This summer, I discovered at one of those big box fabric stores, some pocket calendars at a rediculously low price.  So, I just had to pick some up (I’m such a sucker for a good sale).  The calendars ran August 2010-July 2011 and so I thought they would be perfect for me to keep in my craft tote for scheduling Stampin’ Up! events while I was out at workshops and classes. 

But a storebought calendar just wouldn’t do.  So what do we do?  We embellish!!

I grabbed some of my scraps, punches, and the BigShot and went to town:

I printed out some of my favorite photos of Nicholas so that they would fit being matted by the 1 1/4” square punch.  They make me smile everytime I pull this out.  And of course, I couldn’t leave the back empty, so I put a photo I love of our family from a vacation this summer. 

This project is so fast and easy that I made one each for my mom and dad as well.  All you have to do is
– pull the plastic cover off the calendar and measure the cover
– cut a piece of DSP that is slightly wider than the cover dimensions
  (you want it slightly longer so that it doesn’t pull away from the ends when you adhere it to the cover and fold it around the spine of the calendar). 
-I printed off photos and then punched 4 squares out of Basic Gray to use as mattes for my photos using the 1 1/4” square punch. 
-Then I used the BigShot to cut out the numbers for the year using the Simple Numbers Bigz die. 

The biggest thing to watch out for is to not add too thick of embellishments and layers so that you can fit your calendar back into the plastic.

These are a fun, inexpensive gift.  Hmm..,I think I may have to see if I can grab a few more.