DIY Dry Erase Calendar: Silhouette Creators Challenge

Hi All!

It’s that time of the month again, the Silhouette Creators Challenge here! Every month I get together with a group of amazing bloggers to create a fun project using our Silhouette Machines! This month I challenged these wonderful ladies to use their Silhouette Machines to refresh something! Whether the were making something old new again or something new look old. They had to use their Silhouette Machines to makeover their item.

Farmhouse Kitchen Canister DIY – Houseful of Handmade
DIY Bar Tray – Two Purple Couches
Rachel Teodoro – Making a New Crate Look Vintage + Using a Stencil Made from Vinyl
My Life from Home – Farmhouse Glass Kitchen Sign
Kock it off Kim – Pantry Refresh and Organization
Michelle James Designs – Cool Clock Update
Simply {Darr}ling – Upcycled Painted Globe: Adventure Awaits
Pocketful of Posies – DIY Dry Erase Calendar

For my Silhouette Refresh Project I chose to make over this thrift store frame and print into a new DIY Dry Erase Calendar. Now I know you may be thinking, didn’t I make a command center with a weekly calendar, task list and memo holder a few months ago? Yes, I did. And it was a beautiful project.

However, my little office corner/ desk sits smack dab in the middle of our living room. Right now I am in the middle of giving our living room a makeover. This year the name of the game is simple. I want to simplify everything, from the amount of stuff we have hanging on our walls, to colors, and beyond. So in lieu of this new simplification, I decided to go with one simple DIY Dry Erase Calendar then the larger command center.

I started my frame makeover by removing the glass, picture and cardboard backing from my frame. Then I took it out side and gave it two quick coats of flat black spray paint.

While my paint was drying I grabbed my computer and set to work on my DIY Dry Erase Calendar Design. I began by opening my Studio Software and resizing the canvas to match the size of my frame, 16×20. Next using the line tool I began adding lines and moving them around until I had the right number of rows and columns.

Once all my grids were in place I copied and pasted each line in the calendar and added them next to its twin, adjusting the original line slightly so the small area would be centered. This new small area will become the actual grid when I cut it on my Silhouette Machine.

After all my lines were in place, I grabbed the small square eraser tool to remove the cross cutting lines at each grid intersection. This way when the grids were cut out all the lines would remain connected to their neighbor.

Now that I had my calendar set up exactly the way I wanted it. It was time to trim it down into multiple sections so I could cut all the grids. To do this I resized my canvas to the same size as my cut mat 12×12. Then using the knife tool I trimmed the excess away. DO NOT DELETE. Regroup each of the new sections and cut and paste them on to a new document.

Once I moved the cut sections to the new documents I mirrored each section. This way when I placed the grids on the reverse side my glass they would appear correctly from the front. With all of my grids placed on their perspective sheets I filled in the open space with the names of each month. DO NOT MIRROR THESE. Since I didn’t stick the name of each month on the glass I didn’t want to mirror the image. Instead I applied each month to a piece of paper the same size as the large opening at the top. This way I could easily add them to the frame each month.

To finish up my project I grabbed a large section of transfer tape, applied it my design and then weeded out the excess. Then I used this sure fire method to make sure my grids were even and level across the glass. Repeat until all the vinyl is transferred.

Finally,I finish up my new DIY Dry Erase Calendar by gently taping the long narrow piece of paper the month name was applied to in its correct place. Then I flipped the original art print over so the white side was facing out and put my frame back together.

Now the only thing left to do was write in the days of the month and hang it up! Tip: Did you know just about ANY marker can be a dry erase marker if you have a little rubbing alcohol and a cotton pad? To remove the marker simply wipe with a cotton pad soaked in a little rubbing alcohol! No need to buy special markers!

Do you like the look of my new simplified DIY Dry Erase Calendar? I do! I think it is going to fit in perfectly with my new Living Room Refresh Design!