Colourful and organised: chessboard calendar

A picture of the colourful chessboard calendar on a wall of an office.
Stay organised with our colourful chessboard calendar
  • Difficulty
    medium
  • Cost
    40-85 £
  • Duration
    3 - 8 h

Introduction

Checkmate to deadline chaos! This colourful wall calendar with 52 squares (one for each week) arranged in a chessboard pattern brings fresh colour to the room and more structure to everyday life. Thanks to the base coat of ferric paint, everyday items such as notes, photos, invitations or post cards can be attached to the calendar magnetically. You can enter important personal events such as your birthday, wedding anniversary, etc. – as well as the appropriate calendar week – into the 52 squares using chalk. You'll never forget an important date again!

You need

Let's go - step by step

Video instructions

Step16

Getting started

A picture of someone measuring up the chessboard centre using a Quigo Plus

Start by setting up the Quigo Plus

You need:
Quigo Plus
,
pencil

Firstly, attach the Bosch Quigo Plus cross line laser to the tripod to ensure that all the squares are the same size. Align the center of the laser cross at a height of approximately 90 cm and move the Quigo Plus away from the wall until the marks are 12 cm apart. To check that the spacing really is exactly
the same, hold the target plate against the wall. If the vertical laser line runs perfectly through the red strips on the target plate, the Quigo Plus is exactly perpendicular to the wall.

Note: Before you begin, make sure to paint the wall with a magnetic ferric paint a day before, leaving 24 hours drying time.

Tip
HINT
Before you begin, make sure to paint the wall with a magnetic ferric paint a day before, leaving 24 hours drying time.
Step26

Creating a cross shape

A picture of someone putting masking tape along the cross line laser beans in a cross shape.

Start by placing tape in a cross shape matching the Quigo Plus's lines

Next place masking tape on the vertical and horizontal lines in a cross shape from the starting point as shown in the picture. Simply stick one piece of tape 90 cm long horizontal strip and one strip at least 130 cm long vertically along the laser cross.

Step36

Marking out the squares

A picture of someone marking out the squares for the chessboard.

Time to mark out the squares for the chessboard

You need: pencil

Now you can mark out the squares for each week by using a pencil to transfer the marks of the horizontal laser line of the Quigo Plus onto the tape, i.e. – starting from the center of the cross – three dashes to the right and three to the left. Repeat this step for the vertical laser lines – four dashes up to the top and five down to the bottom.

Step46

Finish the template

A picture of someone using the Quigo Plus to map out straight lines for the chessboard.

Finish the chessboard template

Now you can stick the rest of the template to the wall by turning the Quigo Plus and aligning the vertical laser line over the pencil marks drawn on the horizontal strip of tape to create perfectly straight lines. Stick the six vertical strips of tape one-by-one along the laser line. Then repeat this step for the nine horizontal strips of tape, adjusting the height of the Quigo Plus using the crank on the tripod to the relevant height for each strip.

Step56

Start painting

A picture of someone painting in the squares of the chessboard calendar using a paint roller.

Now to add the paint

Once the template is complete, you can use the paint roller to paint the squares alternate colours as you wish.

Step66

The finishing touches

A picture of someone removing the masking tape from the completed chessboard calendar.

Remove the tape and your calendar is complete

You need: floor protector or cover sheets, paint roller, paint brush

Last but not least, remove the masking tape while the paint is still slightly wet for a clean finish. Once the chessboard is completely dry you can start to add photos, shopping lists and invites. Your chessboard is not only decorative but practical.