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Mom to Brandon and 2 cats
02-13-2004, 01:53 AM
Money is going to be tight, now that I've decided to be a SAHM. I'd like to make calendars featuring DS for Xmas this year, but don't know how to go about it. Anybody done this before? My dad owns a laminating machine, so I'm lucky to be able to use that....

--Jennifer

amp
02-13-2004, 11:21 AM
Scrapbooking stores usually carry supplies for making calendars. You might also be able to find the supplies in a scrapbooking section of your local craft store. I don't know if the supplies are any cheaper overall (I've not made one), but I ordered a calendar of DS from Shutterfly this Christmas, to give to DH. It was about $20, and he loved it! It turned out great! Aside from these choices, I am sure you could use a publishing type program and make it yourself, laminate it and then bind it with a wire binding, but I don't know how to do any of that, so maybe another "expert" here can help you more. Good luck!

brigmaman
02-13-2004, 02:15 PM
Our local teacher center has a book binding machine. I can't remember what it is called, but I would guess you might also find them at a local elem school. They bind projects together with plastic spiral binding. That might work once you find the program to make the calendar.
We did Shutterfly calendars this past x-mas as well, and they came out great. One thing I wanted to do was add family birthdays/anniversaries to the calendar, but you can't do that on that site.
HTH

cma
02-16-2004, 01:49 PM
I used to teach, so my students used to make them as presents during the Holidays.

I used Ofoto the last two years because I couldn't get my act together, but I'm actually now starting the planning of this year's calendar.

For the calendar part, I'm using Microsoft Publisher. You can type in Birthdays, Anniversaries, Holidays,etc. I'm printing it just on regular 8 1/2x11 white paper and then will mount it on the back of the picture part.

For the picture part, I'm also using 12x12 pieces of cardstock type scrapbook paper found at Michaels or your local scrapbook store, but I'm trimming it by 2 1/2 inches on one side so that the calendar part looks centered when it's mounted.

I'm treating each month like a scrapbook page and hope to use a mix of photos, handprints, drawings, paintings, etc. And then theme each month (Jan - pic of kids in the snow, Feb - pic of kids in their Valentine clothes with some hearts DD decorated.)

Then I plan to laminate them. Use your dad's machine or go to a local teacher supply store - they charge you by foot or yard.

Punch a hole on each page to hang it.

And then bind them with the spiral binding machine -use the teacher store one or see if your local kinkos will do it for you...but the teacher place is definitely cheaper.

If you plan to make A LOT of these calendars, I suggest making the photopages the same for everybody. And then keep it simple - a photo with a border.

It sounds like a lot of work -especially when I tell people what I'm doing, but if you do a page a month, it won't be a headache in December!

Good Luck!

jamsmu
03-15-2004, 10:56 PM
We had that binding machine at school (where I teach), too. A lot of businesses have them as well so maybe someone you know can sneak it in to work.

Also, there are some great software programs out there where you can scan or digital the picture in and then create the calendar. I've used Print Master, but I'm sure there are better ones. Staples seems to have a lot on the inexpensive side. Or look for one on e-bay.

HTH

melonkelli
01-04-2005, 12:36 AM
I made calendars using lulu.com this year. They have software to guide you through the process, or you can just post your own .pdf file. You can add your own holiday dates. Photos look much better if they are high resolution.

The templates are very simple -- nothing too special. I ordered a copy and it cost under $14 including shipping (media mail).

You can also put together bound albums (like at mypublisher.com) and other bound items (like books, novels, etc.). It seems like a great service.

hjdong
01-04-2005, 11:17 AM
I did this this year using Photoshop. I really think they turned out well. Something to keep in mind though - the printing can get expensive. I used Kirkland photo paper and refilled the ink myself which saved money. But, while printing I had to refill the ink 4 times (I made 6 calendars) which if I was using brand ink would be $200.

I worked on them all year, so I only had to do a month or two per month, which cut down on the time. What I didn't count on was the looong time it takes to print them, so I ended up cutting it close anyway.

HTH,