Months in French Country

~ photo heavy post ~

Thank you for stopping back by.  I know this year is starting busy, but I'm happy that you have taken the time to swing by and take a look at what I have created.  I have chosen a few of my favorite month layouts.  Enjoy the eye candy {smile}.

March 2014

I'll start with March.  I love the mix of pattern papers, along with the machine stitching along the top edge of the banner.  This layout is clean and simple.  But, I think that leads to the over-all beauty of it.

April 2014

 Another clean and simple layout.  I didn't add a whole lot to these pages.  But, I really love the look of the sparkle clay cameo with the toile pattern paper.  I added a blossom shape text paper piece behind the cameo.  I wanted an additional pattern, but I felt that another blue pattern paper would get lost.  I wanted to add some sparkle, so I cut a foliage piece out of silver glimmer paper.

Easter, is on April 20th, this year.  So, I stamped the bunny in a circle in pink ink on the calendar page.

August 2014

 I had fun with this one.  August always means 'back-to-school' for us.  So, that was my thought process for this calendar page.  I used a large sun flower pattern paper, along with a trimmed down library card, and a wooden ruler.

September 2014

 I love the look of the small floral print with the stamped banner piece.  The colors, and pattern really do work well together.

December 2014

And last.  December.  I used the same pattern paper for the first month and the last.  I think the rooster image along the right side of the calendar page really adds a french flair.  I was also pleasantly surprised at how the text on the pattern paper works so well with this project.  December, is a month that I make cookies with my grandchildren, so the mini ginger man cookie cutter, seemed like the perfect embellishment.  Christmas, is marked by a circled tree stamped in green ink.

Once again, thanks for stopping by.  I made another calendar today.  I'll post photos later this week.  I used pattern paper from Teresa Collins, creating a whole different look.  Stay tuned.

2014 Desktop Calendar

~ photo heavy post ~

Whew!  I am finished.  There is a great feeling of accomplishment when you finish a craft/project.   I almost stuck this whole project in another bag and pushed the whole thing into a drawer.  But, I printed my resolutions where I can see them each day.  To help motivate me, so to speak.  And, it worked.  I saw these resolutions again this morning, and made the decision to sit down, and finish this lovely project.  I'm glad that I had {smile}.

Here are the finished pages: 

January, February, March, and April

May, June, July, and August

September, October, November, and December

The bound, completed desk-top calendar

bound, and standing

I used a few pieces to complete this project:  Paper Trey Ink small calendar pack, Calendar Basics stamp set, Graphics 45 French Country pattern paper, and (2)  4" x 4" paper coasters.   To ensure that the calendar, as a whole, looks cohesive, I used the same elements, and simple layouts.
I stamped each month in soft suede classic ink, regardless of the colors in the pattern paper.  I did stamp a little symbol on a few American holidays: St. Valentine's Day, Easter, Independence Day, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.  I will stamp a few Birthdays, our wedding Anniversary, and a few other dates we celebrate: Mother's Day, Father's Day, and Grandparent's Day.
To pull/hold the desk top calendar together, I used my Bind-It-All {smile}.
I can add a whole lot of embellishments on a project.  But, I wanted to keep the pages flat.  That way they would lay flat, and not be too bulky.    However, I couldn't help myself with a few embellishments {smile}.

This week, I will share with you how each month looks.  I'm super happy with how the finished project turned out.  So much so, I'm anxious to start working on my next desk-top calendar.  I do want to use some different pattern papers, to give each calendar an unique look.  So, until then . . .  have a great week, and don't forget to carve out some time for you!

January Calendar Page

I hope your new year has a successful start.  Me, I'm hard at work, working on my resolutions.  I have to admit, they do make me reflect, and stop before I make a few decisions.  Boy, I hope I don't sound pathetic.  

Anyways, one of my resolutions was to 'stay focused' to finish what I start.  I love to paper craft.  And to be honest, I have these great ideas on what I want to craft, buy all the stuff, and then the project, sits in a bag, or a pile in my craft room, and never gets done.  I have become a 'collector' of paper crafting supplies.  I have a whole room filled with these items.

One of the projects that I wanted to create, was/are these flip top calendars for a group of friends.  So, I have set out to actually make them.  What a novel idea, right?  So, here is the first month of the first calendar.  

It's little 3" x 3 1/2".  I purchased the calendar pages from Paper Trey Ink, and stamped the month by hand.  I matted the calendar page, and then added this beautiful Graphics 45 pattern paper for the main page.  Tied some beautiful green gingham pattern ribbon around the first pattern paper page.  Ok, now I need to get into my craft room and finish the months.  I haven't decided yet, how to bind the pages.  If you have any suggestions, please let me know.  At this point I am thinking of doing a spiral bind.  But I haven't committed to the decision yet.