I didn't have to buy very much for this project. I mostly used things I had around the house. My supplies included: a black picture frame from Dollar Tree ($1.00), two clearance barrettes from Walmart ($0.50 each), printer, paper, super glue, knife, and an old memo cube container I'd bought a couple of years ago at Staples.
I didn't want to print off a generic to-do list--I wanted mine customized! So I used Microsoft word to design my own. I played around with different fonts and margins. I ended up using 72 pt Bella Donna for my words and 28pt Arial Black for my lines. I used an open box (42 pt) for my bullet points so I could check off each thing as I did them.
The margins were the tricky part! It was a trial and error process. I printed off 3 different pages before I finally settled on 1.9" top margin, 1.3" bottom margin, and 1" left and right margins.
My list needed some color! In hindsight, this would've worked much better if I'd had colored printer paper. I wouldn't have had to waste so much ink printing backgrounds to try to find the right shade. (Or, I should've just printed several text boxes with different colors and held them up to the ribbon instead of printing the whole page. Doh!) I first tried a gradient. It looked pretty on the screen.
But this is how it printed. Ack! I was unsuccessful with gradients two times.
I decided to go with a solid background. I tried 3 different shades of pink, but none were quite right.
I FINALLY found the perfect shade after wasting probably half my ink cartridge.
I cleaned the glass really well using Windex. Then I put my paper inside the frame. I made sure the top of my paper was touching the top of frame. Since it was an 8x10 frame, the bottom was a bit too long. I took a knife and cut the bottom of the paper off. You can see the edges hanging out just a little.
Next up--attach the ribbon! This was probably the hardest part. It was hard only because I wasn't using my brain. I thought I could attach it by still leaving the barrette on the back. I'd just put some glue on it and it would rest nicely at the top--none of the fabric would even need glue. Um... wrong. After about 10 minutes of failure, super glued fingers, and glue on the counter top, I took a break.
I let the mess I made dry. Unfortunately, I got a bit of glue on the glass and a lot of glue on the top of the frame, but I don't think it's noticeable. I peeled the glue off my fingers (ouchie!) Then I decided to take the plastic clasp off the barrette--which I obviously should've done in the first place.
The ribbon stuck to the frame now. Yay! I think it's just an eensy bit off center, but there was no way I'd pull it off and try it again.
Ta-da!
I'd originally planned to glue some buttons on the side of the frame. So, I removed the metal clasp on the butterfly pin, then placed it and the wooden flower on the sides.
I didn't like the look, so I nixed that idea.
What else could I make? I knew I'd write on my board with a dry erase marker, so it would be nice to have a little container to hold it. I found an old memo cube and took out all the papers. I cleaned it really well with Windex.
Next, I got my other matching barrette and removed the plastic clasp. I glued it to the front of the memo cube. Cuuuute!
Next I put a few of the papers back in. I placed them vertically instead of horizontally. I got a dry erase marker and three pens. Finally, I put some Kleenex in the cube. That's what I'll erase my board with. Here's the finished product.
I saw an empty bowl laying on the counter.
I turned it upside down and put the memo cube on top. Now it looks like the memo cube has a black base--plus, it matches the frame!
And here's the finished product--a framed to-do list and matching memo cube full of supplies. I like it! I'll place this on the counter near my phone.
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