A few weeks ago, I saw this paint chip calendar on my friend David’s blog Cheltenham Road and knew I had to make one!
It combines two things that I love…stylishness and organization. And the fact that it utilizes paint chips? Even better.
I mostly followed David’s tutorial with just a few modifications. That’s the beauty of this project…it’s totally customizable.
Since I planned for this calendar to hang in my office, I chose paint chips that would coordinate with the room and with the pin board that hangs on the adjacent wall.
Here’s my version.
materials needed: poster frame, fabric, hot glue gun, 35 paint chips, paper trimmer, corner rounder, fabric glue, foam brush
1) Purchase a poster frame (mine came from Target…$9.99).
2) Remove the edges from the frame.
3) Cover the cardboard insert with fabric using hot glue to secure it on the back, pulling tightly to keep the fabric smooth.
4) Trim the paint chips with a paper trimmer (I chose to leave the paint color names but cut off the brand).
These BH&G paint chips came from Wal-Mart. I left the section with the pre-scored holes…you’ll see why in a minute…
5) Round the corners of the paint chips (this isn’t necessary but gives it a nice finished look).
6) Arrange paint chips on the board
I punched out the pre-scored holes because I thought that would be the perfect place to write the date.
7) Adhere the paint chips with fabric glue. USE it sparingly and apply lightly with a foam brush or the chips will bubble!
8) Print the days of the week onto card stock. The font I used is Ecuyer DAX in 32 pt. Click here for the free download.
Adhere with a tiny bit of fabric glue.
9) Use a dry erase marker to fill in the calendar.
10) Hang it up and admire your new stylishly thrifty calendar.
Sharing here:
SO cute!!! I am pinning away!
Love your version! It’s more elegant!
Team Craftwell
Such great colours and functional, which is always a bonus.
Oh my goodness – this is such a cute idea!! Definitely needing to replace my boring calendar
Thia is fabulous! I always find the little boxes on calenders to be way to small. I think I need to put this project on my to-do list!
That looks awesome! And you’re tutorial is waaaaay better than mine. I really like the holes in the center too. Genius!
Love this!!!!!
Very cute! I’m forever seeing paint chip projects and while they’re adorable I’m always left wondering where the paint chips come from? Are they bought or just taken from the painting section in walmart?
I can’t imagaine there would be paint chips left there with all the cute projects!
Love this idea! Will definitely be making one. I have an unused frame just waiting to be transformed!!!
Love this idea! Saving it for when we finsih my craft room. Just happened to notice that your birthday is the same day as my anniversary. Good day for sure!
Hugs,
Jann
That is so cute!!
You are such a smartie!! Love it!!!
I love paint chips. I’m obsessed with collecting them, even when I don’t have anything to paint. (is there a diagnosis for this in the DSM?) Great calendar!
I know! There’s just something about them…so pretty and colorful and FREE!
I like that you made your paint chips balanced and uniformed. Helps this slightly OCD girl not feel crazy looking at it. I think I may do this for the the family calendar but first I will have to find a wall.
I feel ya…OCD here too!
So darn cute and thrifty at the same time…how can you go wrong? Come by on Monday and grab my featured button for your blog. Yes…you have been featured at Nifty Thrifty Tuesday.
Blessings,
Linda
Thanks, Linda!
I REALLY LOVE THIS!!! I’ve always wanted one of those dry erase boards that can be purchased at Walmart, or some other department store, but they’re never big enough/are always too expensive/never what I want! I’m definitely going to have to make one these for myself sometime.
Thank you for sharing.
That’s what I love about this one. I write really big, so the paint chip rectangles give me plenty of room to write!
Ha! The kids have been “collecting” paint chips the last couple of days(we have to update a bathroom, painting involved of course) and now they have a project they can do with them! Thanks for all of the inspiration!!
Perfect project for kids! Have fun!
this is so fantastic…dying to make one, and i need a calendar soooo bad!! your’s turned out wonderful!
Looks good! Do you know what size poster board/frame you used?
Hi Zoe, it’s 22 by 34. It was the largest size at Target (they had a couple options). Hope that helps!
I love this! I also love the colors you chose. They would fit right on at my house. Could you please tell me what they are? Thanks!
I love this calendar and made one of my own! Only problem is when trying to erase the dry erase marker from the surface, some of the writing will not come off. Any suggestions on how to clean the surface and is it better to use wet erase markers? FYI I did buy the exact same poster board from Target.
Carrie, The marker and eraser I use are expo brand. I haven’t had any trouble with the ink not coming off. Expo does make a dry erase spray to clean with. Maybe that will help?
My suggestion would be to use a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser from the household cleaning dept. of your local store. I have even switched to using these in my kindergarten classroom because they eliminate the stains and shadowing.
Eucalyptus oil on a rag usually takes off markers, even permanent ones when they’re accidentally used on whiteboards.
A lot of plexi comes with a clear plastic protective film on it. That might be on it, and that’s why the marker isn’t coming off.
I had the same exact problem, and I had to use nail polish remover to get it off.
Rewrite over the top of the written material with your dry erase marker and then wipe it off right away.
Here is my version, I have to get a white or silver marker, since my paintchips are dark, but those are the colors of my dorm so..
Thanks for the great tutorial! (:
I’m making one of these tonight!!!
Thanks for inspiring..
LOVE This. I collect paint chips (OK, used to) and have used them as decor in my grey cubicle.
What a great use for them.
Thanks for posting.
Wow, yours is so stylish and the rounded corners make it so much more elegant. I’ll definitely be giving this a try, thanks for the inspiration!
I love this and I might just have to make one!
LOVE this idea! Can you share what kind of fabric you used? And the name of the fabric glue. Thank you! You have some great ideas!
What did you use to round the corners of the paint chips? I love this idea, just want to make sure I get something to round them right!
You can get the corner rounder punch at almost any craft store in the scrap booking section.
What a wonderful idea, I will have to try this, love how you can choose what colours to use to co-ordinate with your rooms colours too!
WOW, this is so cute and easy DIY…why did’t I think about it. Will try out on card of different shapes and colors. Hope it looks good as yours. Thanks for sharing this.
Thank you for this idea.I am impressed with how economical it is to make and how current and smart it looks.
I love this idea! It would be perfect for my kitchen…in shades of RED of course! Thanks so much for sharing!
I saw this project a few days ago and just finished my own version. I followed your tutorial only I used rubber cement to glue everything in place. My frame came from the thrift store and had to hang horizontal so I had to trim my paint chips quite a bit to fit in 5 weeks, and even then I realized that some months I might need a few extra days. Luckily the frame is plenty wide so I wrote in an extra day in the notes area. I would recommend anyone else doing this project add a 6th week if they have the space.I used the dots I punched out as the area for the days of the week and to label the notes area. I also arranged the paint chip colors at random and I didn’t round the corners since I didn’t see anything to help me with that at the store. In the end I only spent about $20 on this, and I’m sure we’ll have it for years!
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y10/Sonarvmapress/calender.jpg
Robin, that turned out super cute! Love the fun colors. Rubber Cement is a great idea too.
This is fantastic. I shared it on my blog, and now to make one myself.
http://bittersweetprojectblog.com/?p=488
LOVE your version! In fact, I loved it so much that I started mine last night. I really struggled with aligning the paint samples. I don’t know how yours looks so perfect. I can’t wait to finish it up and hang it today!
I collect these paint chips all the time…I just love all the colors. I have used them a few times in different projects but this one is Awesome..I love it…I might have to make this for Christmas for someone…maybe even one for myself..
What a great idea! I love it because there’s SO many different ways you can make it! Literally as many as all the colors in the world lol!
Keaton’s Kind Creations
keatonthefoodie.blogspot.com
I loved this from the minute I pinned it! I finally got around to making one of my own.
http://seeleyfamilyblog.blogspot.com/2012/10/diy-paint-chip-wall-calendar.html
Thanks for the great idea!!
Kristy, I LOVE how yours turned out! The colors are so soothing and I like the sideways orientation too! Awesome.
Thanks so much!! I wouldn’t mind it being a bit bigger, like yours, but I can always redo it in the future if I need more room to write.
I like this very much what an amazing idea your thought is fantastic
Do you think this would work with a 16″ x 20″ frame? Attempting to make this for my girlfriend for Christmas, I’m way out of my comfort zone and it’s awesome!
This is the sweetest idea EVER. Yes, you can customize it to 16×20…no problem. You will just need to use smaller paint chips since you are working with a smaller surface area. If you have larger paint chips, just cut them down with a paper trimmer. Just play around with the layout and don’t forget that you can orient it as a landscape instead of a portrait and it may be a better fit. Please email me if you have any other questions…I’m happy to help.
mapleandmagnolia@gmail.com
I love this! Any suggestions as to the kind of fabric that works best for this project?
I am hoping this is exactly what my daughter needs to start getting her organized and on the road to a perfect wedding. I will be sharing this idea with her. We can make it in her wedding colors.
What size did you make your paint chips? I’m using the same size poster frame!
Thanks in advance!
What a great idea! I love the pastel colors in your version. Anything that I can keep reusing I love, so I’ll definitely be trying this in the future! I think an ombre effect could be really cool…
I’ve added this page to my StumbleUpon.
I love your calendar, what a great idea! I’ve got this linked to my DIY paint chip projects too today, for inspiration!