Scrapbook Calendars: Time for Fun!

Happy New Year!

January is time for a new beginning, a new year, and a new calendar! I hope 2001 brings you lots of joy and well being! Many of us will be making out new calendars, creating planners, updating our schedules, and trying to get re-organized for the coming year. Maybe you would like to make a calendar for yourself for 2001? Or would you like to get a jump start on a gift for next year's gift giving?

If you want to make out a new calendar for yourself or your family, why not make it an easy scrapbook calendar? If you are like me, you have lots of supplies around and can probably pull together a calendar with minimal expense from what you have on hand. Let's put the scissors, stickers, cardstock, and photos to use! And let's make it FAST!

I generally make on each year for my own use and as a gift for my family members who are too far away to visit. Incorporating fun holidays, silly dates, and family photos can personalize the calendar as much oras little as you like. It takes about 3 or 4 hours all together. I try to finish mine (working on it off and on) in under three days. Want to make one? Let's take a look at some calendar tips that will help you get a new calendar started in scrapbook style!

Step 1: Don't Worry! Be Happy!

Don't stress out over this project. A new calendar does not have to be complicated or time consuming. Let's go for simple! Only do as much as you feel happy with. Don't plan out a masterpiece of paper piecing and punch art for each month if you don't have the time! It will be just as cute (and useful!) with a few well chosen fast stickers or rub ons and accent doodles! Don't overdo the plan....you want to get this project done and NOT let it linger as a UFO (UnFinished Object) So, Let's keep it simple and fast!

Step 2: Decide on a Blank Calendar Style

I start with a blank ready-made set of twelve monthly sheets. You know the kind....each monthly sheet has the days of the week across the top and up to five weeks listed per month. Each day block has a little space for a reminder or two. You can buy a store bought 'blank' if you like. Many scrapbook suppliers have them in stock. If you use one of these blanks, you will have to add the special dates and holidays yourself by hand. This is a little less intense on the labor of making the actual blank calendar but more labor on the handwriting--so it is up to
you.

I prefer the even easier method of using my computer to help me make my blank calendar. You can print your own calendar off of almost any print shop greeting card program available. Many software programs used for greeting cards also have a Calendar maker or Reminder calendar that can be printed off with or without special dates added. In the past, I have used both Calendar Creator, Printmaster, and Hallmark Greetings Workshop for calendar blanks and all worked out great.

calendar blank with no special dates added

calendar blank with holidays and birthdays added

Step 3: Settle on a Size You Like

If you have a calendar maker that allows you to choose the format of the page, decide which size will allow you to include not only the dates you need but ample space for at least one photo and one embellishment. My general choice is either 8 1/2 x 11 or occasionally 4 1/4 x 11. Here are some samples.

8.5x11 format

4.25x11 format

4.25x11 format plain

My current fave software is Calendar Creator because I can carry my repeated dates (like anniversaries and birthdays) over from year to year
with ease. I don't have to re-enter them all again the next January. But really, any software printshop will work out well. Still can't find a calendar you like to print off as a blank? Check the link at SmartDraw.comorTimeAndDate.com or CalendarHome.com.

Pick one you are familiar with and comfortable with. Remember, we want to get to
the fun part quickly--which is DECORATING! :)

Step 4: Add Some Birthdays and Holidays and Reminders

Certainly add your own family birthdays and anniversaries to your calendar. You want to remember them! Then add some of the general holidays too. It not only serves as a reminder to celebrate but gives you a theme idea for the decorations you may add for that month. Look through your old photos for pictures that might coordinate with these classics!

If you need to, it is fine to use copies of photos from varying years as long as they fit the monthly themes. And even if you took a great
'smooch' pic in July, you can still use it on the Feb theme for Valentine's Day. Strict dating of the photos used is not as vital on a calendar. You are aiming for the fun element here. But do remember to tell with a caption who is who, the place, and the year it was taken.

Don't forget the modern 'silly' holidays too! Some dates are great fun when you plan a special event around a goofy holiday. Plan to
incorporate a coordinating photo to the monthly theme or plan an event on a special date for taking pictures! Fun days can give any calendar month a fresh themed appeal and are great for an unexpected chuckle! Grandparents especially like calendars with Fun Days (and corresponding silly photos!) included. Think of the scrapping potential here! And no, I did not make any of these
up!!

Twelve Month Calendar Sheets

Step 5: Choose Your Photos

If this is to be a blank gift calendar or a calendar where the other party fills in their own photos, skip down to Step 6.

Choose your calendar photos from your 'non-essential' stack or from duplicates and color copies. Try to assign only one or two photos per monthly theme. One good photo is better with an additional artistic add-on than trying to squish too many photos on an a small space. Generally you only will have about 6 inches to work with for adding your photos (or blank mats) so pare the choices
down.

my 12 photos

When adding real original photos to a calendar surface, you will want to choose photos that are duplicates, not vital to preserve, or eventually expendable. I may have 20-30 pictures of my son in the band so I don't mind using one on the calendar. I am not worried about not having enough simular photos for my real scrapbook.

Never put an original photo that is an heirloom or one of a kind formal portrait directly on a calendar . Calendars get too much wear and tear for them to be a very good archival preservation for original heirloom pictures. Use a copy of the photo instead. Do make color copies or duplicate photos if you need to. Ten or twenty or more years from now, someone may throw away that photo calendar dated 2001 "'because it is old and we have grandma's scrapbooks anyway." You don't want that to happen to the ONLY photo of your great, great grandmother! So make color copies of those priceless gems if you intend to make a heirloom or family tree style calendar.

Step 6: Assemble the Calendar

Lets get each photo onto a blank space on the calendar. If your calendar date section is too large and does not allow any blank spaces for photos, you can still add them! Simply use another piece of plain cardstock to mount the photos and mats. Place this sheet adjacent or above the appropriate month.

Adding an Extra Photo Sheet to a Calendar

You can bind your calendar together with a binding machine. Many schools have them. Copy centers also will bind one calendar for you for about a $1 dollar fee. Stapling can work too. I have also seen pretty calendars with holes punched in one side and ribbon bindings "sewn" on loosely so they can still be opened up. It is up to you how you prefer to keep the sheets in order and bound together. Don't forget to center a 1/4 inch hole and punch it at the top of the calendar AFTER the calendar is all bound up so the calendar can be hang on a nail on the wall!

bindings

Step 7: Mat Them Up

We don't want to get too complicated or time-consuming here. But we do want the artwork to compliment the photo spaces, photos, themes, and holidays within each month. Pick out one color to use as the mat for each monthly photo. Keep it simple and clean. A rectangular mat about 1/4 inch larger that the photo will be great. Using small patterned paper or plain cardstock for the mats is fine.

Step 8: Decorate and Embellish the Photo Pages

Now that you have chosen your monthly photos, we can get to the best part! The REAL fun starts when you add the artwork or embellishments to your calendar. Pick a maximum of three small stickers, one border sticker, or one small art object like a punch art flower or a small paper piecing to tie in with your theme. Keep it simple. Keep it small if you can. Bogging down at this point with detailed artwork is NOT what we want. Remember we want to USE this calendar this year and preferably starting this month! So get out the sticker binder and pull out some stickers...use some simple rub on decals, doodle a border or a monthly title with those pens.... We want this calendar to bring you happiness and make you smile. Embellish simply within your theme. Don't forget your sense of humor!

Here is a sample of a few calendar pages I have done:

I hope this has given you a few ideas on how to make your own scrapbook calendar! Each month can be filled with zest and enjoyment. Have fun with it, include a few Fun Days, a few silly photos, and don't linger too long over each detail. In a few short hours you should be able to create something you or a loved one can use and enjoy all year long!