World Market Inspired Perpetual Calendar

How to make a World Market inspired perpetual calendar! 

I love flipping through magazines and browsing stores for great ideas that I can DIY.  I recently came across a perpetual calendar at World Market and knew right away I could make one myself.    I made a list of supplies as soon as I came home then headed out to Home Depot to pick up what I needed to create my own DIY version. 

SUPPLIES NEEDED TO MAKE A WORLD MARKET PERPETUAL CALENDAR 

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- 1x8x8 piece of wood
- Small piece of thin scrap wood
- 4 long pieces of thin balsa wood
- White chalk paint 
- Mitre saw
- Minwax Jacobean stain
- Clear wax
- Aging dust
- Elmers adhesive letters
- Elmers adhesive numbers
- Glue stick
- Paintbrush
- Drill and drill bits
- Book rings
- Small hinge

HOW TO MAKE A WOOD PERPETUAL CALENDAR

I started by cutting a piece of 1x8x8 and about 4 long pieces of balsa wood down to size.

After giving all the pieces of wood a light sanding I painted two coats of white chalk paint on both sides of the balsa wood.  I stained the piece of 1x8 with Minwax Jacobean stain.

After everything was dry I glued my favorite Elmer's letters and numbers to each piece of balsa wood to make 12 months and enough numbers for every date combination.  (You'll need (2) zeros, (2) ones, (2) twos, (2) threes, and (1) of every other number.)

After all my dates and numbers were finished I distressed each one using wax and aging dust.

By this point I felt like I was drowning in numbers and couldn't wait to put everything together.

I measured and drilled holes in my base wood using a drill bit large enough for my rings to slip through, but tight enough so they won't move around.   I guess I should also mention that I cut a smaller piece of wood to use as the stand and attached it using a small door hinge.

I then had to drill holes in EVERY number and EVERY month card.  It was a lot of redundant work that I thought would never end.

After I had all my holes drilled I started assembling the calendar.  It wasn't long until I quickly realized there was no way all these "cards" were going to fit #fail.  Determined not to let this project get the best of me I ended up putting a few months and a few numbers on the calendar at a time.  That way I only have to change them every few days.  Not what I planned, but it works.

***TIP*** Looking back, I think it would be best to use thin sheet metal to make the month and date cards. That way they will be thin enough to all stack on the calendar at once. 

I actually LOVE how it turned out and couldn't be happier with my new office addition. 

Do to having most of the supplies on hand (I had to buy the book rings, hinge and a few more pieces of balsa wood) the DIY World Market perpetual calendar only cost about $10.00 to make.  Not bad since the original World Market calendar is nearly $50.00.

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