DIY: Dry Erase Calendar

A week or two ago, I was writing some upcoming due dates and events in my planner and I found myself really wishing I could roll the whole thing out, unfold it and stretch it so that I could see everything I have coming up all at once.

I presented this wish to my boyfriend. Casually. While he was playing video games.

"They have those, you know," he said whilst blasting a zombie to smithereens. "Those big calendars you can put on the wall and write on and tear off the sheets one month at a time."

"Yes," I said, "but that seems so wasteful. What I really want is a dry erase board with a calendar on it."

"They make those, too."

"Yes," I said, "but there's a major problem with all of them. They're ugly."

I mean, aren't they? They all have cheap wood or plastic or metal framing them and just look so sterile and middle school math class-ish. No, if I was going to have a dry erase calendar that made me walk into my office each morning just burning to get started marking all over it, I was going to have to make one myself.

And so that's just what I did.

I used this tutorial here. And I used some of the leftover fabric I had from the DIY jewelry board project here. And I went to Michael's and bought a nice frame that was 50% off. (Is it just me, or are all the frames at Michael's always 50% off? What is going on over there?)

Do ya wanna see the end result? Do ya?

Ta-da!

The low quality of the photo is intentional. I can't have anyone unearthing the details of my deep dark secretive plan for freelance writers to take over the world someday, otherwise what would be the point of all my plotting? That's what we writers do, you know -- we plot. Ah ha. Ah ha. Ahem. Sorry ...

Anyway, I'm pretty happy with the finished product. I've organized it so that it's revolving, too, meaning as soon as a week passes, I erase that week and incorporate it into the calendar for next month. For example, in this photo, October is only represented by the last row and back up at the top begins November. Even though, yes, it says October at the very top. Look, I have my own system, all right? Lay off.

Total cost for the project, since I already had the fabric, permanent markers and dry erase markers, ended up being for only the frame. And since I knew I already had all the other supplies, I splurged a little -- maybe $20-$25 (on sale!). I'm sure you could find a great one for much cheaper, though. Or perhaps you even already have one lying around? One that's not holding a photo? One that you're getting really tired of moving from closet to closet in your house?

If you make your own, let me know how it goes! (And wear GLOVES. Glass cuts. And it hurts.)

Sun Jars

Yesterday my boyfriend and I made sun jars using one of Lifehacker's tutorials.


Sun jars are solar-powered lights in frosted jars, so they charge up all day while the sun is out and then begin to glow after sunset.

I've wanted some of these things for a long time, ever since I saw them on ThinkGeek. Unfortunately, though, everywhere I looked online the jars ranged between $30 and $40 -- more than I could justify spending on outdoor whimsies.

And then I came across the Lifehacker tutorial, which you can find here. The assembly process is pretty straightforward, and we made our two in less than 30 minutes. In the end, they cost us about $11 each. I'm happy with how they turned out, and they give off a surprising amount of light.


If you make some, let me know how they turn out!


Photos by Sway Sovay

What I Did On New Year's Eve

I asked for season one of The Office on DVD for Christmas, and my parents were kind enough to present me with it. That was a week and a half ago.

Since then, my boyfriend and I have bought seasons two, three and four, and been consuming episodes at an average rate of eight per day. Are we ashamed? No. We're on holiday. To hell with productivity.

It shouldn't really come as a surprise, then, that come New Year's Eve, we were feeling more like homebodies than partygoers.

I'm not entirely sure where the idea came from (actually, yes I am), but... in an effort to not end up feeling totally lazy, we somehow ended up buying perler beads and boards from Michael's, staying in, watching a LOT of The Office and making these, which shall be magnets:

Four are Nintendo-related, and the other two were because we just couldn't stop. And you can bet there'll be more. Just as soon as we get our hands on more black perler beads.

Now if you'll excuse me, Dunder Mifflin calls.

Photo by Sway Sovay

Beautiful, Glowing ... Fruit?

Here's an interesting post on how to make a candle from a clementine orange. Perhaps someday I shall try this as a neat party trick. Or you know, just when I'm home alone and bored. Whichever opportunity comes first. In that case, it will probably be the latter.

DIY: Jewelry Board

Today I made a jewelry board in order to remedy my long-standing storage issue when it came to my earrings and necklaces. (Tangled chains are such timekillers.)


I'm really happy with how it turned out, and it was quite easy -- it only took me about an hour from start to finish.

Make your own using this tutorial at Joyful Abode.

Photo: Sway Sovay