A great, cheap idea

So - did you see my tutorial at The CSI Project?
Here it is and I'm SO SO SO excited that they shared my tutorial with their readers!!



Today, I want to show you how to make this cute calendar.

Here's what you need:

4 pieces of scrapbook paper ($2.00)

adhesive (dry and/or spray) - on hand

Exacto knife - on hand

Popsicle stick or craft stick - on hand

buttons or flowers, brads, scrap cardboard - any kind of embellishments really - on hand

and this cool thing: ($1.00)

 

I found this at the Dollar Tree in the teacher/classroom area.  I thought it was a really good base to use for this calendar idea I've had for a while now.  

Here are the steps I took:

1.  Take the board apart by using scissors to pop the silver back off.  2.  Decide where you want your holes to go and cut them out.  (I just increased one of the existing holes and cut a new one in the spot I wanted)

Next, you want to trace the back circle on the paper you want as your background and cut it out.  Then you want to sand the side you are attaching the paper to since it's sort of shiny, to make sure the adhesive really sticks! Then spray your adhesive and attach your paper.

Next, you want to follow the same steps for the top circle.  After you trace, cut, and adhere, you'll want to cut out the holes you added.  I did this from the back and then flipped it over to make sure I trimmed it enough. Oh, see that hole down there - go ahead and use your knife and poke the hole through the paper.  You can do that on both circles.

Now I used a circle template to trace my circle needed for my days of the week.  This part can be a bit tricky.  You want to make sure your circle will fit in between the two holes you've cut. I traced the circle and cut it out (you can use a bowl or anything round).  Find the center and poke a hole through the paper.  I used the silver pieces and put everything back together to make sure it all lined up right.  (Back circle, paper circle and top circle) While it was all together, I traced the shape of my long skinny hole for my days of the week. I did ten spots, just trace one, slide the circle and trace the next. You could print the words and glue them on paper, but I just wrote them myself.  After you trace them, take it all apart again and glue or write your days of the week. Then erase your pencil lines.

Now,  we need to attach a popsicle stick or craft stick.  The one I had was a weird one with this circle on one end, so I just made it work.  You'll want to put adhesive on one side and attach it to the BACK of the days of the week circle.  You'll use this to spin your days, so I let it overlap the circle.  I used a scrap of paper to cover the large circle on the end, just for an added touch of color.  If you are using a regular craft stick, you could use a flower or buttons on the end to make it stand out.  I did play around with it a bit to make sure that no matter which day we were on, the popsicle stick wouldn't block the number of the date.

 

 Next, stack it all together and add the silver pieces we popped off earlier. At this point, I wrote in my numbers.  I just started with 1st, and turned until you could no longer see the print and did the 2nd.  My 31 numbers fit just fine!! Now, we are ready to decorate.

 

  I wanted to have a spot to change out a photo and the month.  I attached two photo corners and added a picture.  For the photo corners, you can just cut triangles and adhere them so you can still tuck a picture under the corners, or just attach a picture you really love and don't worry about changing it out. Next, I found a cardboard bookplate and covered it with paper.  If you don't have one, you can draw it out on cardboard and cut it out.  Then cover it with paper.I attached the bookplate with some brads.

Once I had everything attached, I decided the small silver piece that held everything together wasn't big enough to me.  I used a giant brad instead. The small piece held it all together, but sort of got lost on that polka dotted paper, so the brad is a bit better to me. Then it was time to personalize even more.  I used a strip of paper to make a flower, then dug around through my stash to find a few more things.  This is really the part where you add your own touches - so whatever you have or like is fair game!!

And here's the finished product again:

My total cost was really just the $1 plus tax.

The paper was in my stash, but if you are making one to match a specific room, or as a gift, you may want to buy just the right paper.  I had the buttons and flowers in my stash as well.  The spray adhesive was purchased for another project so I had it on hand.  You could still use a regular dry adhesive, or even a double stick tape.  I'm all about using what I have on hand and not spending too much on my projects, especially if they are just for me!

This would be really cute as a teachers gift.  You know they always get the themed gifts but this would be nice for them to hang by their desk - just for them.  You could also use it as a countdown to an event.  Instead of the month inside the bookplate, you could put VACATION, BIRTHDAY, etc. and then 'days until' inside the day of the week spot, and just use the same numbers for the days.

Thanks for checking out my tutorial!!  I hope you find it an easy thing to make for yourself!!

Lisa