by Mackenzie Billing

Making a 16-month personalized calendar for friends and relatives is a really creative, fun way to say “thinking about you!”  They make such perfect gifts, and summer is really a great time to get started so that the calendars will be ready as the school year begins.

I recently wanted to make a calendar for my older brother, a photographer, with the wonderful pictures he had taken over the years.  First, I did a full-sized 16 month calendar, starting in September of this year and running through December of 2011. That way there was room for more of his pictures and he could start to use it sooner.

Later, I experimented with calendars in a variety of sizes and formats. During the calendar-making project, I discovered a way to use a special, clear plastic stand the size of a CD jewel case to create a fun little desk calendar. This can be done without using a commercial printer or binding of any kind. It stands upright and has a little slot to put all the pages in. A calendar this small is more for just checking off the days as they go by and doesn’t really leave much room to write.  I think it’s a handy little calendar just to sit on a desk with pictures of the family, nature, pets, animals, or whatever is meaningful to the recipient of the gift. It can be anything you want! It’s almost like a miniature photo frame that you change every month!  What a great gift. Continue reading →