DIY Whiteboard Calendar

Nothing like getting a calendar put together when the year is halfway over!

...better late then never, right?

Here is a little peek at the finished project:

To make this whiteboard calendar, I started with a vain magnet board I found at the thrift store for under $5. The photo doesn't really do it justice. The frame was "Pepto" pink, the metal sheet was significantly scratched, and it looked a little like it had taken a terrible tumble down a few sets of stairs.

The back looked just as beat, and had a homemade hanger out of a couple of nails and and old wire hanger twisted around them.  It was just begging for a makeover!! How could I resist?

First, I took the "hanger" off, took out the cardboard backing, and the metal sheet.

I gave the frame a good sanding and a couple of coats of white primer.

Once dry, I then gave the frame a couple of coats of black paint.

While the frame was drying, it was time to prep the metal sheet. I loved the idea of having a metallic calendar, but even better would be a metallic, whiteboard calendar. {I realize I could have gone out and bought a premade metallic whiteboard calendar, but I love being able to create something myself with things I already have...}

So, all I needed was a way to turn a metallic sheet into a whiteboard. I've seen some dry erase paint, but that was very expensive. Then, I found a big roll of whiteboard/dry erase vinyl that would work perfectly! All I had to do was clean the metal sheet and apply the vinyl. Couldn't have been easier.

Now, to make the calendar. I considered using a Sharpie or permanent marker, but I didn't want it to accidentally come off or fade when cleaning the board. My awesome husband came up with the perfect solution: car pinstriping! You can find it at just about any auto shop for pretty cheap.

I measured out the squares and how big I wanted the calendar to be. I didn't want to use the entire sheet of the calendar - I also wanted to have a space to write out a shopping list or any notes.

I used a ruler to mark where to apply the pinstriping and carefully cut all the pieces to fit. I'm sure it's not perfect, but it's close enough for me! I whipped out a package of dry erase markers {with handy magnetic lids} and wrote out the calendar and started a shopping list.

It looked okay, but I thought it all needed a little something more...

So, I bought a roll of magnetic strip and then designed the months and days of the week on the computer and printed them out on cardstock. The months are the height of the magnet strip, so I just placed them all on the adhesive side of the magnet. The days of the week are half the height, so I placed  two together {in exception of Saturday, it was left all alone...} on the magnet strip so I wouldn't waste any, then cut them all out. Easy as that!

I hung up the calendar and put the magnets on. MUCH easier and cuter than my handwriting! I plan on making some magnets for the number dates, but I haven't gotten around to it yet.

I can deal with that much handwriting for now :)

I also decided it would be easier to place a magnetic notebook to the empty side of the calendar instead of writing it all out in marker, then rewriting when we need to go to the store.

So nice to be more organized!!

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