abacus-inspired family command center

Alternate title: random thingy we made that has no real name because it’s a hybrid-mixed-mutt calendar.

But that’s how we roll round here in the Millz Hizzy.

About a month ago {yeah, it took me about a month to get to this one} I received a message on our convo hub from a sweet gal named Tiffany. She wrote:

“…I need some design inspiration – my husband and I keep a dry erase board in the kitchen to jot down a running grocery list as well as meal ideas and notes to each other. We’ve recently decided that we need to expand this to include a monthly calendar. Any tips for creating a stylish fun calendar that won’t look like it came straight out of a corporate office??”

So, this weekend, I decided I was ready to tackle this project. And I wanted to challenge myself, in designing something that could be done with the things we had around our home. Free {already paid for} for us. I realize normal people might not have all of these things. But alas, challenge with myself accepted…and this is what we came up with. Without further inspirational ado…

This is the basic idea, and you could always go larger to suit your family’s needs…but our overall final size was 47.5″ w by 24″ h.

Want to make one like ours?

I was inspired by this frame I already had from Ikea, and its modern, simple shape. So, using this as my springboard, I came up with this little creation.

Here’s what you’ll need:

6 select pine {1 x 2} cut to 24 inches.

2 select pine {1 x 2} cut to 47.5 inches. {these go on the top and bottom}

MDF pieces {thinnest you can find} cut to 12 x 24

4 more pieces of select pine {1 x 2} to brace the top and bottom of your pieces of MDF at 12 inches wide. {you’ll see that below}

paint color of your choice {I recommend spray paint, but I didn’t have it so alas there were gloopy glops, but when I sanded it down, it had a cool subtle distressed look}

paint brush or roller

cork squares {you can purchase these at your local craft store. Mine were left over from our kitchen project (like, three years ago) and I purchased them at amcork.}

screwdriver and screws

drill

hot glue

thread + twine

beads + painty pen

clothespins {you can decorate these however you like, but I’ll give more details on mine below}

fabric + wood disks for your days and months

Other decorative things for your board like thumbtacks and magnets, etc.

1. I started out by painting all of my already cut pieces. I also used one thin piece of MDF, and added a couple of coats of magnetic primer, and then a few layers of chalkboard paint. Again, I would recommend using rollers {I was going with what I had, and we were out of rollers.} Bonus: your chalkboard will have super magnetic powers, as well.

2. I placed the cork on my MDF and glued it down. Special side note: pay attention to the thickness of your cork squares. The standard ones from your local Hobby Lobby won’t need an additional layer. Mine were special, so I laid down some basic cork from a roll I already had, to provide an additional layer of thickness for those thumbtacks.

1. while those were drying, I decided to make my months and days. I wanted to break it down for you, so you could see what I did…Basically, my flowers are made from cut layers of fabric and felt, {sizzix, but you could easily do your own shape} topped off with a simple round wooden disk that I scored from the woodworking department in a little package at H.L. I simply hand lettered it with a pin, but you could easily stamp your own, or come up with some other way to display your stuff.

2. The backs of all of these, for sliding purposes, were backed by these plastic luggage tag pieces I already had. These can be found at an office supply store, but you could easily do the same effect with clothespins, if you aren’t feeling up to the task of hunting these puppies down. I’ve  had mine for so long, I don’t remember where they came from. I secured all the layers to the plastic piece with a glue gun, and…tada!

After those, I gathered these wooden beads {you can purchase these from your craft store, but mine were from an old necklace) and dutifully painted each one, all the way around, with a number. {Hand. Cramp. But it was fun!} I had two flowered ones, and ironically had JUST enough to go all the way to 31. Everyone in our family, except myself, have birthdays on the 13th or 16th of a month. So I designated those as the “special” beads. {left the flowers. No sweat.}

1. When my pieces were dry, we pieced them all together on the counter, face down.

2. Making sure that the MDF pieces fit inside the main frame piece {we may or may not have had a re-do because we forgot to check} start joining the pieces together.

3. + 4.  In order to insure that your thinner pieces of MDF {holding your corkboard and magnetic chalkboard} come to the forefront of the piece to give it that modern look, we joined two additional pieces of pine {as mentioned above} to the top and bottom of each piece. Laying them all face-down into the frame, we drilled to attach them to the piece.

We also filled the gaps with wood filler, to unify it more, and touched it up with paint to give it that modern look. a

Next, we threaded all all our pieces on separate strands, and measuring, drilled holes in each side, to join them through the frame. We went all the way through the secondary inside piece, to secure the knot behind the MDF boards. Here’s where your hot glue gun will come in handy: if you’re using thinner pieces of thread {you could always use dowels, but again, going with what we had} secure the knot with an extra dab {or puddle} of hot glue.

measure on each side, to make sure your lines are straight.

For our beads, we used smaller pieces of thread, as it was hard to thread them. If you have issues pushing your thread through the drilled hole in the wood, use the old knot-it-up-to-a-larger-piece-and-pull-it-through-trick. You know what I’m talking about…the same one your mom used to get your soccer shorts back into gear, when you were little and pulled the thread out…

We recommend attaching a picture hanging kit to the back. And TADA! There you have it. An abacus-inspired perpetual calendar family command center. With bonus magnetic magical powers and a little style to boot. At least we think so…

maybe we need to get out more.

As always, let me know if you try it. And if you’d like to see us tackle something in particular, or blog on a certain topic, be sure to shoot me an email: [email protected], or leave a message on our convo hub!