Cardboard Wall Calendar
My quest to spend as little money on craft supplies this month as possible continues today with this DIY wall calendar that I made mostly out of recyclable cardboard! I love starting off the new year with a fresh new planner or calendar, and I love this Perpetual Wall Calendar from Designworks Ink. It is such a stylish wall decor piece while also being a practical office accessory. So I decided to give my own spin to this simple design and use up some of the piles of leftover cardboard from all our online holiday gift shopping.
And if DIY is not your thing, you can totally just purchase the Designworks Ink version. But I found picking out a color palette and painting all my months and dates was a lot of fun and it allowed me to customize this calendar for my personal home decor aesthetic. So check out how I made this simple project below!
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MAKE YOUR OWN WALL CALENDAR WITH CARDBOARD!
Supplies:
Cardboard
Scissors
Pencil
Acrylic paint
Paint brushes
Velcro dots (I purchased my velcro pieces from the Dollar Tree, but you could also use a pack like this)
Ribbon or string
Hole punch
White cardstock paper
ETI’s Cardboard Wall Calendar Template (download below!)
STEP 1: Download ETI’s Cardboard Wall Calendar Template above and print on thick white cardstock paper. Cut out the template pieces to use as a stencil.
STEP 2: Next, trace around the perimeter of the template pieces onto a piece of scrap cardboard. Look for very flat and clean pieces of cardboard to get the best results. You are going to need (1) scalloped background piece, (12) of the larger rectangle shapes, and (14) of the smaller rectangle shapes.
Carefully cut these out using a sharp pair of scissors or x-acto knife. You are going to want really clean edges to get the best end result.
STEP 3: Next is the fun part — creating the color palette! Come up with a color palette you want to use on all your month and day pieces. You will want to use a more neutral color as the scalloped background piece and bolder colors for the months/days. I think I ended up mixing up about 10 or so different colors with my acrylic paint that all worked well together.
Fully paint one side of each rectangle cardboard piece. I ended up doing about 2-3 coats (depending on the opacity of the color) to get a really even/opaque background. And also paint one side of your scalloped background piece with 2-3 coats of paint.
STEP 4: Next, draw on your typography with pencil. I decided to do bubble letters for my month letters and numbers. Be sure to use pencil so you can easily sketch and erase until you get the letter or number shape that you are happy with. For the months, I found it easier to do the middle letter first in the middle of the rectangle and then the letters on either side to make sure I spaced everything out correctly. Try to keep all the heights consistent too.
You will need to use the (12) larger rectangles to write:
JAN, FEB, MAR, APR, MAY, JUN, JUL, AUG, SEP, OCT, NOV, DEC
And for the (14) smaller rectangles you will need:
0, 1, 2, 3, 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
STEP 5: Once you are happy with your letter and number shapes, use your acrylic paint to carefully fill in the typography in a coordinating color to the background. I ended up having to do about 2-3 coats of paint on each number or letter as well. Once your paint dries, you may be able to just erase any visible pencil lines remaining. But if they are still visible, you can easily go back in with your background color of paint and clean up your edges.
STEP 6: Next, it is time to adhere your velcro to easily attach and remove the different month and day pieces. I placed the hook side pieces of velcro on the scalloped background cardboard piece and then loop sides on each of the month/day pieces.
Use one random month piece and two number pieces to begin. Start by placing a loop side on the back of each cardboard piece as shown above (1 in the top middle of each number and two on either top corners of the months). Then velcro on the corresponding hook side so the sticky back is facing up. Then turn these cardboard pieces over and carefully lay them in place. Push down to adhere the sticky side of the velcro to your cardboard scalloped background.
Once you have the hook sides in place on your background, just place a new velcro dot loop side on each hook side and press down your next cardboard pieces to make sure they are always adhered in the right spot.
STEP 7: Then all that is left to do is add some rope or ribbon to be able to hang up the wall calendar! Punch two holes, one in either top corner of your scalloped background cardboard. String a piece of cord through the left hole and tie a knot on the backside. Then cut your cord to your desired length you want it to hang. Pull the end through the second hole and tie a second knot on the back. Trim your extra cord.
And here is what your final product should look like! You can now easily change out the date by pulling off your number pieces and velcro-ing on the next day’s number.
I love how this trash-to-treasure project turned out! And since I had the cord and the acrylic paint on hand, I spent a total of about $3 buying the velcro pieces from the dollar store. Not too shabby!
Let me know if you try out this project to kick off the new year! Be sure to tag me on instagram @entertainidea or #entertaintheidea.
xo Rachael
