DIY gift idea: photo calendar

i've found that giving home-made gifts can be tricky. maybe you've been there with me. you want the gift to be lovely. it was only going to take an hour or two, but it turns into a week-long labor of love. you should be in bed, but you're squinty-eyed, hunched over the project, allllmost finished. you look up and realize your living room has been taken over by crafting chaos. and when the gift is given, you secretly kinda feel like, well, maybe, it's slightly... under-appreciated. sometimes the process leaves me exhausted and wishing i had just bought something pre-packaged.

all that to say: i absolutely love finding ideas for home-made gifts that are, 1. not fussy, 2. meaningful, and -- if possible -- 3. practical. as a sentimentalist, number three is not a necessity for me. but i think a lot of people really appreciate a gift they can put to use, no?

illustrated calendar
source: etsy.com/shop/floradouville

so, inspired by this lovely little illustrated calendar, one DIY gift this year is a home-made photo calendar. to me, the sentimental content of the photos make up for the project's lack of originality. each photo corresponds to the date it is used and was taken the year before. so, for example, i started with isaiah's birth in january of last year, and the calendar kind of documents how he has grown up to now. so, this idea could easily be used for experiences a family, best friends, or a couple, etc. the hardest part is picking only 12 photos.

supplies

you'll need: a calendar, 12 photos, zots (or photo tape) -- and if you're making your own calendar: a hole punch, ribbon, and scissors.

geek note: i made a calendar in photoshop, typing out the numerical calendar and then stretching it out the text using ctrl-t. each page is 7" x 11" so that i could use 4" x 6" photos either horizontally or vertically.

isaiah michigan

cheers!