Personalized Calendars
Difficulty: Hard
Parental supervision is recommended
What better way to greet each new month than with a photo of your loved ones? This
personal gift can work as a wall calendar or a weekly planner.
What you'll need:
- Computer with minimum of 133 MHz and 64 MB RAM
- Graphics software with calendar features
- Scanner, digital camera, or other means to import a photo into graphics software
- Color printer
- 3-, 4- or 5-hole punch
- Photo quality or glossy paper (card stock paper for date planners)
- 12 Photos, minimum
- List of birthdays and holidays
- 1/4 " Wide Ribbon
- GBC binding and hole punch, optional
How to make it:
- Decide on the size and style of the calendar you wish to create. This could range from a two-page (picture on top) wall calendar, a full-size weekly planner with small pictures, or a smaller planner version.
- Edit 12 photos, cleaning up backgrounds, adding fun features, and even adding names or dates to the pictures. Save each picture as a "month" file name.
- Input the holidays in the calendar. Save this file and name it as "basic" or something to indicate it is the beginning calendar for all your other calendars.
- Now add birthdays and other special occasions that relate only to the first recipient on your list. Save this file with their name as the file name.
- Print the photos on the glossy side of the paper.
- Print the calendar on the backside. Stock up on your photo cartridges if you plan on making several of these calendars.
Note: Be sure to plan ahead on how to print these calendars. The first page will be a "greeting page" with something like "Merry Christmas Sally from The Mehl Family" on the non-glossy side of the paper. January's PICTURE will then print on the glossy side. January's calendar will print on the next page on the non-glossy side. - Take each page out of the printer as it finishes. Be sure to let each of these pages dry before reinserting and printing the back side.
- Hole punch if the calendar is for a weekly planner. Thread ribbon through holes and tie in a bow.
- Take a wall calendar to the local office supply store and ask them to hole punch and GBC bind the calendars. Some stores will let you punch and bind it yourself for a lesser charge. Ask if you can purchase a "box" of GBC bindings and do it yourself.
- Wrap and give as gifts. Don't forget to make one for yourself.
Tips:
Consider looking through pictures of your children over the last 12 months. Get creative, crop out those backgrounds and use ones in your graphics programs to spice them up a bit. One parent's children dressed up as M&M candies for Halloween. Her graphics program had a background of M&M candies.
Notes: The above family recommended this craft for someone with at least a 133 MHz or faster computer as dealing with a lot of graphics tends to slow down your computer. It is also recommended that you have at least 64 MB RAM, and shut down any unnecessary programs that are running in the background. It can become very frustrating waiting for the programs to manipulate the graphics.
