Water you waiting for? Paint yourself a calendar!

There is something so carefree about watercolor painting.  Each piece seems like the artist whipped out their brush on a whim, splashed a few colors on the page, and suddenly a piece of art materialized.  "Look!  A beautiful sunset!"  For that reason, I have often been caught in the trap of attempting to paint with watercolors, and I am usually disappointed with the results.  (I actually just signed up for a Watercolor Class that is in a few weeks, so be prepared for some additional watercolor projects in the future…!)  However, I saw this project on Pinterest, and thought it looked so easy and elegant that I had to try it.  Plus, wouldn't a calendar of these make a lovely gift?

Materials:
Watercolor paints (I used the cheap ones you can get at the drugstore!)
Watercolor paper (Also from the drugstore)
Pencil
Circle stencil (I used a small circular votive)

Instructions:
1.  Trace 5 rows of overlapping circles onto your watercolor paper.  (I combined Sat/Sun in one circle at the end of the row, so I did 6 circles across.)  Use LIGHT pencil markings, as this will make your life easier later on!

2.  Once you have all of your circles done, pencil in the dates, and start filling the circles with your 4 chosen watercolors.

3.  Once your circles are all filled in, wait for the paint to dry completely.  Next, use an eraser to erase any pencil marks that are still showing.  (My marks were pretty dark, so this step was difficult for me!)  Finally, use a sharpie to mark the dates over the circles, and paint the name of the month down the side of your page.  COMPLETE!

In all it's glory on my fridge - my new February fridge calendar! 

While I like how this turned out, I think if I make more I will leave off the names of the days at the top - just having the numbered circles would probably make things look a little more elegant.  The cheap paints I used are also probably why it didn't turn out quite as artistic as my inspiration (below).  Hopefully it doesn't look too much like something I did with my children over the weekend, if I had any.  (Who cares, adults can do arts and crafts, too!)  :)

Inspiration:  Momfluential.net