Wall mounted Kraft paper holder...

Because of the way our kitchen is designed, and the fact that we don't have a freezer, I am at the grocery store every day to every other day.  It's a lifestyle change, and working from home makes this easy for me to do.  I am a list maker by nature, but this kitchen has turned me into a bit of a list monster!  I was constantly searching for my grocer post it notes or list that I had started, put down, and forgot where I put it.

The solution was to put a wall mounted kraft paper holder on the wall next to the kitchen.  At least that was the solution until I started pricing them!  I found one company that offered one, but at $240 plus $60 to ship, um, no.   So we decided to build one ourselves, and by "us" I mean Travis.  I pointed a lot and cheered him on ;)

We started out with a few things from the hardware store, including this roll of painter's paper found for $3.98, a fraction of the cost of Kraft paper...

It's thinner than traditional Kraft paper, but it was perfect for this project and the cost can't be beat.

Travis began by cutting the board backing.  Since it is mounted on the wall and I will be using a sharpie, I didn't want bleed through onto the wall....

He then took small square pieces and used the skill saw to cut out a slide in and holder notch for the dowel that will hold the paper roll....

Here you can see how he designed the dowel to slide in and sit inside the L shape.  Once the side square pieces were glued and nailed to the backer board, he placed another piece of wood to create the top of the board...

So the finished construction looked like this...

Then he painted the entire piece in Iron Ore by Sherwin Williams.  This is the same colour as our interior doors and I just love it's smoky black with a touch of grey...

Travis used four anchor bolts to attach it to the wall...

On the bottom of the board he attached a strip of metal to hold the paper down at the bottom...

We screwed an eye hook into the board and attached a string to hold the sharpie marker.  And VIOLA!  our wall mounted Kraft paper holder was completed for just $40 in material.  A much better alternative to the inspiration piece priced at $240...

We used our first list just yesterday at the store.  Sara goes with me to shop and reads out the list.  Because the paper (and writing) were much bigger it was so much easier for her to use the list.  Win-win in my book!