Five Dollar Idea

Here is my project:

Below is how I made it!
My husband has a real problem with post-it notes.  I love that he is organized and stays on top of things, but we end up with post-its everywhere...on the kitchen counters, on cabinets, on mirrors...when we did our addition, I put a "command center" in the mudroom, but no one uses it.  Then, I put a desk in our living room.  He uses it to pile stuff on, but the post-its still end up everywhere.  I asked him if I came up with a specific place for post-its, would he use it?  He said he would, but I'll keep you posted...

I found this frame at Walmart for $5.00:

I took the paper out to use as a guide:

I then folded the paper in half, then in half again (lengthwise) to get four sections.  I folded in four because there are four members in our family, and I figured each of us would have a section in this new organizational scheme:

I measured each section, to be sure (it doesn't have to be exact, just close):

My sections were all 7" X 4", so I cut four pieces of scrapbook paper to size.  A note about the paper--by choosing a design with tiny polka dots on it, I was able to get all four of my papers from one 12X12 sheet.  If you choose a design that has a big, obvious pattern, you will want to make sure you have two sheets of the same paper.  Also, I wanted to keep my background paper somewhat light (you'll see why in a second):

Next, flip the papers over and tape them together.

Slip them into the frame to check quickly that your size is good.  If not, trim accordingly.  I found that your two outermost sections will be a tiny bit smaller than the two inner sections once the paper is in the frame, but it is small enough of a difference not to be obvious.

Gosh, my hand looks awful in this picture---sorry, I am not eighty years old---rather 41 and desperately in need of lotion (apparently).  Now, comes the fun part.  Take the paper out, and decorate accordingly! If you are planning to keep it behind glass, remember your embellishments need to be fairly flat.

Using thin strips of black paper, I emphasized the division of the papers.  I put little stickers that were our first initials.  I cut kraft tags on my cricut and then placed number stickers on them.  I also used some AWESOME cutouts from a 1930's ad my mother gave me.  She gave me the ad because she knows I like vintage stuff and there was a cool bike ad on one side of the paper.  When I turned the paper over, the ad on the other side was for Kotex feminine supplies---I thought it was the most hilarious thing I'd ever read...for example, the little cartoon above says "What's your winning weapon?"  The answers are "sharp chatter", "samba knowhow", and "that starry-eyed look".  I laughed and laughed!

Here is my final product:

It's sometimes hard to get photos of bigger projects---I hope you can see this ok! This also makes a handy dry-erase surface (that's why I advised keeping the background light!) It's now hanging up in the kitchen, above the counter, and I see there are three post-it notes on it---

"Windex Patio Door"---in Ellie's section

"Write Thank You Notes"---in both girls' sections

and "Get oil change" in his section!  Wow, mine is empty...nothing to do today, must be.

I hope you find this useful---thanks for looking!

I decided I'm gonna link this up to a part over here: