DIY Cubes Calender 2.0

Last Mother's Day, I made Vikalpha's DIY Cubes Calender, you can view it here https://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Cubes-Calender/
I had a really fun time making them and my mom absolutely loved them! Although, over time, with my mom having wet kitchen hands and such, the writing started to smear and it became blotchy(pic 4). This problem was partially because I didn't have a thick protecter over the cubes and it weared off. So then I wondered if i could improve them for my mom by engraving/carving all the writing. It turned out to be super easy and fun so I think you guys will like it too :)
All the credit goes to Vikalpha, as I would have never thought of this idea if it wasn't for the original cubes!

Step 1: Materials

Now, since I am only adding something to the original cubes, I'm only going to teach you how to do that. If you haven't already made the cubes and the stand, you can make them here https://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Cubes-Calender/ then just hop back over here to see how I engraved/carved them ;)

Here is the list of materials I used;

Paints (any colors of your choice)

Paint Brush

Sharpie or any other permanent marker

Tooth-pick

220 Grit Sandpaper

Clear Gloss Spray Paint

Dremel Rotary Tool

Dremel Engraving Accessory Kit

Step 2: Engraving/Carving

First, get out your engraving/carving tools. I started with a very skinny one to make a guideline for the fatter ones(pic 2). Now go over the writing on one of the sides, it's okay if it isn't the straightest, you just want to make a groove for when you use a fatter tool so it doesn't slip out(pic 4-8). Next, you can take a fatter tool, I choose a small ball shaped one,(pic 9) (I'm sorry if they have specific names, when I got mine they didn't come in the original package) then I repeated the previous step to make the grooves wider and deeper(pic 10-13). After you finished one side, do the exact same thing for all the other sides.

Step 3: Sanding and Painting

Over time the cubes also got a little scratched so I figured I'd give them a little sand. Since the scratches were very minor, I used 220 grit sandpaper to make them nice and smooth on all sides. I also wanted to make them look fresh again so I repainted the cube. If you are painting your's, which I suggest you do, you're going to want a toothpick or something else to remove the excess paint piling up in the engravings/carvings(pic 6).

Step 4: Coloring, Repeating and Coating

This part is super easy, just take a sharpie or another permanent marker and color in all the engravings/carvings. After you finished that one cube now it's time to go back and repeat all the previous steps for the other three cubes. I'm sure most of you did each step for all of the cubes at once, but I preferred to see one cube practically almost finished. Now it's time to go outside and coat all the cubes. I used Rust-Oleum Clear Gloss. Then I laid out all my cubes on a bag and gave them a thin coat and let it dry. I came back and did a second thin coat, then flipped them over and did another two thin coats on that side.

Step 5: Done!

When the cubes are done drying you are all done! Now you have a super cool DIY cube calender :) Thank you so much for taking your time to view this instructable, I really appreciate it.

See ya next time!