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I can’t remember the first place I saw these gorgeous family birthday reminders, but I was instantly mesmerized. What a beautiful display and helpful reminder of family birthdays! Once I mastered the simple technique for creating these masterpieces, I began crafting them up for Christmas gifts. Today, I will share how you can spread joy and make these creative reminders for everyone you know and love!
Materials Needed to Make a Wooden Birthday Reminder
I love this type of project because it’s completely customizable. You can substitute any of the materials I am using with anything your imagination comes up with. My basic supplies for this project include:
– A board (old or new). Mine is 7 inches tall, 24 inches wide, and 1/2 inch thick.
-White acrylic paint.
-1 1/2-inch flat round wooden discs (I ordered mine on Amazon.)
– Black Fine Tip Permanent Marker
-12 small metal eye screws (found at the hardware store)
-Bag of flexible metal S-hook links (I found a bag of 50 or 100 on Amazon)
Preparing the Board for the Project
Keep in mind, you can customize this project in any way you choose. I decided to stain my board with some leftover water-based wood stain in American walnut. Before staining, it is always a good idea to sand your board beginning with course sandpaper and working your way to a semi-fine grit. Applying a coat of sanding sealer helps the wood stain absorb more evenly no matter the condition of your board.
Applying the Lettering and Words to Your Board
If you are the type who is blessed with excellent penmanship, feel free to free-hand a special message on the front of the board using a fine-tip paintbrush and acrylic paint. If you are like me, and genetics failed to produce such a skill, you can always use a stencil. I elected to volunteer one of my daughters to hand-write my message. I guess fine penmanship skips a generation.
Choosing a Special Message or Quote for your Board
A quick Google search will produce thousands of inspirational quotes and sayings. I chose to go with a simple “Beyond Blessed” for this particular gift. Some may prefer something more personal, or birthday related.
Then, along the bottom, you will list abbreviations for the twelve months evenly spaced from left to right. I guess it is possible to write the entire month’s name if you have a large enough board or small enough lettering.
Finishing the Top of the Project
Once you are happy with the “main board” of the project, it’s a good idea to put a couple of thin layers of sealer on it. I used some leftover water-based polyurethane in a gloss finish. This step isn’t completely necessary, but it gives it a more finished appearance and a bit of protection.
Add Hardware to Hang the Birthday Board
It is advisable to add some type of picture-hanging hardware to the back of the main board. We opted for two, two-inch saw tooth hangers. I attached them on the top right and left edge on the rear of the board.
Preparing the Hooks and Disks for the Birthday Board
Next, you will need to drill a tiny hole under the center of each month’s abbreviation on the bottom of the board. The size of the hole depends on the size of the screw in eyes. Mine are very tiny so the absolute smallest drill bit did the job well. There’s no need to drill very far up. You just need a surface puncture to get the eye screw started.
With the holes drilled, you are ready to screw in the twelve eye screws, one under each month. Now gather all your family birthdays and begin writing them on the wooden discs. If your discs did not come with holes pre-drilled, you will need to do that to place them on the birthday board. We found it easiest to stack a few and drill them all at once. Each disk needs a tiny hole in the top and bottom.
Finishing and Assembling the Birthday Discs
We added two layers of white acrylic paint to the front and back of each wooden disk. You could always leave the wood uncovered if you’d like. Also, you may be able to use wooden cut-out shapes other than round disks. To keep costs down, we bought large bags of wooden disks on Amazon. Then simply write each family member’s name and birthday on the disks.
Beginning with the first numerical birthday in each month, thread an S-hook through the top hole and hang it from the eye screw under the appropriate month. Add additional numerical birthdays by linking S-hooks to one another.
Hanging the Board and Extended Use
Once all the birthdays have been linked under their appropriate month, you are ready to mount your beautiful birthday board to the wall. Keep a few extra disks and S-hooks in a plastic zip bag for all the new births in the family. You can also use different shapes or different colored ink to signify other special days such as anniversaries. The options are endless!
Other Great Ideas
Be sure to bookmark this blog and visit often for more DIY inspiration. Also, be my guest at the Sawdust and Cornbread Home DIY Channel. I post new ideas twice weekly.
Until next time,
~Lora Lea
