Here’s something sad and ugly that I finally put to rest.
Sure, a magnetic notepad is an easy solution for the list dependent (like us), but I prefer to keep the refrigerator cleared off. So I kept removing this one. Then, after list-less living netted too many forgotten groceries, Hubby insisted the magnetic travesty stay put until I made good on all my promises to come up with something better.
I finally retired the notepad a couple days ago and hung this close by.
Ah, much better. I love this new wipeable set up for several reasons. If you’ll indulge me, I really should start here:
This is my grandmother’s house. It was her house actually; she moved out several years ago. It’s one of my favorite places. Well, it was I guess; I don’t know. It doesn’t exist anymore in the same way–some young family lives there now–but if it did, it would be one of my most favorite places for sure. My grandparents brought my dad and uncle to live here back when LA’s San Fernando Valley was full of orange groves. And they stayed for 60+ years until my grandfather passed away and until my grandmother was no longer able to care for herself and the house on her own. (Now she lives with retired nuns, which is perfect for her.)
Not much changed in that house over the course of my 30ish years of visiting, and that’s what I loved about it. I moved around throughout my childhood because my father was in the Navy. I didn’t mind moving every couple/few years. (Although I may have proclaimed at some point that my life would be ruined by moving during high school. Spoiler alert: it wasn’t.) While the serial fresh starts were exhilarating, frequent moves did give me special affection for the few consistent places in my life. Just two actually: my grandparents’ house in LA and my aunt’s house in San Jose. (Hi Diana!)
Yes, bouncing around imbued me with rather romantic notions about growing up in the same house one’s whole life and bringing one’s children and then grandchildren back to visit and showing them an old growth chart carved on the pantry door and watching them marvel at the fact that you were once shorter than they are now. Or something like that. I may or may not envision all this through a Barbara Walters-esque soft focus lens. I can’t help it, the whole idea of going back to the same house decade after decade is über endearing to me….which is all a long way of saying that I loved my grandparents’ house and it was a little hard to say goodbye to it.
When the time came, I helped a bit with packing the place up. I chose a few items to keep in the process, and I’m so happy to have those pieces of furniture, books, decor items and such to remind me of my grandparents. But I also saved something that reminds me specifically of their house: wallpaper.
My grandmother evidently embraced the metallic wallpaper trend that was all the rage when her house was decorated. I already have a piece of her dining room paper, the silver one, framed in our living room.
But let me get back on track with the purpose of this trip down memory lane…or to nostalgia land…or something.
Enter Pinterest, where I saw folks framing scrapbook paper and gift wrap to make easy wipeable message boards. Perfect! I grabbed my wallpaper pieces and a frame I had lying around (from the same sale where I bought the cursed brass trunk) and I jumped right on that.
Making a wipeable message board
Now, prepare to have your mind completely not blown by this project breakdown. The basics are (1) put decorative paper–or even not very decorative paper–in a frame; (2) close frame; (3) write on frame’s glass with wipeable marker. Done!
But I had to go and complicate things a little.
I made a divided message board for us because we tend to keep multiple shopping lists going (grocery store, Target, hardware store) and because I didn’t have a scrap of this wallpaper that was large enough to fill the 11×14 frame.
A frame full of pink might have exceeded Hubby’s allowable threshold anyway, so I mixed in some plain white computer paper. I stuck the papers down with double sided scrapbooking tape since it’s acid free. My edges weren’t perfect (big surprise), so I added some washi tape to hide them. The striped tape I used allowed for this fun detail.
It looks like precision work, but it just took two pieces of tape and two quick cuts. I placed the long pieces of tape like a plus sign covering my paper seams and overlapping in the middle. That two-layer square in the middle is where the magic happened.
I just cut an X through the square, slicing diagonally through both layers of tape. That left four little triangle scraps to remove, two on the top layer and two underneath. I peeled back part of the top layer for a minute to remove the scraps underneath; washi tape made that easy with its not-very-stickiness. Then I pressed the remaining pieces back in place. That’s it. It looks way fancier than it ought to for such a simple move. (It’s just a double version of the corner trick I used here.)
I also ended up adding a washi tape border to hide some imperfections around the perimeter of my frame. I stuck that tape to the inside of the glass to keep it from getting dirty.
Then I closed my frame (which was surprisingly tricky–weird old frame) and hung it just outside the kitchen.
Since you’re almost certainly inspired by this project and struggling to hold back from making your own right this second, I’ll leave you with two more tips and send you on your way.
(1) Consider using wet erase markers instead of the more popular dry erase.
Wet erase markers (a.k.a. overhead projector markers) make for thin and bright lettering, and they wipe clean. Dry erase markers are too thick for my taste (even the “fine point” one I used here) and aren’t bright enough. They also wipe off too easily (like when you touch the glass while adding an item to the list) and tend to leave marker crud behind. Go for wet erase if you don’t want crusty bits collecting around the edge of your frame.
(2) No need to transcribe your list before hitting the store(s) if you can snap a pic with your phone, iPod, whatever. (Have to credit Hubby for that idea.)
So like I was saying waaay up at the top of this post, I love our new wipeable list set-up for several reasons. The refrigerator is finally cleared off! We’re remembering our groceries! I finally did something I said I would!
I also love that this project is equal parts practicality and sentimentality, especially since it stops plenty short of in-your-face sappiness. The pink patches may appear to others as just a dash of color (and a plea for guacamole and paper towels and such), but I know where those scraps came from. And it makes me smile to think of my grandmother and her house that I loved love so much.
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PS – For kicks, here’s a four generation picture from when we took the girls to meet their great grandmother back in March. It’s the best shot we could manage with two antsy toddlers in the mix. (So glad the snack cup, stuffed dog, and my overly excited expression made the final cut.) Photo credit: Chris Dysart.
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Linking up with Common Ground, At the Picket Fence, Chic on a Shoestring Decorating, Serenity Now, Too Much Time On My Hands, Cheerios & Lattes, Addicted 2 Decorating, and Sew Many Ways, and Hi Sugarplum!