Craft 1: Paint Chip Calendar

Since I can’t really do anything with the house right now (due to foundation work) I figure I’ll share a project I did a few months ago. This was inspired by something I saw on pinterest, and it turned out to work quite nicely. I made a calendar out of paint chips (free!) and a frame from Target.  I've been using it for a while and I think it works great (very practical gift!)  Ok, so here it goes:

First I picked out a bunch of paint colors I liked. To be honest, at first I was going to make it all blue and green but the Walmart I was at didn’t have a lot of options, so instead of driving to the hardware store I just decided to go multicolored… how’s that for dedication…  

Then I went to Target and got a picture frame to use. The one I got is 10”x13” and doesn’t have a matte. This is because I needed a space big enough to be divided into 35 squares. If you get one with a matte you can always throw it out (or use for another project), but I just saved my money and got a very plain frame. So here are my supplies:

Next step was to go home and do some math…. Yeah, so fun! But I needed the frame to hold 4 rows of 7 paint chips. Turns out that 10x13 is a great size frame because it means your paint chips can each be 1.75”x1.75”. I thought about using the part of the paint chips with the paint names on them, but I decided not to because many of them are so long they would be cut off. But I think that could look super cute. Anyways, I cut down the chips to little squares like so:

I then took the fake photo that comes in the frame and laid it on the counter backside up. Yes, I’m cheap so I used the fake picture that comes in the frame… whatever. It was on this that I laid out the squares. This was smart for two reasons. One, it allowed me to play with the color placement before anything was glued down. (This way I don’t accidentally put three greens in a row.) Two, I was able to hold the empty frame over it (remove the glass first so you don’t drop it on accident!) and see how it would look. This showed me that I needed to leave some room around the edges or the frame would cut off my outer squares. Here is an ‘in progress’ shot:

After everything was right where I wanted it, I carefully glued them on with a good o’gluestick.

When I was done the squares looked good but they weren’t perfectly flat. Don’t worry if this happens, as long as they’re not super bent or folded the frame will force them to lay nicely when it’s all put together. Here is what mine looked like while I let it dry (so nothing moved when I put it in the frame):

Next it was time to put it in the frame. You can see how I used the fake picture in this shot.

Then I put the back of the frame on and made sure it held tight. If it doesn’t press the calendar against the glass you may need to add something between the back of the calendar and the back of the frame. You want the paint chips to be smashed against the glass. I used the packaging that came in the frame, but if you’re using an old frame you could use cardboard as a cushion .

And TA-DA! We have a framed squares! Oh it’s so modern, so meaningful, so anti-climactic. 

Don’t worry if you don’t love it right away… the actual numbers make a big difference. I used some dry ease board markers that ONLY erase with water. I definitely recommend these since it will keep you from accidentally smearing Tuesday when you’re writing on Monday.  So here is my finished product:

You may wonder where the month label will go on months that start on a Monday (and thus take up the whole first row). The answer is - I’ll just move it to the bottom row. I guess I could have done 6 rows of 7 squares, but the squares would have had to be TINY to fit everything.

Project cost: $11 for frame and $5 for markers

Time: about an hour, including the cutting of the squares, but it would take longer without a paper cutter

Difficulty: Easy – Great project for a novice crafter. After all, the paint chips are free so if you mess up you can try again at no cost. (: