DIY Whiteboard Calendar

I wanted to make a cute whiteboard-type calendar for our kitchen to help keep track of our busy schedules.  Pinterest had some cute ideas, and I decided it was a fairly simple project worth doing.  We already had an extra frame on hand that would match nicely in our kitchen.  I love going to Joann Fabrics for most craft supplies, but I especially get sucked into the fabrics.  There are so many fabrics I would love to buy for quilts or costumes; I get quite inspired and then want to start more projects each time I go.  I often have had to keep my project list in check in order to prevent getting ahead of myself and knee deep in multiple projects.  I found a cute fabric that I thought would be a good background for the calendar.  Initially I had seen the idea of getting different colored paint chips from Home Depot/ Lowes and cutting them to size for each day of the week, and I thought this was a fun idea with lots of colors to choose from.  I had intentions to do this and once I had decided on a color, I realized it would involve a few trips to the store in order to get enough for 35 squares (one for each day of a calendar).  Once I had the fabric, I decided I would just use some plain white and gray scrapbook paper for my squares- to save myself all the trips to the store and get the calendar finished sooner.

I cut & folded the fabric to fit the frame.  I decided to slightly wider than the width of the frame and then taped the edges down on the back.  I left the length of fabric and just folded & taped it on the back, in order to keep the piece as large as possible just in case I want to use it for something else in the future.  Then I used my paper cutter to cut each square to 2.75" x 2.75".  I made 35 squares of grey & white.  This size square allowed me to have a nice size border around the edge of the calendar.  Then I used tape to gently hold each square in place, with a thin gap between squares to act as the border lines for the calendar.  I made a rectangular "Month" piece and attached that at the top.  Then I gently flipped the whole piece over and set it into the frame and closed it up.

Bought a pack of thin tip dry erase markers, and now we have a re-usable monthly calendar to help keep our busy lives coordinated.  This is an easy & inexpensive project, and looks cute too.  I have seen others make white boards for "To Do" and shopping lists and also one week calendars.  Whatever your need, there is a board that can easily be made to serve your purposes.