Calendar Time (Deployment Project #21)

Every schoolroom needs to have a calendar!  I wanted something that was easily changed, fun, and still decorative.  Everything at the school supply store is very bright and colorful and they are fun, but just not what I was looking for.  So, not one to take the easy route, I decided to make one! 

I started by making a calendar grid on the wall using black grossgrain ribbon.  I simply stapled it to the wall, measuring it out as we stapled.  I do have to say that it is much easier to do this with two people!  Thank you Shana for helping!!  Although, we did do it pretty late at night and it had been a stressful day, so some of our lines are not exactly perpendicular or parallel.  ( I had to use those words because that is what Cameron was learing about in math today!  When you homeschool, sometimes you have to learn along with your kids - - - right now, at the ages they are at, I am mostly doing "re-learning" but as they get older, I think I am going to be doing a lot of midnight cramming to stay smarter than them!!)

Next, I needed some numbers.  I wanted something that I could easily move around each month and I really didn't want to spend a lot of time making them.  So here is what I came up with.

I took 31 tags and cut them down to 3 1/2" tags.  Large enough to fit perfectly into my little grid.  I used scrapbooking stickers to put the numbers on.  I could only find one package of the number stickers, so I had to fudge on some of them and they have a combination of small and large size numbers, but I think it works.   I had these teeny tiny clothes pins in my stash and they work out perfectly to hold the numbers to the grid and still be able to move them around!

I could have just left them at this stage and said they were "good enough."  But it didn't look very fun on the wall, so I decided to add some more "stuff."  I pulled out my stamp sets from when I used to be big into scrapbooking - - thankgoodness my inks hadn't all dried up!  With a few stamps and some antiquing with the inks, I think I gussied them up real nice.  (sometimes I just have to use sayings that crack me up!) 

Next, I needed to label the month and the days.  I simply did that by using some scrapbooking letters for the days of the week and some great alphabet cards to spell out the month.  Now I can easily change out the month name and the numbered days each month!  I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out and I think it is a fabulous filler for this little wall!  The map that is hanging above it was a Marshalls steal.  You can also see off to the left there is a little nook where I put a cabnet I got from my Mom and Dad.  Inside the cabnet is the printer, paper and all our learning games.  It is a perfect fit in that spot!  The globe on top was from Salvation Army and, if you can see it, there is an  old book leaning up next to the little organizer.  That's where tomorrow's project comes from!!

Tomorrow is the last day of the school room re-do so come back to see the last of the projects and the final product!!