Yesterday, you were introduced to Nicole by my guest post on her blog. Nicole is so crafty and creative, and she's now doing it all with a new baby at home and just recently going back to work! Keep reading for her latest "craftastic" adventure, then check out more on her blog Nicole's Craftastic Life or shop her Etsy store Nicolio Designs. (Earrings are currently buy 2, get 1 free!)
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I am constantly looking for ways to be more organized, but I rarely follow through with them. I have seen tons of weekly planners and menu planners on Pinterest lately and made my own.
This is what we needed organized:
- Schedule: My husband and I have a hard time keeping track of who is doing what, and when we are doing them.
- Menu: On the rare chance that I have planned out a menu for the week, I never remember what I planned. This means food goes bad (wasting money), and we go out to eat more often than planned (wasting money and not great for our health).
- Shopping List: We need to write down what we need when we think of it or as we run out, not while I'm on the way to the grocery store.
- Chores: For some time, I've been wanting a fun way to organize the chores. We've tried a chart of who does what...doesn't work. It works better for us to both know what needs to be done, and each do what we want/can from the list.
Here's my take on a planner that works for our needs and lifestyle.
I grabbed a picture frame that I had at the house. It had a collage of me and the hubs from our dating days. However, I didn't have it on the wall, anymore, and wasn't sure what to do with it. The black frame didn't match my kitchen. I have it accented in green apple and blue. So, I painted the frame to match. It took me 3 coats to cover the black.
I used a piece of scrapbook paper for my background. I had to alter it to fit the frame. Most scrapbook paper is 12x12, and my frame was 10x13. I had to trim some off of the top, and added some colored paper to the side. I just stuck it to the back using sticky photo squares.
I cut some colored paper in 7 little squares (one for each day of the week), and attached these to the paper using photo squares, too (they are my fav). I wrote the days of the week and the meals that I need to plan on each one. I put Sunday last, because that is my planning day. This way, when I plan, I am planning for the next Sunday, rather than the same day.
I hooked my shopping list to the glass using a 3M velcro. Since the pad isn't heavy, I cut the strip in half. This way, I only had to use one.
I made these little chore clips using some clothespins I'd saved (because I just knew I could use them for something) and old paint sample cards that I had in my paper scraps. I hot glued the ends of a ribbon to the back of the frame. I left some slack, so that I had room to add my chore pins.
I use a dry erase marker to write our meals and daily plans in each square. It wipes right off. (Note: Make sure your frame uses real glass, rather than plastic or plexi glass. I know that Trina has some frames that she uses as dry erase boards. She mentioned that hers don't use real glass, and they don't erase completely.)
Correction: Trina "had" some frames that she used as dry erase boards. They went out of commission because the dry erase marker wouldn't come off. Real glass is key!
I love this thing, already!
Me too, Nicole! Great work! Thank you for sharing with us!
