Each year I start out with the best of intentions in remembering birthdays and anniversaries of our extended family members. But, like many, those intentions simply fade away into the busyness of life. I realized I needed a more visual reminder to keep me focused on those important people in my life. And…I found it!
(I previously posted this project on another blog I own, but it was so well received, I knew I needed to share it here also!)
I originally discovered this ingenious idea on Pinterest and loved the look of it. So, I tweaked it just a bit and made it my own! I now have no excuse to miss another family birthday!
Disclaimer: This one took me a bit of time. I’m sure there are quicker and easier ways, but the perfectionist in me had a specific look I was going after, so it took a lot of time, paint and Mod Podge. 
Supplies (if you mimic one like this, otherwise supplies could be quite variable):
- Wooden board
- 3-inch wooden letters
- Wooden parts for a model car (that we turned into a cross) – it was on sale and MUCH cheaper to do it this way
- 1.5-inch wooden hearts
- 1.5-inch wooden rectangles
- Screw eyes for the 12 months and the top of the board (#210 size)
- Paints, of your choosing
- Primer
- Paint brushes
- Scrapbook paper
- White paint pen
- Black Sharpie marker
- Mod Podge
- Figure 8 hooks
- Hot glue gun and hot glue sticks
- Pliers
- Drill
- Jute for hanging
Let’s start with the finished product:
I went with a rustic look for my theme. I even made sure that I painted the main board in such a way that it was a bit distressed to help create that rustic feeling.
I started by priming the board. I chose a board with bark on the top or bottom, but you could use whatever size or style you prefer. My husband helped me by screwing in the screw eye hooks for the months and the two on top that would later be used for hanging. He also went ahead and drilled holes in the rectangular (month) pieces and the hearts as well.
My hubby also offered to make a cross for me. (Isn’t he the greatest?) He knew I wanted to include one, but I couldn’t find one that was the right size and price. So, we found a model car kit on sale for $1.00 at our local A.C. Moore craft supply store. My creative man took the wood included in the kit and whittled it down to make the cross that I later painted in the same ochre color used in some of the hearts.
Next, I painted the hearts, one of three colors, as represented. After they dried, I used the white paint pen to write the name and day on the darker colored paints, and I used a black Sharpie marker to do the same thing on the lighter colored hearts. Another suggestion I received: add the birth year or year of event to the back of the heart…which will help keep track of ages and/or which anniversary is being celebrated for that particular year. 🙂
I went back to the now-dried and primed board and painted it (sienna) with a distressed look. I also painted the sides of each of the F-A-M-I-L-Y letters (I chose white) to give it a more polished look. Additionally, painted the sides and the back of each rectangle.
Next, I traced out the F-A-M-I-L-Y letters onto scrapbook paper and cut the paper and used Mod Podge to affix the paper to the letters. I did the same thing using the rectangles. I sealed each of the items containing paper with another top coat of the Mod Podge. I used the black Sharpie to write the abbreviations for the months on each of the rectangles.
After the Mod Podge dried, I glued each of the letters onto the main board (along with the cross).
The hardest part of this project came with the next step…inserting the figure 8 hooks into the pre-drilled holes to connect the months with their corresponding hearts. My husband had to pretty much do this part entirely. He used some needlenose pliers to stretch the hooks open a little further, because they wouldn’t fit in the holes any other way (due to the thickness of the wood or the angle at which they had to go in).
Joila! Our Family Birthday Board is now hanging in a prominent place in our house!
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