DIY Ombre Calanders

I am a calender fanatic. Truly. I have ones that I stick to religiously. I have one on my phone, my Ipod, in my backpack, and a big one in my house! 

The thing I love about the one in my house is that I modeled it after this calender I found on Pinterest a while back:

http://fey-next2heaven.blogspot.com/2011/09/our-launch-pad-new-weekly-calendar.html

Now I have the exact same frame, Wal-Mart $10, but my paper is much more me, one will be glittery and the next wood and trees. I am my own opposite. I love it!

So my love for all things calender were appealed to when I opened the email this morning and read this cute project from Heidi.

The Original

http://thelittlelovebirds.blogspot.com/2012/06/call-me-thief.html

The Pinstrosity

(Not really, you'll see...)

Now I don't at all consider this a Pinstrosity, but Heidi didn't consider it a full out Pin Win either, we need a name for the middle ground...ideas?

The picture she followed didn't have a link so I had to find one similar. Heidi took it upon herself to be creative with this, and I really like that. However she doesn't feel this turned out as great as she had originally had in mind. 

"... I do admit it's not TERRIBLE, but, it doesn't look as pretty as the original.  I think one big reason was that I couldn't quite find enough paint swatches to match the ombre look exactly.  Reason number two, my picture frame was skinnier and therefore I couldn't fit the bigger paint swatches without it looking funky.  Next time, more patience in finding the right colors will probably do me well.  BUT, as far as how it works, it works great.  I hung it up on my wall in my college dorm and write big tests/events and decorate it every month according to the month."

I really like that she decorates this according to the month, I think that is cute and great way to personalize. As for suggestions:

Have patience in finding your colors, and check different stores.

In my town we have a Wal-Mart, Ace Hardware, Sun Valley Do-It Best, and a Tractor Supply Co.. I think that this would give a good range of colors to choose from, take your time and grab lots of options. 

While I am thinking about it though, I am sure that these workers hate it when people come in and just take a butt ton of free samples, so don't go TOO hog wild. 

Speaking of going hog wild with free paint samples, behold:

Please excuse the poor picture quality, this is an older picture taken on a phone. This was a Christmas Tree that my Hubby and I made while we were still in our dating stage. Cute right?! Totally wasteful of paint swatches? Yes. But did we literally blow it up after Christmas? Totally. Awesomesauce. Have I ever mentioned how Pyromaniac my family is? I guess that's what I get for having a dad that made fireworks for a living. 

Anyway I digress. 

Another thing to think about before you start cutting things, is to measure measure measure. I have a bad habit of not measuring or sloppily measuring and it has been known to get me in a  tight spot a time or two. Save yourself some trouble and heartache and MEASURE BEFORE YOU CUT!

Another thought is to get a larger frame with a mat, that way you aren't worried about not having enough room. This way you can use the pretty mat, and I think buying  a mat of your own specifications is fairly cheap, I can get one here from a custom frame shop for under 3 bucks for a large picture. 

Sometime we get so excited about a project that we just want to do it RIGHT NOW and not wait till the store has what we really need ( I am so guilty of this), but sometimes it pays to wait. 

Keep that in mind crafters!

Happy Friday Pinstrosipeeps! 

And stay tuned for Marquette's post tomorrow!