diy photo calendar.

now that christmas is over, i figured i would go ahead and post a little tutorial on these fun little calendars. this idea branched from wanting to share my photography with my family, friends and coworkers. i wanted to give something useful, but pretty to look at.

the idea of a calendar had already crossed my mind when i found this martha calendar posted on another blog. i figured i could substitute the frame with a wooden block and go from there.

so, this isn't so much original, as it is borrowed and improvised. and my directions are a little vague, but it's not rocket science! and you could use whatever photo you'd like, some pretty patterned paper, cool fabric or even glue something 3d to the top.

acrylic gloss medium, metallic acrylic paint, wooden blocks (cut to 4x6), and photos, not pictured (4x6)

my father-in-law was kind enough to cut these blocks for me out of scrap wood. he also sanded everything down for me. if you own tools, this would be easy for you to do at home or the guys at the hardware store could probably cut the wood down for a price. i painted the edges and some of the top in case the photo didn't quite make it to the edge. if i had these to do over again, i would have probably stained the edges dark for a different look.

once the paint dried, i brushed acrylic medium over the top of the block, being careful not to get any on the painted sides. i handled my photos by their edges and carefully placed them on top of the glue. adjust the photo to get it in the right spot and then turn it over on top of a clean piece of paper and stack with books until dry (a few hours).

you may wonder why i didn't use mod podge... i don't have very good luck with that product, so i didn't even try it for this project. basically, i can never get it to not bubble up on me. however, acrylic medium dries clear and has an incredibly strong bond. it never once produced bubbles while i was adhering my photos, and i was very happy with the end result. feel free to use whichever adhesive you would like for this project though.

very small cup hooks and picture hangers

after your photo is glued down, now the cup hooks and hanger can be added on (technically this can be done before the glue... it's your call really).

i found the cup hooks at home depot. they were the smallest i could find anywhere, and were only sold in packages of 4. very disappointing when you need 40. basically, i measured half an inch in on the bottom edge and pushed a dent into the wood with a pen. this gave me a guide to screw the hooks into.

the picture hangers are from walmart and are sold in packs of 5. these are the type that you hammer directly into the wood. you could also glue ribbon to the back, or route out some of the wood for a more flush look. to attach these, i measured in from the sides to the middle and marked the center. i then placed the hanger over that center dot and pushed down (i kept my ruler straight across so the hanger wouldn't be lopsided) to mark my spot and then hammered them into place.

for the actual calendar, i created my own in indesign, printed them onto cardstock and had them trimmed by a friend with an industrial cutter. i used my small hole punch to create holes half an inch from the edge to match my hooks. it's not shown here, but i actually made a template to place over my calendar pages so that i would know exactly where to punch. i will try to upload/link to the calendar template so that you don't have to figure that out on your own! i just have to find it on my old computer first...

then just place the pages on the hooks, hang on your wall and enjoy... or give it to a friend! these calendars were what was packaged in this post if you need some wrapping ideas. these would be great new years gifts or just something thoughtful for a friend.

i received lots of positive feedback on the calendars i gave to my family, friends and coworkers, and i guess next year i'll need to print out a 2012 calendar for those that i've given these to! i was a little apprehensive to be giving handmade gifts to so many people, but everyone seemed to enjoy and appreciate the work that went into them.

fabric rose tutorial.

i have had several friends ask me to show them how i made my little roses... so i thought i would put this tutorial together! i basically did a search online and found some other tutorials, and just kind of went my own way. i'll be honest: i didn't want to have to machine sew or iron anything. there are tons of ways to make these, though (and each one produces a different result) so i'll post some other links at the bottom.

you'll need:
fabric (t-shirts work great)
hot glue gun
scissors
tv (optional)


so... here's what i started with. the other half of this shirt make all those other blue roses from a previous post. and this is a small. imagine how many you could make from an xxl shirt? i like to use kind of stretchy fabrics. nothing too thick or too thin/sheer. t-shirts are perfect.

cut a thin strip of your shirt out. about 1 1/2" - 2" wide and however long you can get. you can make the strips wider or thinner, depending on what size you want your rose.

fold it in half, make sure you have the right side of the fabric facing out.

put a thin strip of hot glue down on one end. i try to use the end where the seam is...

and fold it over. please be careful not to burn yourself...

you'll want to start wrapping the fabric around the starting point...

but don't go too far! you'll want to start adding folds in. i tried to get a decent picture of what that looks like here... but it's hard when you have to hold the camera too. basically you just twist the fabric over...

so that it makes a nice little fold in the fabric. try to keep this towards the top. you'll want to put a drop of hot glue down every once in a while, especially before and after the folds.

just keep wrapping and folding, wrapping and folding. you'll get a feel for how many times you want to fold the fabric over. i usually try for about 2 folds per circumference wrap in the beginning, and then 3-5 as the flower gets bigger. just remember to put drops of glue down every once now and then to make sure it all holds.

when you get to a desirable stopping location, cut the end off, but leave about an inch or so hanging off.

here's a back view. put some hot glue down on the bottom (a fairly good-sized dollop)...

and push down that fabric you left at the end. be careful not to burn yourself! this is where i usually get burned...

and there you go! you can always swish around the fabric until you get it to the shape you want. and the best thing about these is that they're not supposed to be perfect! you can make a ton of these watching a movie or your favorite tv show... and all with stuff you probably already have.

also, you could use a needle and thread to stitch instead where you would normally use the hot glue. this would produce something you might be able to throw in the washing machine... but don't take my word on it. i'll mainly be making these to put on pins, headbands and maybe some jewelry.

here are some links to other fabric rose/flower tutorials i really liked:
everyday chaos
tincancanoe
youcanmakethis
pretty-ditty
make it do