A Perpetual Calendar for the Rose Blossom Garden

Hi All! Welcome to the Rose Blossom Garden September challenge. This month's theme is "School," and features the "z" key on Close To My Heart's Artbooking Cricut Cartridge. My kids actually started back to school the last week of August, which also happens to be when we found out we would be moving to a new neighborhood at the end of September. So really, school has been secondary to things like packing and decluttering and reorganizing. 

Having busy Middle Schoolers, I decided to take a different approach to the "School" theme and use the Artbooking calendar overlay to create, well, a calendar. Let's take a look:

For this perpetual calendar, I used a 12 x 12 frame that I found on sale at my local craft store. I then took a 12 x 12 piece of sheet metal (yes, the hardware store sells them already cut to size, much to my delight) and covered it with adhesive-backed chalk paper. I added the calendar grid (cut from White Daisy cardstock at 11 inches) and adhered it with a strong adhesive. I used Liquid Glass to cover the grid lines in order to make them water proof and protect them from chalk and/or the chalk marker. Since the days of the week won't be changing, I stamped them using the acrylic stamps that come with the Artbooking collection and white Stāz-on ink. (The White Daisy ink actually washes off even after it dries, so I suggest using it for the numbers if you wish.) The months are stamped in Ruby Exclusive Ink on Kraft cardstock using the new CTMH Framework Alphabet stamp set. I then layered the Kraft onto White Daisy and Cranberry cardstocks and added a heavy duty magnet to the back using Liquid Glass.

Because the magnets are super strong, they actually will attach to the back of the frame. They are also thin enough to keep the month titles from interfering with hanging the frame. I'll be adding ruby chevron ribbon as a hanger instead of using the saw tooth hardware. That way I can easily grab a new month without having to take the frame off the wall every time. (Love the simplicity!)

I wanted the year to be changeable as well, so I made a tag from the chalk paper using a frame from the Frame It Up stamp set and white Stāz-on. Since I didn't have an extra Cricut blade on hand (I like to switch out blades after cutting adhesive backed materials), I fussy cut it with my non-stick scissors. I then used my chalk marker to ink up the numbers from the Framework set. I attached it to the ribbon using a foundry pin clip. (Hurry and grab these up, they're on sale while supplies last!) I attached a bow made from burlap, black striped, and ruby chevron ribbon, and added some black tulle and a rhinestone brad for extra texture and bling.

I used some retired CTMH cork shapes to create magnets for added interest. Here's a couple of close up of those:

The sayings are from the Scrapbook Statements - Women and You Are My Happy stamp sets, and are stamped in Ruby Exclusive Ink.

To finish it off, I added some library clips from my stash. One for each member of the family. I'm trying to decide if I will add "to do" lists for everybody or what. I'll post an update when I decide. 

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you enjoyed my little calendar. For more inspiration, don't forget to stop by the Rose Blossom Garden and take a look at the projects my talented co-designers have created.