jamaica | beyond the page protector

Hi there, it’s Jamaica. Today I thought I’d share my “big” calendar with you. I decided to make my own wall calendar this year after not being able to find one I liked. When the Today Journal Cards were released in December, inspiration struck. The cards hang from a tiny nails so that it can work as a perpetual calendar. Each new month I simply rearrange the cards. It took a bit of work to set-up—printing, trimming, punching holes, measuring and nailing—but I love the effect and the versatility.

Here are the tools you’ll need to hang your cards —1/2″ nails, a small hammer, pencil, eraser, washi tape, and a level. A large level would be perfect for this project but in a pinch you can use a tiny picture hanging level and a yard stick like I did. Also, the 1/2″ nails were teeny tiny. So small that I could barely hold them while hammering them into the wall. Something slightly larger might make it easier, just look for one with a small head.

Looking at a calendar for the year, I realized I would need a grid of nails 7 wide by 6 tall. Before I started hammering anything, I taped practice cards to the wall 7 across and 6 down to get a feel for the spacing. Once I determined where the top row should begin, I leveled and traced a quick line across the wall roughly the width of my calendar. Then I made tick marks every 3 1/4″ so that I’d have 1/4″ between cards.

After each row of nails, I hung a few cards (because I was dying to see how it was going to look) but also to add a quick piece of washi as a guide for my next line/row of nails. I used a 1/8″ hole punch to make the holes at the top of the cards, about 1/4″ from the top. Because the card starts above the line you need to compensate for that when measuring the distance between rows of nails. My washing tape is roughly 1/2″ wide so I’ve got a generous 1/4″ between cards. To me, the tighter spacing between cards helps make them look more cohesive.

After 63 nails, a lot of nailing and endless erasing of pencil marks, I was finally able to hang the full set of cards. And was so excited—it turned out better than I imagined. The small variations in nail placement or hole punches aren’t noticeable and the way the cards hang slightly in front of the wall give it depth.

While I absolutely love the bold black and white, graphic look of the calendar, I quickly realized it wasn’t very functional. So I began playing with different ways to add dates and appointments. Post-its peel right off, keeping the original date card intact which I like since I’m planning to use the same set for the whole year. Plus they add a fun pop of color. The blank Today cards that come in the set are another great option. Just print a few extra of those to keep on hand. Really though, any extra Project Life journaling card will work. Just punch a quick hole in the top, jot a quick note and add it to the calendar.