Useful Art for the Kitchen

My first "turn some old, ugly art from goodwill into something great" project is complete. As promised, it was really easy. However, it didn't turn out as the perfectly quaint little piece of art I pictured in my head :) I haven't lost hope though, it could easily be improved.

My husband actually came up with the idea. Matt and I were wandering around Macy's and he saw a spatula with a bunch of measurement conversions on it. He mentioned that it would be convenient to have in the kitchen. I thought, "I can make that!" 

"I can make that" is a declaration that often leaves my lips... my follow through is a different story.

Off I went in search of a frame to use for the project. I found this one during a trip to goodwill.

I used some Rustoleum Specialty Lacquer spray paint in white and some acrylic paint in Leaf Green to paint the frame and matte.

I then googled "kitchen conversions" and used the CSG Networks conversions table. The idea of measuring out a drop, dash, and pinch was fun so I included that information from Robbie's Kitchen website. I don't know anything about either site, just trying to give credit to my conversion sources.

I attempted to use photoshop to spruce it up a bit and then printed out the conversions table using our printer at home.

Diego the dog cat tried to help me photograph it for you.

Once he went outside I got a better photo.

My favorite part.

I like the way the frame and matte turned out, but I don't love it. So far I'm out of creative juices but I may try to rearrange and print it again later. We'll see if I can come up with a more exciting display.

The good news is that I can vouch that its useful! We've already used the chart to figure out how to divide up the water needed for thinset to make smaller batches for tiling. So even if the closest I've come to cooking lately is calling the Spaghetti Factory, its handy for house projects too.

Here's a before and after look at the frame.

And this is how it looks in our kitchen (please forgive the kitchen. Its on the 2011 totally-gut-and-remodel to do list).

Any ideas on how to give it a little more pizazz?


Update! A reader asked for the document I used for this artwork (which totally made me fist pump in the air, so honored!). Here is a jpg file. If you'd like the pdf (better quality) please leave a comment and I'll email you! (I'm having trouble uploading the pdf.) Also, if you blog about it I ask that you kindly link back to this post.


Post linked up at Thrifty Decor Chick and Between Naps on the Porch.