Being housebound because of snow and sickness makes me a bit stir-crazy, but it also helps me get a bit creative. I had seen these cool dry erase calendars online for a while (like this one and my other inspiration one that I cannot find a link to), but because I thought I didn’t have any spare frames around, I wasn’t planning on making one any time soon. But then I remembered… in my life before kids (actually, before marriage), I was an opera singer and a voice teacher, and I had three huge opera prints framed for my voice studio. Luckily, they were stored in my parents’ attic and were still in great shape! I dug them out and went to work…
The frames themselves are 20″x28″ wood frames painted black – and instead of glass, they have plexiglass, which makes the frames nice and lightweight! To make our family calendar, I used a piece of foam board that I got at Michael’s (2 for $2.50!), a ruler, a pencil, a permanent marker, and scrapbooking stickers. Other tutorials that I saw online told you to draw with permanent marker directly on the glass in reverse and use vinyl cut-out stickers in reverse, too. However, the thought of drawing on the glass (plexiglass, in my case) seemed a bit too permanent, and I don’t do well in reverse, period. I also did not have the extra money or time to get vinyl cut-out stickers of what I wanted to put on my calendar, so I used what I had on hand.
And the scrapbooking stickers I had on hand? A little secret – they were pink and purple! yes! I don’t typically get a chance to use pink and purple stickers in my scrapbooks because of my boys, so I had all these extras left over, and I just went over them with a coat of black acrylic paint. It made them all dry and crackly, and I would not recommend doing that to stickers that are going to be touched in a scrapbook or anywhere else, but because these are under a sheet of plexiglass, they are absolutely good to go!
So, as I said, I had 2 inspiration calendars to go from: this one and one that I cannot find the link to. I loved the calendar part of the first one, and the second one did not have a monthly calendar part to it – it just had a weekly calendar and places for lists and chores and menus, etc. (does anyone remember seeing that as well? I even remember it was in a red frame, but I cannot find a link anywhere! if you remember it, let me know, and I’ll link to it!). I loved the looks of both of them, and because my frame was so large, I could combine the two!
Here are some close ups for you:
The Bible verse is not done in stickers… it is in my scribbly handwriting – the neatest I could get it. That is in permanent marker, directly on the foam board. And it’s verse that was shared on in our wedding (from Colossians 3:12-17), so it has always had special meaning to us.
All of the other handwritten stuff (month, dates, lists, etc.) are on top of the plexiglass and are easily erased with a bit of water and cloth… You can definitely use dry erase markers on here, but with little hands smudging everything in the house these days, I’m using wet erase markers for a bit more permanence. But not too much – because at the end of the month, I just wet it all down, wipe it all away, and start fresh!
And I’m sorry I didn’t clean up the “Chores” area before I took some pictures. It’s been smeared for a couple days, and I think it was a little wet hand that did it… The boys like seeing their chores up on the calendar, and we also put our memory verse in the “Remember” box. I can see me doing much more with the “To Do” and “Chores” boxes as the kids grow up and can actually read.
Our new family calendar is hanging on the door that goes from our kitchen into the laundry room/pantry, so it gets used ALL the time (but it gets terrible lighting- sorry about the dark pictures).
I used these nifty Command Picture Hanging Strips from 3M – very cool! 6 sets total – one each on top and bottom, and two on each side! No nail holes in my hollow-core door… completely removable and reposition-able if I wanted to move it to a different place.
This is so easy to do with whatever you have on hand – small frame, large frame, calendar, fabric… Look at these other ones here, here, here, and here, and I know there are more out there. Try it with a small frame and some pretty paper and use it for your memory verse or to leave love notes for your family on it!
Jen says
Great family calendar- can you make one for me pleeeease? he, he.
Jen
Creative and Curious Kids!
http://raisingcreativeandcuriouskids.com
.-= Jen´s last blog ..Welcome to Our Igloo! =-.
Natalyn says
Cool! I am an opera singer and voice teacher too! And I have planned to make something like this for my family but still haven’t gotten around to it.
.-= Natalyn´s last blog ..day 164. =-.
laura says
Great idea! I love how it turned out.
ohamanda says
So cute, Leigh! You are so creative! And I LOVE the Obey/Disobey chart below… 😉
heather g says
I love this Leigh!! Great idea. I hope to try this soon! 🙂
.-= heather g´s last blog ..Catching Up =-.
Vanderbilt Wife says
I LOVE this!! I am not terribly artistic but I have a lot of old scrapbook stuff and I think I could manage this!
But you have to tell me what a wet-erase marker is…
.-= Vanderbilt Wife´s last blog ..Top Ten Tuesday: Posts I Ought to Write =-.
Ms. H says
I absolutely love this!! Cannot wait to do my own… when I have time… at some point =)
Alison@howdoesshe says
Cute! I gave it a thumbs up in stumble upon!
.-= Alison@howdoesshe´s last blog ..FREE Teacher card and WANTED: teacher gift ideas =-.
Gabby says
You should also check out http://www.incrediline.com
They make whiteboard wall decals and they also come with calender designed ones that are 100% customizable
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Debbie M says
I think this is the website for that other calendar you were looking for. It’s pretty cool too, but I love yours 🙂
http://www.somewhatsimple.com/dry-erase-glass-calendar/
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Jodie says
So cute! Where did you get the picture frame?
Also are the squares written on the inside of the glass?
Jodie says
Trying to make my own. I love how yours turned out. Are the stickers on the outside of the plexiglass?
I’m having a hard time doing sticker letters backward.
Thanks