For my cousin’s wedding last month, I gifted him and his new bride a dry erase family calendar. Having made one for my own house a few years ago, I know first hand how very useful it is for keeping track of everyone’s schedules. It’s the perfect place to keep all the details of school stuff, appointments, travel trips, birthdays and other activities in one central and easy to read place.
Want one too? I thought you might…
1. Purchase a large frame. I bought mine from Michael’s with a 50% off coupon. All the following dimensions are based on my preferred frame size of 24″ x 36″, but feel free to adjust these instructions larger or smaller as needed.
2. Disassemble the frame and use spray adhesive to cover the cardboard back-piece with fabric. I like to use light colored fabric so the rectangles show up better.
3. It’s always easiest to initially cut the fabric too big, then come back and trim the excess.
4. Find scrapbook papers in a coordinating color theme of your choice. Mix subtle patterns with solid colors, but I recommend not using any high contrast prints or dark colors, as it is difficult to read the writing on them. Cut the papers down to 35 — 3″ x 4″ rectangles ( 7 columns x 5 rows).
5. Use a craft punch, Cricut, or Silhouette machine to cut out 35 circles of white cardstock, all 1″ diameter. If you don’t have access to those things, you can also use the 3/4″ white price stickers they sell for garage sales.
6. Adhere the circles to the upper right hand corners of all your rectangles.
7. Before gluing anything to your large board, arrange the rectangles to get a composition of colors and patterns that you like.
8. To attach the rectangles, I used my Xyron sticker maker to apply permanent adhesive to the back each one. However, a glue stick or other craft glue will work, too.
9. Measure down 10″ from the top of the board and square a tape measure across. Glue your center paper with it’s midpoint at 12″, then glue your two outside papers 1″ from the edges. Eyeball the placement of the other four papers in between. Work your way down until all are attached.
10. Back at the top, add your family name and a box to write the month.
11. Use your craft cutter or purchase letter stickers to apply the month and days of the week.
12. At the bottom, I like to add lines for To Do’s.
13. Reassemble your completed calendar inside the frame. These adhesive pen holders are perfect for keeping a fine tip dry erase marker handy. Just stick it to the outside of the glass.
While smartphone calendars are nice, this is such a great way to keep visual track of your entire family’s monthly happenings!
