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DIY Birthday Chart Sign

Yet another DIY gift for someone we love, I present this DIY Birthday Chart Sign! Great for grandparents, mothers, fathers and even the kids in the family.

I also have another awesome calendar you can make if you’re looking for more ideas.
I actually made one of these birthday calendar boards for my mother-in-law a few years ago, but I had taken a pause from blogging during that time, so I don’t have a great pic of it.
Anyway, my mom has had quite a few grandbabies born in the last few years, so I decided to make one for her, too!
For the actual sign, I used some scrap plywood I had. I kind of wish I had used better plywood since this left the surface rather bumpy, but oh well. My board was cut to 6″x24″, but you can make it any dimensions you’d like. For the trim, I used 1×2’s. The two side pieces are cut to 6″, and the top and bottom are 25.5″.

You can see all the patching I had to do for the knots and bumps since the plywood I used was treated and for outdoor use.
I painted the plywood white and stained the trim with dark walnut. Then I attached with wood glue and 1.25″ brad nails.

 

For the name tags, I used paint sticks that I got for free from our local home improvement store. To make it easier to cut them all at once, I used a rubber band on each end to attach them all together. Then I cut them (turned on their sides) on my miter saw.

 

 

I cut off the handle, and then I cut it into thirds.  I also sanded them while they were still bound with the rubber bands! Big time saver.

 

Then I painted them all white and wrote the names and day of their birthdate of all the children, spouses, and grandkids. On the back I wrote out the full birthday just so she can keep track of how old everyone is and just in case they get on the wrong month accidentally!

 

I drilled two holes near the top to thread my string through. I didn’t want the holes to be too big, but this made it hard to thread the baker’s twine through. I ended up using a needle with a large eye to thread them.
In order to save myself from having to thread the needed 30 times, I cut a really long piece of the string, (maybe 3′?), and then I’d pull the stick almost all the way to the end. That way I could keep the needle threaded for the next one.

 

Tie a knot in the end without the needle, and then pull it tight and through the back. From the stick to the last knot, I left my string at 3″. I made a mark with a marker at 3″ and then cut it at about 4″, so I had enough room to tie the other knot. Make sure your knot lands right at the mark you made, so they all hang at about the same height.

I used vinyl to make a stencil to paint the letters. Again, because the wood was so lumpy, it created a bit of a mess. Definitely not my finest work here. I think I would have been better off painting it by hand. I had to go back and do lots of clean ups, and even then, it was far from perfect.
To hang the sticks, I screwed in some small hooks. They’re tiny enough that I didn’t even need to pre-drill holes. I just centered them on the months and twisted them in.
And that’s it! A custom-made Mother’s Day gift using supplies I already had at home!
Aloha,
Charlee
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