DIY Paint Swatch Calendar

Does anyone get that sudden urge to craft when coming across paint swatches on Pinterest?  I don't know if it's the vast amount of colors to choose from or their rectangular, compact, easy-to-snag shape but paint swatches get me every time.  If you find yourself at a Lowe's or Home Depot and want to make a nifty calendar, go snatch up some paint swatches and a poster frame!

Materials:
35 paint swatches, preferably in a rectangular shape
Poster frame
Mod Podge or Glue
Printed labels (optional)
Dry Erase Markers (you'll use these for later)

I stopped by Lowe's and had a blast exploring the Valspar paint swatches.  There are so many colors and in so many great shades! They're also a convenient size for crafting since they come in singular sets versus a gradient shade on one sample.
When I first saw this type of calendar on Pinterest, folks used one color, in different shades.  I probably spent 10 minutes staring at the available colors and decided I wanted to use a bunch of different colors versus just one.  I wasn't sure what future homes may look like and this is actually a pretty handy calendar, so I plan on using it in the future.
Pick out 35 paint swatches to your fancy.  I also stopped by Target, although you could to various stores, and picked up a poster frame for somewhere around $10-$14.  One thing to look for is to make sure the frame has that plastic liner that separates the poster from any other elements.  You'll use that to write on with dry-erase markers.

Now that you're back home and ready to craft, take apart your poster frame and lay out how you want the calendar to look.  I wanted the paint swatches to look diversified/scattered versus a color gradient, but feel free to go with the creative flow =]

I love using Mod Podge, but I'm sure glue will suffice for this next part.  My poster frame had a cardboard backing and I used that for simplicity purposes.  I used the Mod Podge to affix the swatches onto the cardboard (laying them all out first really helps).  Then I added an additional top.  Make sure that when you're laying out the swatches, you leave enough room on the top of the board for days of the week and to write in the month.

I printed out days of the week just on regular printer paper and glued those down with Mod Podge at the top of the board.  The poster frame also came with a lovely glossy print, in which I flipped it over and used a part of the back for the month section on the board.  Wast not, want not ;)

Let that bad boy dry and pop it in your frame.  Voila- it was that easy.

Feel free to write away, although I suggest getting nice dry erase markers instead of the crappy ones I got.  School supplies are on sale right now so that's a bonus!

 

xoxo