Getting Organized in 2013: Dry Erase Calendar Tutorial

With the coming of a new year also comes resolutions. I, for one, decided that I was NOT going to have any this year. But most do, and I'm pretty sure for most people getting organized might be on that list. 

Here to help you with that is Jen. She's the Mama from A Mrs. & A Mama. If you have not yet stumbled upon this delightful creative blog I'm more than happy to turn you on to it. They've got an awesome variety of crafts, home decor projects, and recipes ready to share with you. 

So, without further ado...

Hello! I'm Jen, I blog over at A Mrs. & A Mama. We are a mother-daughter team that love to craft and bake. On our blog you will find different recipes we are trying, Pinterest project successes and failures, craft projects, and home decor. Stop by and say hi. We love meeting new people and making new friends, especially those that share our interests.

Okay so I've been putting in my fair share of Pinterest surfing hours; I'm sure most of you can relate. I kept coming across cute pins for dry erase calendars - most made from paint chips. Well my husband has been asking that we put up a calendar for a while now, and I really could not bring myself to buy an ugly store-bought calendar. Queue the Pinterest project. I had a fairly large print (24"x28") that my mom had given me with the perfect frame for the project. The print is actually really cool but I think it needs an updated frame, like a chunky dark wooden one.

I measured my frame and went to work planning the execution. I may have over thought this part, but I wanted to make sure it looked even and nice in the end.

After the OCD planning it was time to start browsing the Silhouette store for the shapes I wanted to use. From there I landed on a green and black color scheme; this will be hanging in our kitchen and our accent color is apple green. I ran to Michael's craft store for my papers and thought I would be using a poster board for the background.....but a few different stores I went to do not make poster boards in 24x28 only 22x28. I was kind of crushed. I didn't want to have to piece anything together and have ugly seams.

Then the hubs suggested I use fabric. BRILLIANT! I flipped the existing print over (which was mounted to a board inside the frame) and wrapped the fabric around it. The fabric we picked almost didn't work, the polka dot print was very bold, I ended up having to add an additional layer of sheer white fabric over top to make it a little more subtle.

Once that was resolved I cut all of my shapes out with my Silhouette Cameo. Side note: If you are new to your Silhouette, be sure that you adjust the actual blade in your machine not just the cut settings on your computer. I totally forgot that and wasted a bunch of paper because it wasn't cutting through all the way (totally lame, I know). Also, be sure your blade is placed all the way into the cartridge and locked down (this was a bit of advice from my mom). 

I played around a bit with placement and had originally intended to use a ruler to lay every square, but I'm impatient so I eyeballed it.

I used double sided tape to attach the larger pieces on and an extra strength Elmer's glue stick for the smaller pieces. The black boarder between the calendar and "notes" section was ribbon.

My husband helped reassemble the frame and I love it! We can write on the glass and keep all of our appointments and our work out schedule perfectly on track.