DIY Desktop Calendar 2016

Good morning! Today I have one of my favorite DIY holiday crafts of the season – a DIY desktop calendar! I made them last year for the first time and they were a huge hit – so much so, I am doing them again this year. I have a feeling this may become a tradition!

Now, this is definitely a gift that for some will just be easier to purchase. Walgreens, Shutterfly, Office Depot – they all sell desktop calendars you can add your own pictures to. So why have I gone through the work of making my own? To save money – 8 desktop calendars adds up – but also because I love creating the designs myself and giving a gift that is handmade! Designing the pages definitely takes the longest but I’ve included the free printable calendar pages which will make the process much quicker if you decide to make one! Below is the tutorial and the free printable calendar pages! 

Supplies Needed for DIY Desktop Calendar 2016:

• Printable calendar pages (located at the end of the post!)
• White card stock (I use 110lb bright white
• Exacto knife
• Photos! 13 4×6 photos total – includes one for every month and a cover photo
• Photo adhesive squares or tape
• Access to an office store like Office Depot for spiral binding

STEP 1: Print off the calendar pages. I designed calendar pages for each month in Photoshop. They are available to print off for your own DIY desktop calendar at the end of this post. They are all formatted to measure 5.5″ x 9.75″. You will need to cut them down to size. 

STEP 2: Cut the tagboard. The tagboard is what allows your desktop calendar to stand. Using an X-Acto knife or box cutter, cut one piece to measure 6.5″ x 10.75″ and cut the second piece to measure 9.5″ x 10.75″. The second piece includes the 3″ base that gets folded. To help fold this piece, you can use a scoring tool and score along the line. The important thing is to not press too hard that you go through the board, just enough to help the board fold more easily. The diagram below shows the tagboard dimensions.

STEP 3: Have your calendar spiral bound. I took my calendar up to Office Depot to have it spiral bound. At our local store it cost just $2.99. Make sure you put the calendar in the correct order for them. The calendar pages are on top, followed by the larger tagboard, and ending with the smaller tagboard (see diagram above). Last year, they weren’t sure their machines could go through the tagboard, but they gave it a try and it worked just fine. This year, they didn’t have any problems. I do recommend asking them to do one so you can see it first before they do all of them. This year, I dropped them off without asking for them to do one and they didn’t correctly center them. It was fixable – but I’d definitely recommend getting one done first. 

STEP 4: Add your photos! I used photo adhesive strips to quickly attach the photos to each page. I had so much fun choosing photos for each calendar. Each calendar is catered to the person it will be gifted to. I printed my photos through Shutterfly.

I love the way the calendars turned out for the second year in a row! It was a nice (and more cost-effective) alternative to buying them! Below are the calendar pages I created in Photoshop. Feel free to print them and use them for your own desktop calendar!

Calendar Printable Pages. For personal use only!

January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December, Cover.

Image of “Mother and Daughter in Christmas Capsl” courtesy of radnatt at FreeDigitalPhotos.net.