Do It YourselfDry Erase Calendar

Making a Do It Yourself Dry Erase Calendar

As an incoming freshman, you may struggle with balancing your personal life and your academic life. Allowing me for all your commitments, academic or otherwise, may require you to develop various me-management skills. Making a Do It Yourself (DIY) dry-erase calendar is a cheap and eff ec ve way

to budget me, get crea ve, and stay organized when star ng out your college career. Outlined below is a set of instruc ons that will show you how to create your own personalized dry-erase calendar, including a sec on for notes, in under an hour for around $20. Also see our set of visual instruc ons, which will show you step-by-step pictures on how to create this DIY calendar.

Before you start, gather the following materials:• 35 paint swatches (op onal: 7 colors of your choosing, 5 of each color)• Paper Cu er (op onal)• Scissors• Ruler - inches• Pencil• 18”x 24” piece of paper• Marker(s) (op onal: 8 diff erent colors)• Glue s ck• 18”x 24” Black poster frame (recommended brand: Townsend)• Dry Erase Markers• Op onal: other materials of your choosing to decorate (be crea ve)⚠Precau onary Measure ⚠Use cau on when using the scissors and/or the paper cu er. Failure to do so can result in bodily injury.

1.) Creating the days for the calendar

1.1. For each paint swatch, measure a 1.5 by 1.5 inch box on the paint swatch using a ruler and a pencil 1.1a. If you have the paper cu er, it may be easiest to use its’ ruler to measure/cut1.2. Using the paper cu er (or scissors), cut each of the 35 paint swatches into squares according to the marks you just made 1.2a. Later, these boxes will serve as templates for the day’s on the calendar

1.3. For each paint swatch, use the ruler and pencil to measure and mark a 0.5 inch square out of the le corner 1.4. Cut the measured square out with scissors 1.4a. Later, the small cut-out square will be to write in the date

2.) Drawing the rectangle for the calendar.

2.1. Using the ruler, measure 5 inches from the top of the 18”x24” paper and 0.5 inches from the le edge. 2.2. Using the ruler to measure, lightly draw a nine inch ver cal line parallel to le edge using the pencil.2.3. Using the ruler, measure 5 inches from the top of the 18”x24”paper and 12 inches from the le edge making a light dot. 2.4. Using the ruler to measure , lightly draw a nine inch ver cal line parallel with the line drawn in step 2.2. 2.4(a) The user should now have two iden cal nine inch lines spaced 11.5 inches apart. 2.5. Using the ruler, connect the tops of the lines drawn in steps 2.1-2.4.2.6. Using the ruler, connect the bo oms of the lines drawn in steps 2.1-2.4 2.6(a) The user should now have a lightly drawn rectangle

3.) Arranging the columns.

3.1. Place the fi rst paint swatch in the top le corner of the rectangle3.2. Place a diff erent colored swatch in the top right corner of the rectangle

3.3. Arrange the remaining fi ve swatches between the fi rst two to create the columns 3.3a. Each of the swatches for the columns should be a diff erent color, unless you chose to use all similar colors 3.3b. Leave a small space between each swatch

4.) Arranging the rows.

4.1. Place four swatches underneath each of the seven columns you just made 4.1a. Each of the swatches making up the rows should be the same color as the column they are underneath 4.1b. Leave a small space between each swatch so that the last swatch is along the bo om edge of the rectangle

5.) Making labels for the days of the week.

5.1. Cut seven 0.5 by 1.5 inch rectangles from colorful construc on paper 5.1a. Label these according to the days of the week

5.2. Arrange the labels onto the paper, each less than 0.5 inches above the top row of paint swatches 5.2a. Sunday or Monday should go above the le most column 5.2b. Each column should have one label above it, with the same amount of space between the labels as there is between the paint swatches

6.) Making the label for the ‘Notes’ section

6.1. Cut one 4 by 8 inch rectangle from colorful construc on paper 6.1a. Label this with “Notes” or “To-Do”6.2. Arrange this label centered at the top of the paper 1.5 inches to the right of the last day-of-the-week label

7.1. Start gluing each paint swatch and label, one by one, to their respec ve places on the 18”x24” paper 7.1a. You can use the ruler to hold the surrounding pieces in place while gluing7.2. A er gluing, erase all visible pencil lines from the rectangle⚠Precau onary Measure ⚠Make sure that the paint swatches and labels have had plenty of me to dry before pu ng the frame back together. Failure to do so can result in the swatches and labels moving or falling off .

8.) Putting the poster frame together.

8.1. For the black Townsend frame we recommended, you will fi rst need to remove the black backing from the frame 8.1a. Remove the backing by pushing each black tab upwards and away from the inside of the frame on the back side8.2. Remove all of the contents from inside the frame 8.3. Place the 18”x24” paper into the frame face down 8.3a. The paper should be inserted face down so that the calendar can be seen through the plas c 8.4. Next, re-insert the piece of cardboard that you removed from the frame8.5. Now, re-insert the black backing of the frame

8.5a. Re-posi on the backing so that the hook that will hang the frame is at the top when looking at the frame horizontally 8.5b. When considering the ‘top’ of the frame be sure that, when fl ipped over to hang, the calen-dar will be upright8.6. Push all the black tabs back down to secure the backing of the frame on all sides. There are 3 tabs on the short sides and 4 tabs on the long sides.

9.) Writing the month and dates.

9.1. With the dry erase markers, begin wri ng in the dates for the current month on the protec ve styrene front. 9.1a. The dates should go in the top le square of each paint swatch9.2. With the dry erase markers, write the month on the protec ve styrene front. 9.2a. The month should be centered above the days of the week9.3. With the dry erase markers, begin wri ng in your class schedule/events for the month

10.) Be creative.10.1. Add pictures, colorful tape, cute s ckers, etc. to make the calendar personalized10.2. Consider making a key below the calendar to color coordinate for classes or events 10.3. Under ‘Notes’ or ‘To-Do’, you can write daily reminders or more details on important upcoming events