Time to get Crafty

Here's the 2012 Family Calendar

Now that NaNo is out of the way, it’s time to think about Xmas gifts and all that goes with that already.  I can’t believe December starts tomorrow.  The days fly faster every year.

Ornaments I gave my sisters one year

My sisters and I exchange Xmas ornaments every year and have been doing this at least fifteen years already.  We each have a supply of “special ornaments” now.  Some years I make some to send each of them because this makes it more personal, but this year I bought some that I’ll mail soon.

 Inside of 2012 Calendar

Today I’m working on my mother’s calendar.  I’ve been giving her a family calendar every year for about four or five years now.  I make up collages of family pictures and arrange them on a background for each month.  It’s a lot of work, but fun.  It’s also challenging trying to find new pictures I haven’t used already.  I ask for new pictures from the different family members every year.  Sometimes I get them and sometimes I don’t, so I have to get creative to make sure everyone is in the calendar at least once.

This gives me a chance to work in Photoshop and further hone my skills there while creating something unique that will be used all year long.

                                   This is the birthday/anniversary pages

In the back, I list all the birthdays and anniversaries, as well as placing them on the calendar in the appropriate place.

When I’m finished I print the pages out being careful to align them so they match up with the appropriate month.  Then I bind the whole thing using my Fellows binding machine.  I love that thing and it does a professional job in very little time.

 This is the calendar back from 2014

So I’ll be working on this project for the next week or two.  Are you making any gifts for Xmas?