Friday, February 1, 2013

Wall Calendar for less than $10


I wanted a big wall calendar that the kids could help me update every month and add holidays, birthdays, etc.  I saw them for more-than-I-wanted-to-spend and decided to tackle making my own from the things I already had. 
It was one of those projects I put off for a few months.  I think I was scared to do it.  Ha!  It finally occurred to me one day that if I messed it up, it wasn’t like I had a ton of money invested in it so it wouldn’t be a big deal.  It took me one afternoon to do it and I was pretty pleased with the results.  It’s certainly not perfect but it fits our needs and most importantly, the girls love it!
I measured the elements and figured out the layout.  I sewed a very simple background (two pieces of fabric since it was pretty thin, hemmed the edges, and sewed a placket for the dowel to fit through).  Using a water-soluble fabric pen, I marked where I wanted to sew the lines.  Then I laid one single sheet of clear vinyl over the top, pinning at the far edges just to keep it held in place, and sewed over the lines I had marked.  I then cut away the excess vinyl.  I felt like using a whole sheet of vinyl was much easier than trying to cut and sew individual pieces. 
It was my first experience with sewing clear vinyl and I admit it was a little difficult at times but once I got used to it, it wasn’t so bad.
Here’s what I used:
Blue and white striped fabric I bought at Hudson’s years ago (probably $1 a yard)
A dowel (for 80something cents at Wal-Mart)
Calendar elements from Dollar Tree (a background, month banners, and numbers with holidays) in three different packs for a total of $3
Two different packs from Dollar Tree (day of the week and weather) for a total of $2
Some clear vinyl from Wal-Mart for $2 a yard

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