The Time Has Come

Every year for Christmas I make my family and a few friends birthday/anniversary calendars for Christmas (eight calendars total). Prior to last year they were all computer generated. I would make a background and then I would add the dates and birthdays/anniversaries. I have always had to make two calendars because Nana prefers her week to start with Monday. So I format one for her and then I format another one for everyone else. (Lucky for her she gave birth to me so I don't deny her this request.)

Last year I stepped it up a notch and started making them using crafty crap (stamps, cardstock, and various other embellishments). I made the actual calendars using InDesign. I formatted them so they were 8 x 8 so I had to cut each 8 1/2 x 11 sheet before adhering it to the 12 x 12 background and adding the embellishments. Needless to say it was a big task (8 calendars multiplied by 12 months totals 96 pages). I am not complaining--I enjoy making something for my family and friends that is useful to them.

This year I am simplifying a little. The calendars are 8 1/2 x 11 so I don't have to cut them and so they are bigger--the 8 x 8 size made it so the font was pretty small, not to mention that my printer quit printing the colors correctly and when I took it to a local copy center two of the colors printed so light you could barely tell there was text. Last year I centered around four colors and had many small elements on each page. This year I am using more colors with fewer elements. I think they will look a little classier. I am excited for what I have planned and I hope everyone likes it.

I started the calendar pages this week. I have the format for both complete. I am now in the middle of adding the holidays and then I will get to work adding the birthdays/anniversaries. I have to decide on the colors for each month so I can color the birthdays/anniversaries to match. This year I will be using darker colors so I don't have a problem like last year. Maybe this year I will even make one for myself (I haven't made one for myself for several years).

I have very high hopes that I will be finished with these long before the the week before Christmas; however, I never know about me. I do have some recipe swaps I am in and I have to make 6 x 6 cards for them. I just did the math, I have 300 6 x 6 cards to complete. The earliest and largest set is due October 17 with the last one due November 1. That gives me over a month to work on nothing but the calendars before Christmas. I am feeling pretty good about that.

I will now end this boring post I am sure no one really wanted to read. Have a great Sunday!