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Friday, January 13, 2012

Family Birthday Chart

Before Christmas, some friends and I made some of these family birthday charts for our mom's. We got the idea from Pinterest of course :-) Sadly, I forgot to take pictures of the one's I made before I gave them to my mom and mother in law. But luckily my sister in law Cami took a picture of the one that she made!
If you don't have time or the tools needed to make one of these, they are for sale in my Etsy shop here!

Please do not use this image to sell your own birthday charts, thanks!!
  1. We cut a piece of wood about 24" long and then used the router to make the edges purdy.
  2. Then, we spray painted the wood. For my mother in laws, I modge podged some patterned scrapbook paper on to hers so it was fancy.
  3. We used the Silhouette to cut out the vinyl. The font is called Teeny Boppin NF.
  4. We got the little circles from our local craft store. I think they are 1 3/4" size. Garrett drilled holes (1/16" drill bit) in the top and bottom of each circle. Those dang things break easy though so be careful! Also I would drill the holes before you paint them because they break so much!
*I now buy my circles online and they don't break because they are thicker.  I get the 2" size which is 1/4" thick
  1. He also drilled some holes in the plaque to hang the circles from. Then we got the little eye hooks from Home Depot to hang them all together with.
  2. Cami color coded the circles by families (There are 9 kids in her family!). Then just write their names on the circles and the # of the day in the month their birthday is on. We hung ours in numerical order.
Here are the screw eyes that I use to connect my circles:
http://www.craftparts.com/silver-screw-eye-p-2476.html
You can also find them at Home Depot and they are size number #216

Here are the circles that I use for the Birthday Chart:
http://www.craftparts.com/wood-circle-disc-p-1870.html

Here are the sawtooth hangers I use for the back of the board:
http://www.craftparts.com/178-sawtooth-hangers-p-2300.html

I got my paints from Home Depot in the little tester sizes.

Here are the paint colors I used:
Gray: Glidden "Seal Gray"
Red: Martha Stewart "Maine Lobster"
Orange: Behr "Poppy Glow"
Yellow: Martha Stewart "Pencil"
Green: Behr "Japanese Fern"
Aqua: Martha Stewart "Duck's Egg"
Blue: Behr "Mosaic Tile"
Purple: Martha Stewart "Violet Aster"
Pink: Martha Stewart "Peony"
Brown: Martha Stewart "Chocolate Truffle" (I think this one got discontinued though)

111 comments:

  1. I love this idea and totally want to steal it!

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  2. Can you enlighten us to what type of hooks you bought? I made one of these and resorted to thread to hang the circles because I couldn't find the right hooks. Thanks! =)

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    1. To be honest I'm not sure what size they were ... I just went to Home Depot and grabbed the smallest eye hooks I could find. They look like this though: http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R-100338508/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053. Hope it helps! I will try and go to Home Depot soon to see if I can find out the exact size!

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    2. Thanks! The link is info enough!

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    3. I'm wondering if the vinly letters need to be decoupaged over with a clear coat to keep them on the wood? I've never used the vinyl (like with a Cricut, etc) so I'm going to hold my breath and trace them then cut them out. But I don't know if they stick well? Thanks! Andrina

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    4. Skywayandrina: No the vinyl is basically a sticker so you shouldn't need a top coat to seal it. You could always do it just in case though, good luck!

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    5. Any reason why the vinyl would bubble? I have pushed it down and put heavy books on it. Now I'm modge podging it. Any suggestions on how to fix it or why it is bubbling?

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    6. Hey! I have noticed it bubble before I'm not sure why it does it and I haven't found a way to fix it besides just recutting the vinyl and reapplying it. Sorry I couldn't be more help! Maybe try googling it to see if you can find a way to fix it and let me know. Thanks!

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  3. I think this would be great for the classroom to show student birthdays. It could be re-used each year by replacing the cicles.

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    1. i think for a teacher you could paint the circles with chalk paint, that way she/he doesnt have to throw out the circles each year.

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  4. I just finished One of these, I had a hard time not breaking the circles when I drilled into the top or bottom so I drilled holes 1/16" bit through the circles. Then I used jewelry making supplies, split rings, to attach them together. I used eye hooks at the bottom of the board to start and a split ring connecting between both circles. Went so much easier and it looks awesome!

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  5. Replies
    1. I used my Silhouette Cameo software to size the letters by inches not by font size. But I think they were about 4 or 5 inches tall ... sorry I can't be more specific about font size :-/ Hope that helps!!

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  6. I saw this on Pinterest and loved it. Thank you for sharing

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  7. I love it! I made something similar for my grandma to keep track of her 20 grandkids and 5 kids. I used poker chips that I spray painted black then used a cropadile to cut two holes in each. Then I printed out the name and # on a patterned piece of paper (one for each different family) then linked them up. I love the font you used!!

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  8. I found this post because an internet friend of mine pinned it. I thought that was pretty cool! Great idea :D

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  9. You should sell these! I would buy one!!!

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    1. Thanks I'm just trying to figure out price and the most efficient way to make them! But when I do they will be available in my Etsy shop :-) http://www.etsy.com/shop/theplaidpaperwhite

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  10. I just found your blog via Pinterest and I love it!! You have the neatest ideas!!

    everydayemmalee.blogspot.con

    ~Emmalee~

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  11. I don't know if it would work, but I would suggest using painters tape on the circles and drilling through the tape/circle/tape to possibly keep the circles from breaking. It's a thought anyway.

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  12. Hate to ask a stupid question, but how did you connect the hooks together? Can you open the hooks with pliers? They look like they are welded shut.

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    1. That's not a stupid question haha! They kinda look like they are welded shut but they aren't. We used needle nose pliers to pry them open.

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  13. Love the idea, thanks for sharing. What did you use to put the names on the circles?

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    1. We used permanent markers to write the names on the circles. We used a silver color marker for the ones in the picture but I have used black and white paint markers on others that I have used too. Thanks for your comment!

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  14. What are the circles made of? Wood?

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    1. Yeah they are wood discs that I found at my local craft store :-)

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  15. This is a great idea! It would be especially useful in remembering extended family's birthdays. I will definitely have to make this some day.

    lifescreativejourney.blogspot.com

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  16. This is a fantastic idea, I know a few people who could do with one!!
    Found you through Pinterest, thanks for sharing your ideas!

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  17. Hi, I'm trying to make this for my mom and the wooden circles I found at my craft store aren't think enough to put an eye hook through. Your's look thicker. Do you remember what craft store you found your wooden circles at?

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    1. My circles were pretty thin ... I got them at my local craft store called Craft Warehouse but I have seen them at Michael's and I think Jo Ann's might carry them too. The lady who commented below you said that she buys them online and they are a lot thicker so that could be an option too. Here is the website she said she purchased them through http://www.craftparts.com/circles-wood-discs-c-461.html
      Thanks for you comment and good luck!!

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    2. Love your idea! I noticed that craftparts.com sells the hooks and wooden discs in several sizes. Would you please share what sizes you used? Thanks again for sharing a great idea.

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    3. Hi!
      The ones seen in the picture were 1 3/4" but I like to use 2" now. I would also make sure that it is at least 3/8 or 1/4" thick so it is easier to drill your holes into for your screws.
      Thanks!

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    4. I was having trouble finding any wooden circles that would work well, so I went to Home Depot and bought a 2" wide wooden dowel (it's about 4 feet long) that I can saw into individual pieces! They had other size dowels too.

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  18. Hi, I am a Life Enrichment Coordinator (Activity Director)at an assisted living community. I made this to display my residents birthdays and it is a huge hit. I found that the wooe circles in the craft store were too thin so I went to www.craftparts.com and purchased a bag of wood circles. I was very pleased with the thickness of the wood and had no problem with the smallest eyehook sold at Lowes. If you are a teacher or in my line of work and will need to re-use or change according to your yearly class or my case new residents moving in...I used clear return labels printed on the computer to put their names and birth dates.

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    1. Thank you for the website that is a great resource!! If I make another one I will probably just order them from there because we had a tough time with how thin the ones from the craft store were!!

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  19. You should sell these! I'd buy one.

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    1. Thanks I'm just trying to figure out price and the most efficient way to make them! But when I do they will be available in my Etsy shop :-) http://www.etsy.com/shop/theplaidpaperwhite

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  20. i totally agree..you should sell these...

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    1. Thanks I'm just trying to figure out price and the most efficient way to make them! But when I do they will be available in my Etsy shop :-) http://www.etsy.com/shop/theplaidpaperwhite

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  21. Love this! I'm planning on making one for my grandmother for mother's day. There are about 50 people in our family and this would be great to help her remember them all. Question though. On www.craftparts.com, which size circles would you buy to be able to use eye hooks instead of split rings?

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    1. The one's that I used were about 1 3/4" tall but I would say any size around that would work up to 2". I would suggest either the 3/16" or 1/4" thick circles should be thick enough for the eye hooks. Hope this helps!

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  22. I love this! I always forget birthdays and anniversaries too. I'm thinking wooden hearts for the anniversaries.
    Thanks for a fantastic idea. If I make one and use it, my hubby will be so proud!

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    1. Love your idea for anniversaries!

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    2. I am making one and doing the circles for birthdays, and hearts for anniversaries!

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  23. This is such a fun idea - I love it! Thanks for sharing!

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  24. I'm waiting to buy one, too! Love it!

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  25. i would also consider purchasing for my mother if you sold them. LOVE it, but don't feel like making myself... haha! : )

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  26. I just had a thought, you could attach a piece of ribbon on the back of the board for each of the months and velcro the circles to the ribbon!

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    1. I was just thinking the same thing!

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    2. That would make it easier to add new babies born at the beginning of the month or to remove an anniversary when the relationship has dissolved lol

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  27. You could also just thread ribbon through the pieces. (Using ribbon a little wider than the holes will make the pieces stay in place due to 'snug-ness.') I think I would just let wide ribbons dangle down from the board for each month and do a lazy safety pin instead though.

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  28. I love this! I really need to organize my birthday dates because my memory is starting to fail me now. Super cute idea!!!

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  29. Love your idea and your tutorial! I got so inspired by your crafts that I even got myself a Silhouette machine! :) I've just found the lovely font you used on your birthday chart, so I'm ready to finally finish my first silhouette project! Thanks again for the detailed instructions, I couldn't have made the Chart without your help!

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    1. Thanks! I love hearing about people making things from my website!

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  30. Hi! I really love this and thought I would give it ago! I was just wondering how you managed to open up the hook thingys to attach to each other?! It's probably really obvious but I am coming up blank! x

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    1. Hello!
      I use needle nose pliers to pry them open and then squeeze them shut again, hope that helps!

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  31. Are the circles made of wood? That's all I could find at the craft store. I love this idea and can't wait to get started! It's a great reminder.

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  32. I used baby food jar lids instead of buying circles. I (my hubby) punched holes in the lip of the lid on opposite side then hung them all by running wire through them and kept them from sliding by making a loop in the wire.

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  33. Where do you but the big piece of wood to write birthdays on? I have found several places but they seem over priced for a piece of unfinished wood.

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    1. Hi!
      I buy my wood from Home Depot and cut it and route the edges myself. It's cheaper that way but you have to have a saw and router to do it :-/

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  34. To keep from breaking the circles, I suggest the handheld drill kit from Hobby Lobby. It's in the unfinished wood section by the clock stuff. It's about $4.97 (less with a coupon) and comes with 3 very small drill bits. You turn it by hand. I've used even smaller bits that came with an electric drill set, and they work great.

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  35. To keep from breaking the circles, I suggest the handheld drill kit from Hobby Lobby. It's in the unfinished wood section by the clock stuff. It's about $4.97 (less with a coupon) and comes with 3 very small drill bits. You turn it by hand. I've used even smaller bits that came with an electric drill set, and they work great.

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  36. I love that! But I am lazy, so I think you should sell them on Etsy so I can buy one!

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  37. What did you use to write the names on them??

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  38. Thank you so much for posting this tutorial. Christmas is going to be very slim this year, and this is such a great idea for family members! I appreciate it so much!

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  39. You could also use bottle caps for the names, thanks for the post, love the whole idea!

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  40. Hi love this idea!!! But,I thought maybe if you did the ribbon idea then you could attach the circles to small snap barrettes then hung them on the ribbon. Thanks again for idea!!!

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  41. Can you explain more how to do the font? I'm a new "crafter" so I may just not understand your terminology so I'm sorry if this is a repetitive comment-thanks!

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    1. also- does the drill bit have to match the size of eye hooks? I don't know how that works cause I know you said you said you used a 1/16" drill bit and then I just bought the smallest eye hooks I could find. I hope that should work. Thanks!

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  42. I love this idea. I can't wait to make one for my mom for Mother's Day. What size of font did you use for the letters?

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    1. Hi!
      I didn't use a "font size" for my letters. My die cutter just cuts it in inches but the "Family Birthdays" part is about 3 inches tall. And the months are about 1 inch tall. Hope that helps!

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    2. How tall and wide are the letters?

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  43. Is it possible (when ordering from your etsy) to have something other than "family birthdays" written on it?

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  44. Hi Christine can you tell me the exact size size of eye hooks that you used? I am going to order them from the same website as the wooden disks and they have many sizes to choose from. I'm afraid of ordering them too small or too big that they break the wooden discs. Thanks!

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    1. Hi!
      Ok so I actually just buy mine from Home Depot because its easy but it actually looks like they are cheaper from that website so good idea! I might have to start buying them from there too :) Anyway I'm not sure what size because the ones at home depot the sizes are labeled differently. For example Home Depot size is #216 while the ones from the craft website are by inches. I will link up the ones that I buy from Home Depot:
      http://www.homedepot.com/p/Crown-Bolt-216-Zinc-Plated-Steel-Screw-Eyes-100-Pack-14262/202183418#.UU0US6VOTzI
      My guess would be that these ones would be a good size but since haven't ever gotten them from there I can't be sure, sorry!
      http://www.craftparts.com/1000-sc2160-p-3686.html
      Hope that helps!

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  45. Can you tell us how small the sample paints are that you bought from Home Depot and how much they were? I was thinking about using acrylic craft paint too, I already have a few bottles of that lying around. This is an AWESOME idea, I love how you give the tutorial as well as sell them on Etsy! I hope your shop is doing well!! I am going to get a group of friends together to make these soon.

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    1. Also, do you think you could buy the letters at a craft store? I don't have a cricut or a silouhette (although I might have to invest in one!).

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    2. Hi!
      Ok so the paint samples from home depot are about 7.25 fl oz and are about $3 each. Acrylic paint would work great too though! You might be able to buy the letters from the craft store but I can also cut just the vinyl for you if you want to order some. Just message me on my Etsy store. Thanks!!

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    3. This is such a cute idea! I was wanting to do at least 5 (1 for me, 4 for Christmas gifts, gotta start early!) and was wondering about how many disks the paint samples did?

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    4. The paint samples do lots and lots and lots of circles haha. I sell these birthday charts so I make lots of them and I have to go buy new paint samples maybe 2-3 times a year.

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  46. Made one today! I love it! Thank you so much for the great tutorial. :)

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  47. I love this idea! I am getting married this summer and am working on creating one! I was wondering how your sister-in-law color coordinated??
    Any advice would be wonderful!! I like the color coordinating because I'm a tad O.C.D...but I think I am over-thinking it!

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    1. So there are 9 kids in her family so she did each person in her family a different color. Most of her siblings are grown with families of their own so she kept that same color for them for their spouses and children. So for example if she designated "Jane" as green if Jane had a husband he would also be green and so would their children. Hope that helps!

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  48. What did you use to connect the circles?

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    1. I used little screw eyes that you can find at Home Depot or online: http://www.homedepot.com/p/Everbilt-216-Zinc-Plated-Steel-Screw-Eyes-100-Pack-14262/202183418

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  49. Hey I'm thinking about having a crafting party to make these and just wondering what the approximate cost is to make one? I'm gonna buy the supplies ahead of time then have the ladies pay me for their plaques & towards the supplies but I wanna get a $$$ idea first... Thanks!

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    1. It all depends on what you are able to make yourself. I buy my own wood planks from Home Depot and cut them to size and then route around the edges. I buy my circles in bulk online which reduces the price. If you already have the paint that you want to use it would cut down on the price as well. And if you have a way to cut your own vinyl that would help too. It's hard for me to say how much it would all cost because it depends on how much you can do yourself and how much of the supplies you already have. If you have to buy everything for it the cost initially could be high. But like you said if you are doing it with a group that could help keep the cost lower. I would say each one may cost around $30 just for supplies? Not sure though! Hope this helps!

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  50. So cute! I love that font too! Going to get it now!

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  51. I've made a couple of these but my problem is the words. As I am not an artist free hand didn't look good at all. I've tried stencil and then painting in the outline but of course that wasn't great either. I've read that you can print it out on regular computer paper and then iron it onto the board, but I cannot find an iron. Have you tried different methods? How did you do the lettering on the one pictured?

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    1. I actually cut out vinyl with my silhouette cameo and use that. Vinyl is kinda like a sticker material. I actually sell just the vinyl in my etsy shop if you are interested.
      https://www.etsy.com/shop/ChristineysCrafts

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  52. Hello

    I love your blog. Just wondering when you use the spray gun to paint the circles how do you paint the sides without wasting paint and making a mess? Also if you don't mind what size spray gun do you use, the ones I enquired about were expensive to hire.

    Many thanks

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    1. Hi!
      I actually don't use a spray gun I just paint them with a little foam brush. Sorry I couldn't be more help!

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  53. Just now seeing this! Taking me forever to do the project! Life happens right? lol
    I smoothed the bubble out and then modge podged and it seemed to work!.
    Any Suggestions on how to paint the circles efficiently?

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  56. do you mind me asking what the name of that font is? its unique and different! i love it!

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  57. sorry, i forgot to select "notify me" so i can get the answer. thanks so much!

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  60. I used my Silhouette Cameo software to size the letters by inches not by font size. But I think they were about 4 or 5 inches tall ..

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  61. Looks like one impressive idea, I have to get the Top Bench Grinders and look for more information about getting a perfect Family Birthday Chart for my Mom

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