I’ve seen several dry erase calendars pop up on Pinterest that use glass frames as a dry erase surface instead of using a store-bought dry erase board. I salvaged two 8×10 frames that were headed for the trash at my work during renovations to make this easy, 30-minutes-or-less project.

The original pin that inspired me came from Maple and Magnolia. Although that calendar is a full calendar and is made with paint chips, not scrapbook paper, the concept is the same: by sliding a calendar template beneath a sheet of glass, you can write your numbers and daily info and erase it easily when the time comes. Too fun!

Let’s get started with this weekly calendar version.

Supplies You Need:

  • Glass Frames (any size)
  • Cardstock, multiple designs and one solid colour
  • Paper Cutter
  • 1″ Circle Punch
  • Paisley Punch (optional)
  • Double-sided tape.

This tutorial is based on an 8×10″ frame, accounting for a half inch lip covering the glass. Please adjust measurements accordingly if you are using a different size.

  1. Trim down a piece of solid cardstock to 8×10″.
  2. We will need seven strips of patterned cardstock, 1.25x 8″, one for each day of the week. Trim the cardstock into 1.25″ strips, then trim off the edges to 8″. I used three different patterned papers and arranged them as A-B-C-B-C-B-A.

  3. Punch out seven paper circles from a coordinating cardstock of your choice for your calendar numbers. Optional: you an also cut out seven paisley paper shapes, three facing one way, four facing the other, if you would like to stagger your calendar numbers.
  4. Arrange your 1.25″ strips on the 8×10″ cardstock, leaving a thin space between each strip to show the background. You will have a margin at the top and bottom to account for the lip of your frame. Stick them on with double-sided tape once you are happy with the arrangement.
  5. Tape on your paisleys and circles, making sure to leave at least half an inch on the left hand side to account for the lip of the frame hanging over the glass. Don’t want your numbers cut off now, right?
  6. Slide your new fancy pants calendar into your frame and bring out your dry erase markers to write in your calendar numbers, and voila! Instant weekly calendar!

I have a second frame that I still need to refinish that I will slide a similarly coloured weekly calendar into so that I have a “this week” and a “next week” calendar. I am going to use mine to plan out my schedule Craftcore columns. These freebie frames I have are plastic, early 1990s frames that faded from dusty rose to a nicotine shade of yellow. Ugh.

I painted the first frame white using nail polish because none of my paints would stick to the shiny plastic. I later researched that I should have sanded off the shine first, oops, so the finish is less than stellar. I could almost write a tutorial on how not to repaint a plastic frame. Learn from my mistake: sand paper will be your friend.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

You may use these HTML tags and attributes:

<a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>