DIY Sliding Perpetual Calendar

I am so excited for today's project!  I have been wanting to make one of these for forever, and I finally did! Plus, it turned out better than I ever imagined...bonus! So, what the heck is a perpetual calendar? It's a calendar that can be used year after year! There's no need to buy a new calendar....I guess unless you want the year on the calendar :) I fell in love with this sliding one and knew it would be so easy to make one. Here's how I did it!

Supplies: 

2  -1x2 pieces cut at 10.75"

3  -1/2x2 (measures 1/2" by 1.5") pieces cut at 20"

2  -1/2x2 pieces cut at 3/4"

4  -1/2x2 pieces cut at 2"

2  -1/2x2 pieces cut at 1.5"

1  -1x3 cut at 21"

They should all lay out like below:

 Additional supplies:
Wood glue
Stain
Metal 1/8" flat pieces (Found in the car/hobby section at Hobby Lobby)
Metal label holders (Mine are from Hobby Lobby)
Dremel with round metal cut disc
Super Glue
Spray Paint
Vinyl
Painter's tape
6 black 1/4" screws

Step 1: Use the picture from above and place all the wood pieces together like a puzzle. The 1x2 10.75" pieces are the bottom with the smaller pieces glued on top. Make sure all the edges are square so the entire piece keeps straight.

 Step 2 & 3: These steps I reversed just since I thought it would be easier to stain before placing the base, but it really doesn't matter. I stained my wood use DecoArt Americana Walnut stain.

 I then glued the piece to the 1x3 base. You can either just leave it with the glue, or secure it from the underside with nails or screws. I used a nail gun and 1" brad nails into the base of mine.

 Then of course, make sure you stain the base if you haven't already.

Step 4: Making the sliders. This is probably the most complex part of it. Maybe :)

 I cut each metal piece 5". So, two 5" piece for each label holder

 I cut the a portion of the brad off to make it shorter so it wouldn't poke out under the label holder.

 I then placed the brads into the each hole and spread them.

Next, I glued the metal pieces to the back of the label holder.

 That is for the first two label holders. The last one is a lot smaller, so I had to make some cuts to make it smaller. I roughly marked where I wanted to cut. I then used my Dremel to cut the middle parts out.

 I was left with the two end pieces.

 I used the super glue to join the two pieces. I then followed the same steps from above with the brads and the metal strips. Just make sure this is set before moving on to the next step.

Once the glue was set, I placed the label holder onto one of the wood pieces, and eyed where I wanted it to sit, I then bent the metal pieces over the wood, on the top side only.

 I did this to all the pieces.

 Next, I spray painted them with oil rubbed bronze. I didn't want to do this initially, but it help with the look of the smaller cut piece.

Step 5: Now cut out all the words and numbers with vinyl. Here are my rough measurements for each part:
Days of the week: 16" long total with about 3/4" between each day. These are 1/2" tall.
Months: 15.5" long with 3/8" between each month and 3/8" tall.
Numbers: 15.5" long with 1/4" between each number and  1/4" tall.

I used transfer tape for each line to save my sanity.

I marked the middle part of each horizontal wood piece, then placed a piece of tape 1/4" below it on each side. These made a good spot for me to place the bottom of the letters/numbers. If you notice, the words/numbers shouldn't fall right in the middle of the wood or else the label holders won't show them. The windows of the label holders aren't centered. So, to be sure you are placing the vinyl on the right spot, just test it. Place the transfer tape on the wood with the backing still on and put a label holder over it. Adjust if needed.

 I did do notches along the bottom of each word on the sides of each piece of vinyl. With this, I could easily see and line the bottom up with the tape.

 Here it is with all the lettering on: Oh, and make sure you don't put the lettering all the way to the sides, the label holder won't go the far. I tried to start mine in 2" from each side.

 Step 6: Next, I placed a screw on each side of the horizontal pieces, about 3/4" in on each side.

 Step 7: I then put the label holders back on, and bent them completely around.

And that's it! Lots of steps, but easy ones :)

 Here's a close up of the label holders, especially the smaller one. If you are super careful while cutting it, you won't hardly be able to tell. Spray painting helped :)

 My favorite part of this piece is oddly the sides. I love how this looks. The way each side/piece of wood took the stain is just beautiful to me.

 The total size of this sliding perpetual calendar is 21" long, 11.5" high, and 2.5" wide. I was going to make a bigger base for this, but kind of love the simplicity as is. It took everything I had in me not to paint this white though. I like it so much that I may just make another one and do it white; put it in my office...or the my future office :)

I got all my wood from the molding section in Lowes. They carry high quality smaller wood pieces like these. You can pick some up that are about 2 feet long. So, great for smaller projects.

This ended up costing me under $15. Not bad, since I've seen them going for over $40!

DIY Rustic Wood Candlesticks

The below post contains affiliate links.

I was at Lowes the other day finding some wood for a different project and came across these cute wood bun feet. Can I just say that it's super weird to actually call them that :) I was toying around with the idea of what to do with them, and decided that if they were placed together they would make the perfect candlestick! So, next I went to Michaels for another project, and found these perfect circle plaques. I know I could have cut my own, but when they are on sale for 60 cents a piece, it's a no brainer.

This project is pretty simple to do and you can get a cute, large candlestick out of it for about $15!

Here's the supplies:
2 Wood Bun Feet
2 Wood circle plaques (about 5-6" in diameter and 1" thick)
Wood Glue
Drill
Finishing supplies (I used Walnut wood stain, petroleum jelly, white acrylic paint, sandpaper)

Step 1:  Since the feet have bolts in them, instead of spending the time trying to get them out or cut them down, I decided it would be perfect to screw them into the wood plaques instead. So, I found the center of each plaque and marked it.

 Step 2: I then found a drill bit about the same size as the bolts, and drilled a little over halfway through the plaques. I tested each hole with the bolt to see if it was deep enough, if it wasn't, I drilled just a tad bit further until it fit flush.

 Step 3: I then glued all the pieces together. I placed glue in the holes and around the bottom side of each plaque. I also placed glue in the middle of the bun feet. Once everything was glued, I sat it on the counter and put a couple of books on top to weigh it down until the glue had time to adhere properly.

 This is what it looked like all put together.

 Step 4: Finish it. First, I applied walnut wood stain to the entire piece. I actually loved it this color, and kept it that way a for a few days. But, my curiosity got the best of me and I wanted to see it painted and distressed.  So, I added some petroleum jelly to strategically random areas of it.

 I then painted it with white acrylic paint. This took about 3 coats for full coverage.

 After it was completely dried, I took some sandpaper and started sanding. The places that come up easily is where the petroleum jelly was placed. I sanded until I was happy with the amount of distressing.

The white fits my decor beautifully...along with all my other candlesticks.

 Here it is in brown. I seriously love this brown. I'll be going back to get all the supplies to make a few more of these so I can keep a couple in brown :)

 You would never have thought this came from two bun feet! It adds the perfect farmhouse decor element to any vignette.

 I can't wait to play around with these more throughout the house. Either using them by themselves as cute little plant stands. Or....possibly, as they are intended, with actual candles on them :) lol

I just love wasting time at hardware stores finding stuff that could become something else!

Which one is your fave? The brown or the white? I can't decide!

Interested in this project? By similar bun feet below from Amazon!



Pin for later! DIY Wood Candlesticks

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” 

Spring Dining Room and New Dining Room Chair Slipcovers

This post contains affiliate links.

Spring has sprung and we are finally get warmer weather over here! Kind of :) High in the 50s, I'll take it over snow any day! My dining room hardly changes through the season, except for Christmas, but I have done a few spring updates in here to share :)

Jute rug: Amazon    Farmhouse Chairs: Amazon     Striped Turkish Towel/Blanket: Amazon

I obviously like Amazon ;)

You know when you have found something you truly like, it's super hard to change it up. This is true for my tablescape. The faux greenery from Ikea is superb; I can't get enough of these eucalyptus stems! I decided to add just another dynamic by adding these candle pillars from Hobby Lobby. 

 I also have a new addition to my buffet. First off is the wreath on my sunburst mirror. I love adding a wreath onto it during Christmas, and thought it would be fun to do a spring wreath also.

 I also updated my 3-tier tray and got a new one! I loved the other one, but found this one from Hobby Lobby and just fell in love.

 This side of the buffet hasn't changed much...one of those, if it's not broke, then why fix it type things again :)

This spring, most of my added decor has been with greenery. This faux fiddle leaf fig has added an extra element of it to my dining room. This corner doesn't get much love, so this was the perfect place for it!

My dining room has seen it's fair mix of chairs. When we first got the table, it came with 8 massively huge wood chairs with leather seats.

(My dining room 9 years ago)

I actually didn't mind the chairs, I just wanted to freshen up the look years back and put them in the basement to take up space....cuz that's what I do :) It's where I put things that will never see the light of day again. I replaced them with some white slip covered chairs from Ikea. I love the contrast of the white and the dark wood from the table. I love how comfortable they are, how cheap they are, how cheap the slipcovers are, and how my kids can make a huge spaghetti-pile-like-mess on them...literally...and they still clean up great.

(from Summer tour 2016)

But.....I wanted something new. I wanted something a little more casual/elegant. So, I found the slipcovers counterparts at Ikea and put them on the head chairs. These long slipcovers changed the game in here! I just love how they freshened up the space again. The other slipcovers are $9 each. That's like a steal, especially if one gets ruined by play doh or other mysterious stains you would rather not have your guests see. These new ones are a little pricier at $29 each. But, I would say well worth it. When I get around to it, I might opt for doing all 5 chairs in the long covers, but until my kids can learn to keep their food...or play doh...on the table or in their mouth (not the latter on this one ;)) and not on the chairs, the $9 covers are the choice for me.

I do feel like this upped my dining room game. I feel somewhat of an adult with these chairs now. I know. That's weird, but totally true. And yes, now my table does have 3 different style of chairs on it. :) And I don't mind at all. I love how it looks!

Now that I've talked all about my new covers, I should mention what chairs they are. They are the Henriksdal chair from Ikea and are $69 with the short slipcover, or just $60 sans slipcover.

What are you favorite go to chairs? For me, anything that offers style and can clean up great!

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”