Dry Erase Calendar

I have always loved this dry erase clear calendar I keep seeing at Joanns. (Which I can't find online right now). Well then I saw THIS on Jennifer Priests blog .

Then it totally hit me... I can make one too. The thing I didn't like about the Joann's one was that it was just clear, so you would just see the wall behind it, and my walls are on the darker side, so I figured it would be hard to read, and it was a bigger size as well, I want to say a 16x20?? size maybe. Oh and it was $40.00. So as soon as I read Jennifer's post my brain started to have all these ideas. I was originally going to use a 12x12 scrapbook frame. However when I went to Michaels yesterday they only had them in red, and I didn't really like how skinny the frame was, and how deep it was. I wanted something flatter for my idea. So for the same price of $9.99 (then I used my 40% off coupon) I got this Black 11x14 frame. It was EXACTLY what I wanted, the right thickness, color and I really wanted the bigger size. Since there are so many of us, and I am always writing myself notes on the calander, the size was perfect.

Well then I don't have paper that is 14 inches long...so I thought about it and the inside liner that came in the frame got flipped over and that is what I printed my calander on. I was going to make it fit across the entire page, but it wasn't printing correctly, so I printed it like it is. I was going to trim it all up, but I ended up liking the extra space, for those notes I am always writing to myself. Then I just added a strip of creamish and redish pp to the top and it was that simple for the inside. So then it was just winging it from there. I bought the tiny mug hooks at walmart yesterday too, because that was part of my original idea.

So I added some wide ribbon, and kraft color twine and made a bow. I glue dotted two buttons together, and added that to the middle of the bow. Then I screwed in the hooks. I had a different idea for the tags for the months and year, but ended up going with this one and I love it alot. I just cut the back part in black, and the inside part in the pp I used inside the frame. On the silhouette software, I typed the word inside the frame so that it would just cut out the word and the black would show through. That way I didn't have to glue on all those individual letters. Then I punched out some holes and tied some of the thin twine on the tags and then hooked them on the hooks.

I only had a black dry erase marker, but I want to get some colored ones like Jennifer did (you know for my color coded calanders lol). I saw some at Michaels, but thought I might find some cheaper ones at Walmart, and forgot to even look.

So here it is.... My version.....

(Please pay no attention to my kitchen cabinets that are not done getting painted yet)

Now I searched all over Walmart for some magnet sheets, and couldn't find it anywhere. Everyone kept sending me to different departments after I searched everywhere myself. So I gave up. I had some little magnets that were flat at home on the fridge (something the kids had). So I cut them up and super glued them to the back of the frame. I wanted to hang it on my fridge. However, I don't think the magnets were strong enough, because it all just slides down the front of the fridge. So if I can't find a stronger magnet, then I am going to do like Jennifer did and staple gun another ribbon to the top, and then get a strong hook magnet and just hang it that way to the front of the fridge. I can't wait to get the colored markers and color code everything on it. :)

I think that this is going to be the gift that I make as my handmade Christmas gift for my side of the family. I will just make each one to match each persons decor. I think I will only have to spray paint 2 of the frames. :) It was so quick and easy to make too. And it is cheap to make as well, but doesn't look cheaply made. The paper is cheap, the frame came to about $6.00. Ribbon is pretty inexpensive, although I did see the green one in the Christmas section at Michaels that I want to use for my brothers and it was $7.00 a roll, so gotta love those coupons. If I start now and make one a week, I will be done with all 6 way before Christmas. I might end up making 8 though. I wasn't going to make my cousins each one, by why not. One has a son in school and sports, and one has a busy job so they could both use it. I am thinking I will just buy one dry erase marker for each person too, and cover it in pp that matches their calendar. Then I will attach the dry erase marker to some more twine and attach that to the calendar. Man I am so excited to do these for everyone for Christmas. :)