It’s already February, so we finally replaced the outdated December calendar in our kitchen — and this year John wanted to make one himself. His idea was simple: pick a handful of our favorite inside-joke quotes and place them on long, narrow numbered pages so we’d smile every time we checked the date or wrote an appointment. Sweet, right?
He originally planned it as a surprise Valentine’s gift, but since Valentine’s Day was still a few weeks away (and the expired 2009 calendar looked embarrassing), he shared the plan so we could assemble it together on the last weekend of January. Because it was almost February, we only needed eleven quotes for the remaining months. We made a quick calendar template in Photoshop, adjusted the dates and colors, dropped in the quotes, and had all the months ready in under an hour.
You don’t necessarily need Photoshop to create something like this. A clean, simple version can be made in PowerPoint or Microsoft Word. The font we used is League Gothic, which is freely available. Using a bold condensed font keeps the design readable on the narrow strips.
We printed each page on 8.5 x 11″ cardstock we had around the house (100 lb weight). That thickness runs fine through a regular inkjet printer and makes the months durable. We included thin gray crop lines so it was easy to cut the sheets into long calendar strips. I sat in front of the TV and cut them while Burger supervised — very therapeutic.
After cutting, we punched a hole at the top of each strip and threaded them onto a small wire 3M Command hook in the kitchen. The hook is removable, so there’s no damage to the side-of-the-fridge built-in if we ever want to move or take the calendar down.
Now our homemade calendar hangs in the kitchen, and we love how personal it feels. Each month features a phrase that means something to us — a tiny memory tucked into a date. For instance, we often tell Burger “no biting, just kisses” when he does those playful puppy nibbles. Saying it usually turns the nibbles into gentle licks, so we made that the February quote since it’s perfect for Valentine’s Day.
Our calendar includes everything from amusing song lyrics to our short but meaningful wedding vows — the vows naturally belong on July, our anniversary month. Seeing these small reminders every day is like taking a brief walk down memory lane.
It was an inexpensive, simple project that turned out to be a lot of fun. The best part is the zero-dollar price tag and the frequent little smiles it brings. How about you — do you order custom photo calendars, pick up discounted ones after the holidays, or rely entirely on digital calendars? Share how you keep track of dates.
Update: After many requests, we made a free downloadable template of our calendar that you can customize with your own quotes. The file is a PSD, so you’ll need Photoshop or a compatible editor like GIMP to open and edit the layers. Each month is on its own layer; hide and show layers to print each month. The template uses the League Gothic font, which you can download for free. We hope it’s useful — apparently there are still lots of people looking for a calendar!