DIY Wall-Sized Dry Erase Board

A couple of months ago, I was shopping at one of my favorite craft stores. On the wall behind the register was this:A magnetic, dry erase calendar!! WALL SIZED!!

As a freelance writer and marketing consultant, I am constantly juggling deadlines. Combine that with my personal assistant status to two toddlers, and my brain can't keep track of all the dates and times. It is an understatement to say that I was coveting the Pottery Barn calendar that you see above. After doing a little research, I discovered that this thing would cost me $160 (if I could find it on sale) and it was made of two pieces of metal that I needed to butt up against one another. (You can see the seam running right through the middle of Thursday.)
I knew there must be a better and cheaper way.

Here's the result of a little creative brainstorming and elbow grease:
Behold, my own "Pottery Barn" Knock-off.

Supplies:

• 2 white panel-board panels from Home Depot (these are 3/8" thick and finished with a smooth white surface) = 2 @ $12.98 = $25.96
  
• 1 roll of blue electrical tape from Home Depot (to make the calendar grid) = $3.97
• 2 sheets of green foam (9"x12") from Walmart (to make the backing for the calendar numbers) = 2 @ $0.97 = $1.94
• 1 package of Heavy Duty velcro strips = $2.29
• 2 hours of work = Priceless
• TOTAL COST: $34.16
  

My husband hung the panel boards for me on an empty wall in my office. The panels are 4'x8'. He trimmed mine to 6' tall. I pieced two together but you can't tell because I planned the grid so that the electrical tape would cover the seam. The total size is about 5.5'x6'.

I measured out my monthly grid, and designed my calendar number templates in Illustrator. I made a 5x7 square grid. (5 weeks, 7 days) Each square is 10" wide by 12" high.

Here's a close-up of the numbers. Click here to download a 2-page PDF of all the calendar numbers. I printed the numbers on full sheet labels and cut them out. Then adhered them to circles that I had cut out of the foam sheets. Finally I attached small squares of velcro to each circle. This way, I can change out the numbers every month.

I'm a little bit anal when it comes to aesthetics, so I didn't want blank sqaures of ugly black velcro hanging out at the beginning and end of each month. So, I made some blank circles with only the design on them to cover up the extra squares left when the 1st of the month starts on a different day.

I originally started out with the idea of melamine panels. I had heard that the Melamine surface mimics that of a dry erase board. But the woman at Home Depot directed me to the panel boards because they are a lot thinner, and consequently, there is a lot less weight to hang on the wall. The white panel boards are also 1/3 the cost of the Melamine. She even found some dry erase markers at Home Depot and let my sons color all over the panel before I bought it. The ensured that we would be able to wipe off the marker each month.
Now that I have it up, I'm in love. The marker comes right off with a clean rag. Red, blue and green markers work the best. The black marker leaves some shadowing and residue, but even that comes off with a little bit of rubbing alcohol. The white board doesn't have the magentic attributes that the Pottery Barn calendar had, but that's what post it notes were invented for. My office is lined with bulletin boards for tacking things up, so anything that needs sticking to the calendar board, I'll write on a Post-It.
The best part is that I ended up with a space about 18" high by 70" wide at the bottom of the panels. This is the perfect area for my sons to color. They have their own coloring board, and I don't have scribbles all over my calendar.

DIY :: Craft Room Supply Holders

My oilcloth finally arrived from Mendels. The photo is only a smattering of what I got. This particular stack was a "Remnants pack." You got 3 total yards of oilcloth in patterns of their choosing. They are sized anywhere from 1/8 yard to 1/2 yard each. From left to right the patterns are: Medium Blue Hibiscus, Light Blue Gingham Mini Check, Red Blooms, Blue Cafe Check, Turquoise San Miguel, Red Polkadots, Light Blue Background Oranges, Solid Gray and White Background Cherries. I also got some special order cuts of stripes, polka dots and a great vintage toile pattern for making totebags.
Meanwhile, these remnants are the perfect size for my first Craft Room makeover project -- DIY supply holders. The goal of this craft room is to buy as few things as possible, reuse as many household items as I can while making it beautiful and welcoming.

We recycle in my house, but I always fill guilty tossing that piles of cans from soups, green beans (the kids will only eat the canned kind) and other things. I started saving them and decided they would make the perfect containers to tame my office supply addiction.

Below, you'll see the supplies needed for this VERY simply project. The hotglue gun isn't pictured here. It was heating up in the background.

(Tin or aluminum can - washed and dried, craft scissors, measuring tape, hotglue gun and oilcloth remnant):

Measure the height and circumference of the can. Choose a section of your oilcloth remnant that you'd like to use. In this case, I choose the one below because it had a large section of the hibiscus design intact. Cut a rectangle that is 3/4 taller than the height of your can and 1/2 inch longer than your can's circumference.

You can use the craft scissors to make one edge look more decorative. In this case, I used the Fiskars Wave patterned scissors. You could just as easily use pinking shears or leave the top a straight edge. This takes about 1/4 inch off - leaving the swatch 1/2 inch taller than your can.

Run a line of hot glue down one of the short ends of your rectangle. Secure this from the top to the bottom on your can. Position the oilcloth so that your scallops (or other design) sit slightly above the top edge of the can (~1/8 inch). Wrap the remaining fabric around the can's circumference - using the hotglue gun to secure the fabric as you go. I run a thin line of glue around the top of the can and use that to secure the oilcloth. You'll secure the remainder of the oilcloth to the bottom of the can, so you don't really need much glue on the sides of the can. Once the can is completely wrapped, you should have 1/2 inch of oilcloth that overlaps your starting end. Run a thin line of hot glue down this end of the oilcloth and secure from the top to the bottom of the can.

When you're finished, your product should look like this. You'll have roughly 1/2 inch of oilcloth hanging below the bottom of the can. Take a pair of sharp scissors and make straight cuts in the oilcloth from the bottom of the overhanging piece to the bottom of the can. These should be spaced every 1/4-inch (or so) around the overhanging fabric. This will create small tabs of oilcloth that will fold more easily under the bottom of the can. Fold these tabs under one at a time securing with hot glue as you go. See results below:

Make sure when you are cutting your tabs that you only trim to within 1/8 inch of the bottom of the can, but not all the way to the bottom or above it. If you cut too far, you will be able to see the cuts marks after the tabs are secured and you flip the can over.

At this point, you could be finished, but I like to cover the remaining portion of the can on the bottom. Measure the diameter of the "circle" of can left uncovered on the bottom. In this case, it was 2.25"x2.25". I cut a square out of craft paper to these dimesions. You can easily use your scissors to trim the square's corners to create a circle pattern. Use this pattern to measure the circle of oilcloth. Trace and trim.

Secure the circle to the bottom of the can with hot glue, and allow your project to dry.

Here are the finished products. These are currently filled with paper clips and rubber bands. I have 2 more soup cans waiting to be covered for holding staples and binder clips of various sizes.

Note: Some people don't like to see the raw edge of the can on the inside of the top. You could easily cut your oilcloth larger and fold it over the top of the can to create a finished look. I don't mind being able to see the little bit of can that peeks out of the masses of rubber bands, etc.

Another thing to keep in mind is the sharp edge left on the can when you remove the top with a can opener. If the can wasn't opened with a clean cut, the metal can leave jagged edges which can poke little fingers (or your own). I use a pair of needle nosed pliers to cafefully pinch down the sharp lip that can be left inside the can.