Thursday, October 20, 2011

DIY: Dry-Erase Calendar

Since joining the Pinterest world,
I have found so many things that I want to make!
One that caught my attention was a dry-erase calendar. 
Check it out here: amazingness

So, I decided to make one for my office out of green paint chips.
When I went to Wal-Mart, the cashier gave me the "stink eye"
because I was carrying LOTS of paint chips. 
I bet the thought going through her mind was,
"I can't believe she's getting all those paint chips for free!"

Note to self, next time I am doing a project with paint chips,
I'll remember not to go through that lady's checkout.

I then went to Hobby Lobby and purchased a 12" X 16" frame.
I didn't want a basic frame--I wanted something vintage looking.
I found a white-washed frame at half-price,
then took it home and did my own antiquing to it by
smearing some brown paint on the wood.
It came out just the way I wanted it.


Beforehand, I had cut all my paint chips to be 2" x 2".
Just enough room to write the times of important meetings.
Then I arranged the colors so that there was a
balance between light and dark colors.
And finally, I taped all the paint chips
to the blank side of the picture insert.


Then I assembled the frame together.


Took the frame to work and wrote in
 all the important things I need to remember.
All you need is a dry-erase marker and it write on the glass like a charm.


I've decided that I need to make another one so that I can have a
calendar showing me what's happening next month as well. 
Always gotta stay on my toes!

Can't wait to make more things from Pinterest!

36 comments:

  1. Love it!! I need to come see it in person! I KNEW you'd love pinterest!!! Hope you had a great vacation!!

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  2. Seriously this is the best use for paint chips I have seen. Hands down.

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  3. I just cleaned out the blues in paint chips at my walmart for this... hahaha

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  4. Love this idea, going out to get my frame today as I have been collecting paint chips for years. So I have enough for 12 months and Christmas
    presents :) Thanks for this fabulous idea!!!

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  5. What a GREAT idea! Just stopping by via the Tip Junkie!!

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  6. Great idea, so I had to give it a try. For the life of me, I couldn't get my squares as evenly squared as you did. BUT...it still came together. If you would like to see my try at copying your dry erase board...feel free to have a look/see.
    http://kasbn07.blogspot.com/2011/11/paint-chip-dry-erase-board.html

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  7. Really great idea. I've been planning on making some sort of wall calender for a while now and I've seen some great tutorials on different chalkboard calenders but I really like this one.
    Maybe I'll try it out myself (before the year ends) and post it on my blog.
    http://patentpendingprojects.blogspot.com/
    Thanks for the inspiration.

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  8. stumbled upon your site via Pinterest and can't wait to try this project! what size frame did you use? thanks for your post!

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  9. Love it!!! I can't wait to make one of my own. I'm thinking a chore chart for the kids and the hubby. :) Maybe even a calendar as a Christmas gift for my moms business. Thanks for sharing :)

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  10. here from pinterest, LOVE THIS! can't wait to make one!!

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  11. Here from Pinterest. Love your blog! Can't wait to try this myself!

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  12. what a cool idea! So creative!

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  13. I did this with an old set of cards, it looks really cool. Thanks for the idea!

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  14. I saw this on PInterest as well and fell IN LOVE. I am going to make one for my studio and then my (future) art classroom!!

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  15. Is this glass or plexiglass for the writing surface?

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  16. http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=2724597286204

    I didn't go to the trouble of cutting the strips, I used a rainbow...7 colors 7 days...and I used 2 spots per day...That way I could do home and school assignments! Great ideas!

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  17. What is covering the color chips? It looks like some kind of plastic material but it's not mentioned in the material list.

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    Replies
    1. The only thing covering the paint chips is the glass from the frame.

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  18. This is such a clever idea! Thanks so much for sharing this!

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  19. Just made this! I used a piece of white poster board as my backing. It had the "ghost lines" on it and made having nice even rows a cinch.

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  20. How did you figure out the measurements b/w the paint chips and around the frame?

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    1. Well, for starters, I hate to measure things, and so I like to do a lot of things by trial and error. But here's some things you could do.
      1) You could cut normal paper into different sizes and arrange them on your frame to see how they would look, that way you can see it without having to cut your paint chips and possibly not cutting them the right size.
      2) When I was trying to figure out how big to make my paint chips, I took into consideration a few things. I knew that the frame was 16 inches across, and that I at least wanted 2 inch chips. So with 7 days of the week, that would mean the chips would take up at least 14 inches, leaving 2 inches for spacing. The same goes for the height of the frame, which was 12 inches. Since I wanted 5 rows, that meant at least 10 inches of paint chips, leaving me 2 inches of spacing. So I then knew that I would have equal space between all the chips.
      3) I then placed the chips on the frame and outlined the permeter with chips which gave me a grid to work with and then it was easy to fill in the rest of the chips. Plus, I had to rearrange some because different chips looked better closer to one another.

      Hope that helps!

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  21. LOVE this idea!!! Making a trip to Home Depot tonight! :)

    Dana

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  22. I'm trying to do this using a frame that is 11 x 14. How did you figure out what the spacing and border could be between the paint chips....I'm having a hard time figuring out how big I can cut the paint chips and what the spacing and border will be since I cannot make my paint chips 2 x 2 since I don't have enough room. How did you figure this out?

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    1. Here's what I wrote to another DIYer:

      Well, for starters, I hate to measure things, and so I like to do a lot of things by trial and error. But here's some things you could do.
      1) You could cut normal paper into different sizes and arrange them on your frame to see how they would look, that way you can see it without having to cut your paint chips and possibly not cutting them the right size.
      2) When I was trying to figure out how big to make my paint chips, I took into consideration a few things. I knew that the frame was 16 inches across, and that I at least wanted 2 inch chips. So with 7 days of the week, that would mean the chips would take up at least 14 inches, leaving 2 inches for spacing. The same goes for the height of the frame, which was 12 inches. Since I wanted 5 rows, that meant at least 10 inches of paint chips, leaving me 2 inches of spacing. So I then knew that I would have equal space between all the chips.
      3) I then placed the chips on the frame and outlined the permeter with chips which gave me a grid to work with and then it was easy to fill in the rest of the chips. Plus, I had to rearrange some because different chips looked better closer to one another.

      Hope that helps!

      For your frame, you might start off with 1 3/4 inch squares and see where that gets you. Since your frame has one even length side and one odd length side, it would be hard to make it evenly spaced all around. You would have more space between the chips vertically (2 1/4 inches extra) than you would horizontally (1 3/4 inches extra).

      Ultimately, if you use 1 3/4 inch squares, that means you would take up 12 1/4 inches horizontally, and you would take up 8 3/4 inches vertically.

      Hope that makes sense!

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    2. Thank you I will try the paper idea!

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  23. Collecting paint chips from a store when you have no intention of buying paint is theft. The store has to pay for them and there not cheap. That's why the cashier was giving you the "this woman's stealing from the store" look.

    Fortunately, this project is just as easy to make with squares of coloured paper.

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    1. hi, i do agree, I would buy something , then it's cool like a couple of cans of spray paint, I'm always doing some project or painting old furniture with black or white paint, to buy nothing is plain cheap. the store will start running out of green chips ! nay nay

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  24. I love this idea it can go with any cor scheme or style (depending on the frame u choose!) i have also gotten the "stink eye" @ places where ive gotten my paint chips... I just spread the love around to the different stores so im not taking advantage of their supply. So appreciate this idea :0) thanks

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  25. I love this idea! Check out my blog Reuse and Repurpose. It is about how you can reuse and re-purpose different items. www.reuserepurpose.blogspot.com. I have also followed your blog, please do the same for me! Thanks!

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  26. I really love this idea! I have it on my list of things to do for my new apartment!

    Helen
    Blue Eyed Beauty Blog

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  27. Great idea! (please use a different font on the site...)

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  28. This is such a great idea! I made one in blues with a simple but sleek black frame, and I love it! It's so useful and convenient for my husband and I and our busy schedule! Thank you!

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