Many years ago, when Indiana Mimi was still living in South Carolina, I used my scrapbook supplies and made a calendar for her with pictures of Bonny Annie and Dirty Harry.  Indiana Mimi loved the calendar so much that she has demanded that either myself or my sister Debbie make her one every year, or she will be forced to post naked baby pictures of us on our facebook pages. Debbie took over for the next year, but ever since then we’ve collaborated, and each of us has created pages for six months, and then we put it all together when we all get together for Christmas.

Indiana Mimi’s birthday is Christmas Day, so it makes for an ideal time for a gift calendar.  But since you are putting pages into a blank calendar, you can start on any month of your choosing, making it a great gift at any time of the year.

To get started, you’re going to need one of these…

As you can see, the link for this company is printed right on the calendar, but I’ve also seen similiar items on sale in various craft stores before.  They generally run about $12 to $15.  We used the 12×12 size, but they also come in 8×8.

You will then need to choose your pictures and supplies.  Debbie and I both chose to have our pictures printed in sepia to give the calendar a uniform look.  It also helps if you’re going to use a holiday kind of theme for your calendar.  That way it doesn’t matter what colors are in your pictures.  You could still use the traditional red, white and blue for your July page or oranges and blacks for your October page. 

I chose to use only one picture on all of my pages, and I had them all printed as 5x7s.

But Debbie used 3-4 pictures on most of her pages and cropped them with her cutting tools to fit her needs.

After you decide on your photos, you’ll need to gather your craft supplies.  Debbie and I are both longtime scrapbookers, and we’ve both collected a ton of supplies over the years.  But if you don’t have all of that, the basics you will need are some good scissors, various colors of cardstock in sizes compatible with the calendar that you chose, a black pen (for writing in the dates, days, etc. on the calendar), and a strong adhesive.  Some extras you might want to consider are patterned papers, stickers, rub-ons, and ribbon.

On the March page, you can see I simply used a few sheets of coordinating patterned paper, cardstock, some small letter stickers,  and a chipboard frame accent…

Debbie was equally simple with her April page, using only patterned paper, cardstock and letter stickers…

I have this thing for tearing paper.  I kind of like the imperfection and artistic shabbiness it gives.  I’m also a tad lazy, and tearing your paper is a lot faster than using scissors or a trimmer.  On my May page, the torn paper contrasts nicely with the overall linear feel the page has.  Then I simply added some pre-purchased die-cuts and letter stickers for the title, and I was finished.  This page took less than fifteen minutes to pull together.

Debbie’s June page is good example of how you can crop some photos to fit more images on your calendar.  She used patterned paper as a background, a trimmed piece of cardstock and a chipboard frame for a minimalist look.  Her title is stamped using acrylic paint and foam stencils.  She also proves that you can make up your own words for your handmade calendar, and no one can stop you.

I’m not going to continue to break down the process/supply list  month by month  because I think you can see now how simple it is to pull together some pages for a meaningful calendar.  This is something that kids can work on together for a grandparent or other special adult, and it would be even more special.

Here’s how the rest of the calendar turned out…

After a year is up, and Indiana Mimi has proudly displayed her calendar on the kitchen wall, she cuts the decorated pages free from the calendar and places them in a scrapbook, which she always has on her coffee table.  The kids always enjoy thumbing through these and seeing how they’ve grown over the years.

I promise that whomever you choose to make one for will love it!  And then they will expect it every year after that, and will threaten you with spitbath facials and the withholding of family heirlooms if you don’t deliver.  And you’ll have me, The Pirate Mom, to thank for it!

Related links:

Boxer Scrapbook shopping site

A site that has images and instructions for different types of handmade calendars

A digital kit for scrapbook calendars for those who are scissor-impaired