It’s so close to Christmas you can just about hear the silver bells ringing out, ring-a-ling, hear them ring….
But, back to today’s post. This year LS and I set ourselves a budget for the gifts we buy each other for the whole year! Luckily, we only decided on this rule in October in time for our wedding anniversary (buying a house, expecting a little one, setting budgets, we’re basically mature adults!). For our first wedding anniversary, traditionally paper, I bought LS some dress serviettes from Third Draw Down… I thought it was pretty funny. I’m not sure that he agreed.
In any case, my budget was looking pretty good for Christmas gifts. However we are prezzie people. The stocking looked so empty. I decided I needed to get my DIY on and make a few extra stocking stuffers. Enter the 2015 calendar. I filled it with special pictures from the year before – happy snaps from our holidays, wedding, family gatherings, views we’d enjoyed. It’s a wonderful thing to look back and see how so many of our favourite memories were the ones that didn’t cost the world. As Coco Chanel said,
The best things in life are free. The second best are very expensive.
I’ve included the template I made so that you can also make your own gramming calendar. It’s pretty simple to use. Let me know what you think.
Download: 2015 Instagram Calendar
- Download the template attached above.
- Copy and paste your own instagram pics (or any pics that you like, really) into the blank squares.
- I used pictures from the months in which special events occurred, such as photo from our wedding in October and a photo from when we spent Christmas in Paris for December.
- To personlise your calendar highlight special dates that are important to you. I’ve highlighted our birthdays, wedding anniversary (just in case I forget) and Christmas.
- Print on cardboard. I used whatever I had at hand, which was a slightly yellow colour. You could also take it to a print company if you don’t have a printer and they can print it onto some sturdy invitation paper.
- Cut out the months.
- Optional: also cut out a rectangle that is slightly longer than two months high. This can be used as a stand.
- I used the binding machine at work to bind the top edge of the calendar. Copy shops will also bind for you for a very minimal fee.
- And voila, a personalised 2015 calendar with pictures special to you.
Side view to check out the stand made from a long piece of cardboard folded over.
A peak at my December pic. Bauble portraits in Paris.
You could also secure the calendar with bulldog clips to act as a stand. See my Papercut 2014 calendar below.
Use one bulldog clip as a calendar stand.
Use two small bulldog clips to hang your calendar high.
Silver Bells
City sidewalks busy sidewalks
Dressed in holiday style
In the air
There’s a feeling
of Christmas
Children laughing
People passing
Meeting smile after smile
And on every street corner you’ll hearSilver bells silver bells
It’s Christmas time in the city
ring- a- ling hear them ring
soon it will be Christmas dayStrings of street lights
Even stop lights
Blink a bright red and green
As the shoppers rush
home with their treasuresHear the snow crunch
See the kids bunch
This is Santa’s big scene
And above all this bustle
You’ll hear
Silver bells, silver bells
It’s Christmas time in the city
Ring-a-ling, hear them ring
Soon it will be Christmas day
Project Cost: Zero – I had the cardboard and binding materials already. All this project cost me was a bit of time.
Next Steps: Sit back and enjoy my beautiful photos. Oh, and wrap the calendar so I can give it away… next steps – make another calendar just for me!
Other Next Steps: I’ve also made some other gifts that I’ll share later, but for now, shhhh, it’s a surprise!
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