Dry-Erase Calendar

As (I hope) we're all aware, we've begun a new year recently, and we all know what that means...  breaking out the new calendars.  But this year, instead of going out to buy one with kittens or One Direction plastered on every page (although don't get me wrong, I love kittens), why not make your own?  Today's SunDIY is a calendar made out of a picture frame and paint swatches.  Literally.  That's it.  Plus, it's dry-eraseable, so you can use it month after month after month!

Ready to learn how?  Here we go!

DIY Paint Swatch Calendar

Materials needed:

• Empty picture frame (11x14 works best, but you can adjust the project to any size)
• White paper
• 7 paint swatches in your choice of color
• Scissors
• Pencil
• Glue stick
• Dry erase marker
• Decorations (optional)

Let's get crafting!

1. First things first, we want to cover up that ugly cardboard background of our frame.  To do this, we simply remove the back and trace it onto a piece of white paper (or color or your choice).  Cut it out.  Your piece of paper should fit perfectly into your frame.
2. Next, we're going to take that piece of paper and position our paint swatches on it in the pattern we want.  Hint:  If you're using an 11x14in frame, you should be able to lay your swatches perfectly along the long side of your paper.
   
3. Once we've decided our calendar's layout, go ahead and glue those puppies down.
   
4. Now's the time to decorate your calendar.  This is completely optional.  You can leave it as-is and decorate it with the dry-erase marker later if you'd like.  I decided my calendar needed a little...pizzaz, so I glitter-glued that plain white line in between the shades of color.  A little sparkle never hurt anyone.

   

   you can't see my sparkles :,(

5. If you did decide to decorate, make sure whatever you used is *completely dry* before the next step.
6. Once we're satisfied with our little piece of artwork, it's time to frame it!

   

   aww, how purdy

7. Now for the finishing touches!  With your dry-erase marker, add the name of the month, the days of the week, and numbers for your days.  Then you can add any extra doodles and such to spice up your calendar :)
   
8. Once you're satisfied (and have doodled to your hearts desire), it's time to display your masterpiece!!!
   

Beautiful, isn't it?

The wonderful thing about this calendar is that at the end of each month, you can simply grab a tissue, wipe your calendar off, and draw on the next month!  Easy-peasy!  Or, if you'd like, you can redo the background for each month.  I usually change the background for each season.  For example, a red, brown, and orange one for fall.  A silver and blue one for winter.  You get the idea.  But it's up to you.  You could just pick colors that match the room you plan to display your calendar in and leave the background in permanently.  (I just get bored with things too quickly to take this route. haha)

Well I hope you enjoyed this easy and practical project.  Make sure to check in next week for another DIY! :)

See you then and happy crafting!

~Hanna