I've been seeing these around and they seemed like a great combo of lovely decoration and practicality. Very appealing. So here we go! The "Dinner Choice Frame!"
Driving home from work, my husband and I:
"What do you want for dinner?"
"I dunno, it's up to you."
"No, I'd eat anything its your choice."
"No. No. You choose."
It's a real pain, making those tough life decisions, being an adult is hard. So, here's the solution!
How it works:
There's a bunch of little paper strips with dinner options you might want at the bottom. Don't forget options like, "Restaurant", "Call for take-out", and "Try Something New." Sunday night, you pick out dinner for the week. Make "Monday" through "Sunday" clips, to display your decisions. Makes it easy for when you get home. No figuring out what to eat, you already did! Also, if you're actually really in the mood for something Wednesday night and its not what you had originally chosen, don't worry, just have what you want, the frame wont be offended. I promise.
How to make it:
(1) You need a frame.
I used this nasty looking pink frame I found, painted it blue, and then did some designs in silver paint pen when the blue had dried. You could honestly use any frame. It really doesn't matter. Just keep in mind it can't be too small, you'll want to be able to fit all the paper strips. Also, not so colossally huge it doesn't fit it your kitchen. Anyway, it's all up to your aesthetic.
(2) A back board and some stings.
Take out the backer board of your frame. Cover it up with decorative paper, paint, or otherwise decorate it. You'll be seeing it, so you want it to look nice.
Now you need some string. Something thick, that matches your frame and backer. I used yarn. You don't want anything that's going to break easily, or stretch out over time. Cut 3 lengths of it, a few inches longer then the diameter of the frame. One for the top, middle, and bottom.
(Look at the pictures for reference here)
Put your backer board back into the frame, but as you do, have the strings lay over it and pinch them into the sides. Make sure they're taut! When the frames all put back together, you can use some strong tape to secure the extra string in the back. You want the top sting to be very near the top of the frame (this string is for extra clips). The middle string needs to have the most room bellow it (for the paper strips). Bottom sting is for dinner options you're not using that week.
(3) Clips
I used some mini clothes pins, and I painted the tops. You'll need at least 8 but more is better. 7 for the days of the week, and some more for the unused options, as well as extra in case some break. Label 7 of them Mon-Sunday, and clip them to the middle string. Extra's either go on the top string as replacements, or the bottom string to hold unused dinner options for that week.
(4) Dinner Options
Cut out a bunch of strips of paper. You'll want to measure them so 7 fit comfortably next to each other for your week choices, and not so long as they run into the string bellow them. Then just write down any and all dinner options you might want! Make sure you leave extras for new recipes you discover as time goes by. I have all the extra blank pieces of paper stored in a little pocket I made on the back of the frame.
(5) Done!
At this point, you just have to hang it up, and arrange the strips and clips. Overview: Top string is for extra clips, middle string with your weekday marked clips are for your dinner choices for the week, and the bottom sting is for unused options. I face the unused options for the week backwards, to not be confused. Now just enjoy!
