of menu boards that Home Life Simplified has shown here (toward the bottom of the page.)

Although they're all awesome, many of them looked very time consuming and considering I'm beginning to plan my son's birthday party and the holidays will be coming up soon, I just can't see myself making any of them a reality anytime soon.

So, I stuck with the simplest (and in my opinion, one of the cutest) ideas I found:  putting a weekly menu in a picture frame and writing the weekly menu in dry erase markers so that it can easily be erased when it's time to write on it again.

Here's the one I found at Home Life Simplified that gave me the inspiration to create my own:

Source

I had already found this ADORABLE weekly menu plan free printable at The Nest Effect* that I was going to use in my Home Management Binder, but decided it would be perfect for a menu board:

Source

So, I grabbed a frame that wasn't being used, made a few trial and error prints before I got the correct size and viola, dinner menu plan in a frame was born:

I must admit, I got a little giddy once I added this week's dinner plans with the dry erase marker.  I mean, who doesn't like to write with a dry erase marker?  (Am I the only one who never outgrew that phase?)

So, tada!  Easy as pie!  It now sits in our kitchen window sill beside the herbs we're attempting to grow (no luck with the lavender thus far.  sad day.)  The black frame looks great in the window and it's very functional.  No more thinking about what we have in the cabinets and what to make for dinner that night. It's right there on the board.  And, if we decide to go out on Tuesday night to eat with friends, no big deal--erase Tacos and add it to Saturday.  Done deal.

Oh yes, I'm loving the functionality of such a simple project.  This thing will definitely make our lives easier.  

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* BTW:  The Nest Effect has several other awesome free printables on her site and an Etsy store with even more printables, so be sure to take a look!

My Memories Suite Digital Scrapbooking Software Review & Giveaway!

I was contacted by My Memories to share a review with my readers and (the best part) to host a giveaway.  

My Memories is a site that is devoted to digital scrapbooking.  But because I've never scrapbooked in my life, I honestly thought I'd download the software and think, "Oh, that'd be neat for a scrapbooker."  

Um no.  It's so much more than that!  EEK!!

Look at this Valentine's Day card I'll be mailing out to friends and family!  I'm having it printed on card stock.  I'll fold it in half, leaving the inside blank to write a sweet little "thinking of you" message.  

This scrapbook software is so amazing and it's so user friendly.  Here's a screenshot of the software right before I saved this card.  

On the right side, (if you squint) you'll see the control panel.  It contains all the little things you'll need to go crazy.  I used two different background papers and then added the cute little pink ribbon & birdy embellishments.  Then I added text and a photo of the cutest little boy I've ever seen.  Done!  

For my son's school v-day cards, I decided to use this idea that I found on Pinterest.  I think it will be a fun project that my little man can help with, and hopefully the kids will actually use the crayons.  (Plus, it's ONE less piece of candy they'll eat on that day.)

Picture Source

Rather than handwriting out the phrase, "Happy Valentine's Day for "crayon" out loud!" like the creator did above, I decided to see if I could whip up something using my My Memories Suite software.  

Here's how it turned out.  Feel free to email me if you'd like to use this.  

Even though it doesn't look like it here, this is actually a 5 x 5 square.  (That's another great thing about the software--you can pick the exact size of your pages and/or album.)  I think that after I print them on card stock I'll cut around the outside, making it a circle.  

Seriously, the possibilities are endless.  And don't worry.  If you don't want to start "blank" you don't have to.  There are TONS of pre-made albums and pages for you to use too if you'd like.  

And, although this digital scrapbook software comes with a lot of designs, embellishments and everything else under the sun, there's also a page on their site devoted to free digital scrapbooking kits that designers make specifically for their software and there's no limit to how much of the free stuff you can add to your software.  Holla!  

Okay, so you get the point.  Just know that if you want more information on the software, this page on their site has some great information.  

Now to the super fun part!  My Memories is giving away its scrapbooking software to one of my blog readers!  And because the software is downloaded from their site, there's no wait for a disk to come in the mail!  YAY!  

If you're not the lucky winner of this giveaway, can't wait, or want to buy this as a gift for someone else, use the promo code STMMMS32327 when you checkout and you'll receive $10 OFF your purchase of My Memory Suite.

ENTER THE GIVEAWAY BELOW!  GOOD LUCK!

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