Hi everyone, I'm back to share a perpetual calendar that I made my sister and BIL for Christmas. Their home is decorated with earth tones so that's the color scheme I used for this project. Before I begin I'd like to acknowledge that my inspiration for making this calendar was inspired by a very talented Verve Diva,
Christyne Kane. I originally saw her calendar on Pinterest and fell in love with it! It's totally magnetic which is brilliant and like she mentions in her blog post you can use the other side to store extra pieces.
I changed my calendar up a bit by adding holiday and special occasion pieces. I kept Christyne's original design though because I loved the layout and I also happened to have the stamps and dies she used. That made it easy for me to start the process and find my groove as I went along. I pulled out my Tim Holtz stash, wood laser pieces and some other trinkets and crafted away. Enough rambling from me, let's get started with more pictures and I'll add notes along the way.
See the rectangle piece at the top, it's the only one that is not magnetic. I used double stick tape to adhere it to the cookie sheet so the other magnetic pieces would be interchangeable. You can see that I replaced the "1" with Happy New Year in this photo. I like the idea of adding holiday and special occasion pieces, do you?
You will have to create 7 extra blank full size spacers for your calendar. You need spacers each month and you'll use all 7 in the month of February with the exception of leap year. I should note that you'll need spacers (of a different size) for the bottom row as well.
This photo shows the back and the extra pieces I created. Because I used a large die to place the month on, all 12 did not fit. :( Solution was to put Feb-June on the back (see below) and place the others in a baggie. When July rolls around she'll put it on the calendar and place the remaining 5 on the back putting the others up for the year. Christyne die cut letters for her calendar and that's a great idea. Either way you only have so much storage so you may have to have a box or bag handy to store the remaining pieces.
Here's a close up of the holiday and special occasion pieces I made.
So how to display/hang your calendar you might be asking? My DH drilled a 3/8" hole (see top pic) in the middle of the cookie sheet at the top. You can also find a counter/table top easel to display it on as well like I did in the photo. Either way, you will have a calendar that can be enjoyed for years. As for my sis and BIL they loved theirs and that made me a happy girl. :)
I sat down and broke all the dimensions down for future use as I already have requests for more of these. ;) So if you want the spec's leave a comment saying so and I'll email you with a PDF providing you have an email listed on your blog. If not please include in your comment, thanks. I am only listing the stamps and dies I used on this project in my supply list. However, I did document each item used because I knew my crafty sister would want the deets and I wanted to remember the exact items used because it seems I have a lady who thinks I should be making these and selling them in her shop, hmmm we'll see. Did I mention how many die cuts there are to this project? Let's just say that for each date piece you see there was a total of 3 die cuts-the larger solid dp piece, a smaller cardboard piece cut from a recycled cereal box (thickness is perfect) for sturdiness, and a smaller dp piece which I adhered with double stick tape. That doesn't include all of the die cuts but the main thing about this project is that it is highly creative and most of all-FUN!
I'm entering my calendar in the following challenges:
(old stamps not used in the last year and new is Verve Flag It Die Set)
Inky Chicks- #20 Anything Goes Cards or Altered Items
(I altered a cookie sheet)
(I used a metal bird, charms, cog, bottle caps, cookie sheet, dies)
*use more than 3 companies stuff on project and twist is to use an arrow*
(I used stamped and die cut arrows, several companies are represented but here's a few for the record: Verve Stamps, Taylored Expressions, Fiskars, Spellbinders, Tim Holtz products, Ranger (vintage photo distress ink and liquid dots), Kaisercraft laser wood pieces, Just Rite Stampers, Doodlebug twine, My Favorite Things dies and many more)
Thanks for hanging in there and I hope you like my version of this perpetual calendar!
Big Crafty Hugs to all of you,
Lisa xx
Supply List:
Spellbinders Labels Ten Die (calendar months)
Just Rite Stampers- Calendar Months *these have been discontinued but any month stamp will work*
Stampabilities Wood Rubber Stamps- Months of the Year (used for year numbers)
Extra's: You will need preferably a roll of magnetic tape (it makes life easier, trust me), 11"x17" cookie sheet, scrapbook paper, double stick tape, liquid pearls are fun to add, ribbon/twine, ink, 1 "circle punch, etc.
