Chalkboard in the Kitchen

I have been giving my kitchen a super cheap makeover the last week or so. One thing I did was find these chalkboard stickers at the Dollar Tree. For $2, I now have several ways to personalize what is going on in my kitchen.

The photo above is a recycled jug. It once held Arnold Palmer's Half and Half drink. Now it holds a low carb version of the same mix. Half tea, half sugar free lemonade. This is really refreshing. You ought to try it too--if you have a gallon pitcher. Mine came with a movie night guest. Super thrifty, don't ya think? Just make one envelope of Koolaid lemonade and one family size tea of your choice. Sweeten to taste. This is a lot like the bottled green teas in flavor. It is my new favorite for the summer.



I also put a chalkboard sticker on another recycled drink container. My boys don't care for tea, so Koolaid is pretty popular too. Now everyone knows what flavor I made. I like the screw on lids for beverage containers because I can shake and not have to stir. Using liquid sweetener really helps too.

Last but not least is my poor decrepit crock pot. It refuses to die despite its hard life. The glaze is disappearing from inside the crock. The outside is rusted and stained. One handle is missing and broken. It is the Timex of the slow cooker world. Even though I have a dual crockpot and a mini crock pot, this is still my favorite. I refuse to toss it until it dies naturally. So,I slapped a chalkboard sticker on it. But then, the rest looked even more awful, so I painted it with black craft paint. Even though I did a hurried job and the light was terrible...(it was about midnight when the painting urge struck) it still looks better than it did. A magnet clip holds a piece of white chalk. The fun thing is that I can write on the chalkboard what is cooking inside, and the time when it should be ready. A la tonight's Sloppy Toms. That will be especially handy on days when the family arrives home before the mom, and worries that they may never be fed. It could even hold the directions on how to serve oneself. Hmm. I will have to work on that concept.

I have two more of the black scroll stickers stuck on my fridge now. One is for the dinner menu. I get asked a lot--even though my weekly menu is almost always on the fridge. This is bigger--maybe they will read before they ask. Maybe. The other is for general announcements of things to do or fun things happening. I STILL had more chalkboard stickers, so some got cut up and used as labels. This is fun because I can change what is in a cannister without making a new label. Coo-el.