Cricut Projects, DIY, Home, Organization

DIY: How To Make a Personalized Acrylic Calendar

by Tiffany J

Create your own personalized magnetic calendar to fit your needs

Don’t spend a fortune on a personalized calendar. Do it yourself with these simple easy steps. Create a calendar that looks stylish and best suits your needs. Best of all, it’s budget-friendly. If you have a Cricut machine, this project is for you!

Materials

To make my personalized calendar I used the following items. Feel free to make substitutions:

GATHER MATERIALS

I know that may seem like a lot of materials but, with the exception of the Cricut Maker machine, they’re all pretty inexpensive.

FIRST, I went to Lowe’s (it was closer than Home Depot) and found the acrylic sheet. Before I purchased the sheet, I found a representative and asked them to cut the sheet in half. That part is VERY IMPORTANT. You can cut the sheet yourself but it’s more difficult and requires additional tools. Save yourself the time and the effort. At both Lowe’s and Home Depot they will cut the sheet for free. So I left with two 12″ x 18″ sheets.

Bonus: You can actually make two calendars!!

PREPARE THE TEMPLATE

Use the design studio to create your calendar template so that the total dimensions do not exceed 11.5″ x 17.5″. The design studio will refuse to make the cut otherwise. Be sure to select all of the elements in the design and choose “attach”. This way the calendar comes out in one piece. Click HERE to access the template that I created.

Cut the necessary amount of vinyl and secure it to the cutting mat. I used Cricut paper trimmer to make a clean cut but any other paper trimmer can work. You can also just use scissors. When I first created my calendar I used a 12″ x 12″ mat. While it’s not as easy to work with, it can be done. You’ll just have to cut the design in half and line up the halves during application. Leave a comment if you want me to show you how. Honestly, a 12″ x 24″ mat is way easier and saves more time.

Cut and weed the calendar. I used the “vinyl” setting on the Cricut machine to perform the cut. I then used the weeder tool to remove all of the negative space on the calendar. I use the blue painter’s tape here to catch the small pieces of vinyl. I fold a small piece of tape over itself and stick it on my work surface. Each time I remove a piece of vinyl that sticks to the weeder tool, I tap the tool on the tape and it catches the piece of vinyl so that I can continue. The key is to TAKE YOUR TIME and DO NOT RUSH. If a piece sticks to the negative space during removal, use the tip of the weeder tool to hold it down while you remove the negative space around it.

Apply the design

Transfer the calendar to the tape. Cut the transfer tape to size. I usually cut the tape to be a bit larger than the design on all sides. Smooth the tape onto the design using the scraper tool, removing any air bubbles. Carefully peel back the transfer tape from the design. Be sure to move slowly. If you notice that a piece of the design did not adhere to the tape, do not continue peeling. Place the tape back down over the area that was missed and firmly apply the scraper tool to that area before trying again. Repeat until the entire design is on the tape.

Transfer the calendar to the acrylic sheet. Place the acrylic sheet on a flat surface. Starting on one side of the acrylic sheet, smooth one edge of the tape onto the acrylic. Work left to right or right to left. As you move to the other side of the acrylic sheet, use the scraper tool to firmly press the transfer tape onto the acrylic sheet. Be mindful that when you place the tape down, it may be difficult to pick it back up as some pieces of the design may have already adhered to the acrylic sheet. Be sure to line the design up before beginning. This is why I get the standard grip transfer tape instead of the strong grip. The standard grip offers some room for error.

Remove the transfer tape. Follow the same steps that you used to transfer the calendar to the tape, to remove the tape from the calendar.

Attach the magnets. Turn the acrylic sheet over. Prepare the epoxy as per the instructions on the packaging. You can use Krazy Glue but I find the epoxy to give a stronger hold. Place a dot of the adhesive on one corner of the acrylic sheet. Using the tweezers, or your hand, place a magnet over the adhesive. Use a clothespin to hold the magnet in place on the acrylic sheet until the adhesive is dry. Repeat for the remaining three corners. Add magnets to the center at the top and bottom for additional support. I used the nail polish remover and a cotton swab to remove excess adhesive around the magnets.

ALL FINISHED!

Note: You must use wet erase markers for the board. Dry erase markers will not show up well.

Calendar Templates