Coaster calendar

Then I made 8 of these calendars. They weren't all made with the same Designer Series Paper. I tried to choose paper that I thought the recipient would like. I made 3 for friends, 1 for a hostess gift, and 3 for family Christmas gifts and one for myself. I think I'll be making one more as part of a wedding gift for an early January wedding. The bride and groom came for a pre-marriage counseling session with my husband while I was in the midst of making them and oohed and aahed over them.

Originally I made these with chipboard coasters. But now I use the heavy white sheet that comes in the DSP packs for the covers; just cut them to 4 inch squares and cover front and back with DSP. Then I use card stock in colors that coordinate with the DSP for the twelve months. I make my own calendar using MS Word each year.
This year I used the retired Every Little Bit stamp set for each stamped image each month. Snowflake, heart, shamrock, umbrella, flower, sunshine, star, bee, school bus, bat, pie and Christmas stocking are all in that set. There are lots of other little images in the set. It's a set I have used a lot!

Got Green?

Here's another card using the Got Treats stamp set. I don't have a lot of St. Patrick's Day stamps so each year I have to get creative with what I've got. I found this Old Olive ribbon in my stash and had never even opened it! BAD!!! It was a perfect match for the shamrock from the Got Treats set. Many times I will cut stamps apart that have an expression on the bottom of the image so that I can use just the expression or the just the image. (see the picture below)
The smaller shamrock comes from the retired "Every Little Bit" stamp set. This is a set I will probably always keep on my shelf. It is full of little images that are perfect for calendars and events.
The card base is some manufactured cards a friend passed along to me. She purchased them at a big box store thinking she would use them. I appreciate getting them but they do remind me why I switched to Stampin' Up! only products in my studio. The coordination of color is a challenge when you buy from a lot of different brands.

Coaster Calendar - September, October, November and December

 September's bus comes from the retired Every Little Bit stamp set and fussy cut and adhered to a 1" punched circle.

October's Frankenstein comes from the retired Googly Ghouls stamp set, fussy cut and adorned with some googly eyes.

November's pie is from retired Every Little Bit stamp set, fussy cut and adhered to a punched 1-7/8" circle.

December's tree comes from the Festival of Trees stamp set and punched with the Tree Punch.

This Year's Coaster Calendar

Here's the cover and first four months for this year's "Coaster" calendar. Instead of coasters I use the white tag board backing the comes in the packs of Designer Series Paper. Yes, I save those, too. I have a small space on one of my studio shelves where I store them.
I use that tag board cut to 4"x4" to make the cover and back of the calendar. The month pages are just a piece of 4"x4" card stock.
When I'm making these calendars I pick a pack of DSP that has at least 6 different colors in it and then pull card stock in those six colors. Each monthly page has a small piece (1.5"x4") of DSP glued to the bottom of the cardstock. I usually think about what ribbon I have to trim the pages, too. This calendar is made using the retired Sycamore Street DSP. Then I decide what little stamp, punch or embellishment I can use that goes with that month.
Once you have those things decided the work goes pretty quickly. Since I was making a couple of these for the church's Holiday Fair I stamped and cut everything multiple times and then got busy putting the pages together.
I used my Crop-a-Dile to cut the holes for the rings.

 The numbers were cut using a Big Shot die The back is made the same as the front except I just overlap the ribbon on the inside so it lays flat.

 Snowflakes are from a retired Big Shot die.

 The heart is from two Big Shot dies layered together.Hearts a Flutter and a retired heart Embosslit.

 I fussy cut this shamrock from the retired Got Treats stamp set.

The umbrella comes from the retired Every Little Bit stamp set and is mounted on a punched 1-1/4" scalloped circle that I ran through the Big Shot using the retired Cloudy Day embossing folder.

November Projects

Well, I don't where the time has gone! Actually, I do know... spent lots of days in October traveling and entertaining guests at my home. So, didn't get much posted. Here's a peak at some of the Thanksgiving cards I made.

This is a decoration I made. I actually had this idea buzzing around in my brain and then before I did anything with it... "Stampin' Success" publishes an article featuring Lyssa Zwolanek and she's done it! So, rather than reinvent the wheel I used her layouts as inspiration plus a few other tips she shared. Thanks Lyssa!

This week I've been busy working on calendars. The first set of months are refill pages for CD case calendars that I have given as gifts to family for several years now. So, this year I used the Every Little Bit stamp set and punch art as my focus.

I have also been making some "chip board" calendars. I bought several of the board books when they were on the Stampin' Up! Clearance Rack. I cut them into 4x4 inch squares and then decorated the front and back of each square. This calendar is quickly made using a set of Designer Series Paper and coordinating card stock. Each square of chipboard has a calendar on the front and back, so that 6 squares make the full year calendar. Then I used my crop-a-dile to punch the holes and slipped the rings through to hold the pages together. This one is for a male Christmas gift. I hope my friend will like it on his desk. I didn't take a picture of every page. I think you get the idea.

And my last calendar is made using SU!'s Decor Accents Blocks. They come in a set of 4. I use three for the 12 months of the year and the fourth is decorated with the seasons. I printed the calendars directly onto my Whisper White cardstock and then stamped images and sponged the card stock. The season block is made using the retired Branch Out stamp set. I surely do love that set!

When I give this calendar I put the blocks back in the box they come in. I wrap one or two nice SU! ribbons around the box with a nice big bow at the top. Then I make a little card to cover up the label on the box and also include a note saying the ribbon can be used to "tie up" the gift inside. The blocks really look cute that way!

Well, I hope you are inspired to make a calendar or two.