Usually, when I decide to start a craft project, it’s because I’ve seen something online or in a store that I really want, but don’t necessarily need. In this case, the need came first. While I LOVE my calendar on my smartphone, and use it on a daily basis, I still need a physical calendar so that I can see my month as a whole all at once. I started looking around and found this “Rustic Wall Organizer” at Pottery Barn. The dry erase calendar seemed like it would be perfect, well except for that pesky $199 price tag.
To make this, there were really two options: either from scratch or with some shortcuts. I’m a shortcut kind of girl, so that’s the way I’m going. But if you have access to the tools and have the ability to measure angles and everything else this would require – best of luck to you!
Now, I’ve made smaller versions of dry erase calendars before by printing a calendar and putting it under the glass of an 8″ x 10″ frame. The original here is a 24″ x 36″ dry erase board, which seems a bit big for my space.
I found an 16″ x 20″ wood(ish) frame at Michael’s for $6 and decided that was the perfect size (a good deal tends to make my decisions for me quite often). For the price, the frame wasn’t going to be exactly like the original, and I was okay with that. Its a flat, simple, rectangular frame that is in a wood tone that works in my kitchen, so that makes it just right for me.
For the calendar, I used my favorite Pinterest discovery yet – Staples Engineering Prints. If you’ve ever tried to print anything larger than 8.5″ x 11″, you know it can get REALLY pricey. These let you print large images and documents in black and white for a ridiculously cheap price. Here, I printed on an 18″ x 24″ piece of paper for $1.79.
I used an editing program to recreate the calendar in the original, scaled it to 14″ x 18″ (to fit my frame) and then added it to an 18″ x 24″ image so that it would print the correct size at Staples. If you’d like to download the calendar that will print on the 18″ x 24″ to fit a 14″ x 18″ frame, you can download it here. (If you’d like to try it on a different size frame, let me know and I can upload a different size document.)
To cut the calendar to fit, I laid the glass over it, centered it and traced the glass, then cut it out.
I put the calendar in the frame (making sure the glass was clean) and then placed the backing back in.
And there you go! This was really easy, and after the calendar was created and printed, it only took a few minutes to complete.
Once you’re done, just write on the glass like you would a usual dry erase board. Fill in the month, the dates, and all your important schedules. You could really tailor this to your personal style depending on the frame you choose, and you could make it for even less if you recycled a frame from around the house. Now I just need to buy some dry erase markers – I see some serious color coding in my future.
Pottery Barn Rustic Wall Organizer (Calendar)
Supplies:
– Large frame with glass/plastic ($6 at store)
– Printed calendar (under $2 at Staples)
Pottery Barn cost – $199
Total cost for me? $8
There is no way on the Good Lord’s green earth I would pay $199 for the original!! But $8? Yes, Ma’am!!
That’s basically the thought that plays in my head on repeat when I’m shopping.
Me too, or the other recurring thought is “Are you kidding me, I could make that for $___” (and the amount in that blank is always exponentially lower than the purchase price of the original). This is why I love your blog. Keep ’em coming!