Desk Calendar Tutorial

I'm so excited to share this tutorial with you today! My good friend, Nancy Littrell, introduced me to this project and I'm SO glad she did!! She has a great photo of all 4 sides of her calendar HERE in her SCS gallery. My calendar has Winter & Spring on the outside, Summer and Fall on the inside. When you're ready, you just untie the ribbon, flip the inside to the outside, re-tie the ribbon and you're set for the next 6 months! This is a surprizingly easy project ... one that we made at my workshop this month. All supplies are SU with the exception of a Sakura clear glaze pen & Spica clear glitter pen that I used to accent the image pieces and the calendar, which was printed on the computer. I used the Tree For All Seasons set to represent each season. It's currently on the dormant list, so you won't find it in your catalog, but it IS available and you can see it online right HERE. Before moving on to the tutorial, I want to show you all 4 sides of my calendar and a close-up of the image pieces that represent each season.

Winter (Riding Hood Red with Holiday Treasures DP)~Spring (Pink Pirouette with Pink Pirouette Patterns DSP) ~Summer (Old Olive with HolidayTreasures DP) ~

Fall (Pumpkin Pie with Pumpkin Pie Patterns DSP) ~ Okay, are you ready to make one of your own? Here's how :)

Supplies

Cutting/Scoring tool
Basic Black & Whisper White cardstock

4 Colors of card stock with coordinating DP
Tree for all Seasons Stamp set

Black Stazon Ink

SU Markers & Sakura clear Glaze pen
1 3/8" Circle Punch & Scallop Circle Punch
Cropadile

Black Gingham Ribbon

Roll-on adhesive & Dimensionals

Step 1: Print a Yearly Calendar...go to:
http://www.printfree.com/Calendar_files/Yearly/2009printable.htm
Right click on the calendar & Select All
Right Click on the calendar & select Print Preview
Go to the “Shrink Down” drop down menu, select 80%
Print onto Whisper White Cardstock

Step 2: Cut, Punch & Score the following pieces:
Cut Black Cardstock 5 ½ x 8 ½” and Score at 4 ¼ “ ( just like you would for a cardbase)

Cut Black Cardstock (4) 5 x 1 5/8”

Punch (4) Black Scallops

Cut 4 pieces of *Cardstock & coordinating Designer Paper:
Cardstock: 5 ¼ x 4”
Designer Paper: 5 x 2 ½”

Cut Calendar strips (finished size should be 4 7/8 x 1 ½” each)

For each “season” complete the following steps:

Adhere DP onto the coordinating colored cardstock.
Adhere the black matting to the white calendar strip.
Adhere the matted calendar strip to the colored cardstock (the bottom edge of the black mat should be approx 3/8” from the bottom of the colored cardstock..to allow room for holes that will be punched).
Adhere Black Scallop above calendar strip.
Stamp & color image. Punch out with 1 3/8” circle punch.
Place (2) dimensionals behind the image circle & adhere to the black scallop

Next, you'll want to think about which 2 seasons you want on the outside and on the inside of your calendar then adhere each onto the black calendar base. For instance, you could put Spring & Summer on the outside, Fall & Winter on the inside. Just make sure your seasons go in sequence. If your layers are heavy, you may want to consider using sticky strip or whatever strong adhesive you prefer. For my calendar, my standard monohesive worked just great! I made this one about a month ago and it's still in perfect shape...no signs of lifting.

Use your Cropadile to punch two 1/8” holes (for the ribbon) on the bottom edge of both sides of the calendar (approx 3/8” up from the bottom edge). Thread gingham ribbon through and tie in a loose knot or bow.

Wasn't that easy? This is basically just a standard black card base with layers on all 4 sides and it fits inside a standard SU Medium or Translucent Envelope! You can customize this SO many ways for gifts. Just look through your stamps and papers & I bet you'll find something that would work for each season. Add Scriptures, Quotes, family Photos...the possibilities are endless! If you have any questions about the project, just email me (youcanstamp@hotmail.com).

I'm headed out of town for the Thanksgiving Holiday. Happy & Blessed Thanksgiving to my US friends and a Wonderful week to my friends abroad! HUGS to all :) !!!