I have this massive wall in our laundry room and every day when I come home I look at this wall and think "I need to do something with this." I tried several different options and nothing ever looked right, so the wall just turned into a big mess of holes. I thought about having some sort of organizational tool on the wall, but I didn't want anything that would stick out to far. It's not a tight squeeze, but it's not wide enough to have anything really sticking out from the wall, so I was kind of at a loss. I saw a thing in Southern Living where someone had made a cork board wall and turned it into a calendar. I loved that idea, but didn't like the idea of cork board (because it was pretty expensive!). Another battle I was fighting was the fridge. It is always over run with invitations, artwork, etc. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE all of those things, but I just wanted some way for it to look more organized. And then I saw the ad for magnetic paint! I knew that I could do something awesome with that stuff and so the BIG BIG Calendar was born!
So, this stuff is great! I used the whole bottle of this stuff. It is the best glue ever! I googled all kinds of adhesives and this was the winner...Liquid Nails!
This is the fabulous magnetic paint!
I bought some moulding from Lowe's and painted it black to make the frame for the calendar. I believe it is 5 feet long and 8 feet wide. Yeah...BIG!
And the paint roller, just for show!
My big, blank, hole covered wall. I guess I could call it my "muse"!
The first thing I did was make the frame. I had to use the leveler to make sure that it was completely even. I used the liquid nails to adhere the moulding to the wall.
This was the most difficult part. I had to measure each space and make sure that the lines were even. I used blue painters tape for this.
I had to paint about three coats of the magnetic paint. I honestly could have done more and probably could have done thicker layers, but it is what it is and I am not re-doing it!
I painted over the magnetic paint with blue paint. I just like the blue and it matches the curtains. Once the whole laundry room is done I will share those pictures!
I pulled off the painter's tape after the paint had dried. I was so proud that the lines were straight and even!
I used the liquid nails again to attach ribbon to the wall along the grid lines. I wanted something fun that matched the curtains. I knew that changing the ribbon each month was not something that I was going to want to do.
I made days of the week signs and hung them up at the top.
Close up of the days of the week.
I used chip board letters from Hobby Lobby and decorated them for each month. I decided that these would be specific to the holdays or seasons that are in that month. August doesn't really have anything, so I just made it pretty and bright for summer! I got scrapbook paper to cover the letters and stickers and embellishments to go on them. I cut ribbon to hang them above the calendar.
A close up of the letters. They are really fun to do! It made me miss scrapbooking (now mine are all digital) but, I don't want to get into that at this point of my life! Too busy to do that!
Here is July. I am doing each month as it comes. I think that it will be easier that way and I won't get board and just throw them together. At least that is the hope!
And here it is! I love it! I can hang invitations on the date of the event. I also plan to make little signs for different things- appointments, birthdays, holidays, school, church, etc.
These are the number cards. I want to do something different and probably have them laminated. Madelyn has torn up the bottom ones, but I plan to use this as a teaching tool also!
Close up of one of the squares. It has the invitation and date (that M tore up!). I used velcro to attach the numbers so I can move them around easily.
So that's my calendar. It's pretty fun! I love walking in and seeing it on the wall. There are still minor adjustments to be made, but this is it for now!
I bought 9 cheap ($4.00) frames from Wal-Mart. (Have I mentioned that I am trying to be crafty, but not spend a fortune on it?)
These two pics got out of order! I ran out of tape and used band-aids to attach the pictures!
I had mats cut at Hobby Lobby for the frames, some vertical and some horizontal.
I arranged the frames how I wanted it to look when it was on the wall.
I found these command picture hanging strips at HL and used them. They worked great!
These were the most expensive part of the project!
I started by hanging the first frame in the center of the wall and then just lining the rest along with it. Kind of like a puzzle!
Ta-da! The finished product! I am in love with this!
A better shot! It took me about 30 minutes to do the whole project. Easy and inexpensive!
Another view. Our room is blue and brown, so that is why I choose the blue mats. I like the way they look. I tend to do black and white for everything, so I wanted to add some color!
I arranged the frames how I wanted it to look when it was on the wall.
I found these command picture hanging strips at HL and used them. They worked great!
These were the most expensive part of the project!
I started by hanging the first frame in the center of the wall and then just lining the rest along with it. Kind of like a puzzle!
Ta-da! The finished product! I am in love with this!
A better shot! It took me about 30 minutes to do the whole project. Easy and inexpensive!
Another view. Our room is blue and brown, so that is why I choose the blue mats. I like the way they look. I tend to do black and white for everything, so I wanted to add some color!
