DIY Chalkboard Menu

We’re turning over a new leaf, a Romaine leaf and the hope is a DIY chalkboard menu will help us stay on track.  I’ve seen chalkboard menu pins pop up all over my Pinterest feed and some of my blogger friends have featured chalkboard menu displays for their kitchens.

I never thought I would need one because I always had the week’s menu up in the old noggin.  Well, as this noggin has started to age, I find keeping it all straight becomes more of a task.  So, I jumped on the band wagon and made my own take on a chalkboard menu.

You might remember this old wash stand top I used to hang our Christmas stockings on last year since we don’t have a fireplace.  I loved it for that purpose but it has sat largely unused and empty for most of the year.  I literally made up my mind to make a chalkboard menu out of it and it couldn’t have been easier.

Did you know Home Depot sells thin board already made into chalkboard?  I picked out a 24 x 48″ piece and had the nice man at Home Depot cut it to the right size for me.  I didn’t even have to paint it with chalkboard paint.  Holy time saver.  Plus it gave it a much nicer finish than if I would have painted it.

I simply tacked it on the back with some small nails and the project was complete.  Ten dollars and an hour later, I had my own chalkboard menu.  Easy peezy.

Some people use a chalk paint pen to permanently put the days of the week on.  I’m fickle.  I tend to change my mind about things so I decided I would add the days on each week if needed.  I can imagine adding special little sayings at Christmas or Valentine’s Day so I didn’t want to make it a permanent menu.

I’m fortunate to have my mom who stays with my kids in the afternoon until I get home.  She’s said forever that if I just told her what I was going to make for dinner, she would start it for me.  I’ve never wanted to take her up on the offer because I felt like that would be asking too much.  But lately she has insisted.  So, this menu is a great way for her to know what is on deck for dinner each day also.

I added a few oyster plates I picked up on a recent trip to The Picker’s Market.  I would love to collect more oyster plates in the future and create a great display around this chalkboard menu.  The pink and turquoise in each of these oyster plates is so lovely.  They aren’t a matching set but share so many of the same colors it almost reads as a pair.

I love having something to hunt for and can imagine many trips to flea markets and antique malls looking for oyster plates in the future.

Are you a menu planner or a fly by the seat of your pants dinner gal?  I’d love to know what works for you.

Have a fantastic week!