'MIY' Beautiful Birthday Calendar

To mark the begining of a new year and a new season for Trigger Editions I decided to design and make some creative new birthday calendars. 

I am so fed-up with only just remembering important dates on the day or too late I decided to do something about it!

There are lots of designs out there but I've not seen anything else quite like this. I've seen lots of cute, girly or crafty designs, and lots of cool, graphic modern calendars. I wanted something that my family would enjoy looking at for years to come, but it had to be infinitely adaptable as our needs and tastes change.

I'm really pleased with the outcome, a 'Make It Yourself Birthday Calendar', which is why I've decided to make a free download available so anyone can print their own on their choice of beautiful paper. 

My personal version has been printed on all the wonderful recycled book, envelope, map, and music score paper that I love to collect and use to make art prints and multiples with. The names and dates are then added with stickers and tags which are easily changed and added to.

I have found two really effective ways of displaying and using the calendar prints. One you can see above which uses a clip frame from IKEA called MYRHEDEN 

The second, on show in the middle of my table at a local Christmas Fair, displays the prints in a frame with the date stickers applied on top so that they can be added and removed easily. 

I have been selling my sets of 'Make It Yourself Calendar Prints', which include a set of date stickers, for £8 and giving them as gifts. I'm really looking forward to see how other people use them in creative ways.

Talking of which, here are the files so you can print your own calendar. The PDF's are all 23 x 11.5cm. Each of the 12 files will give you the text for two square 11.5cm prints, which is just the right size for the IKEA frame. One set for you and one to give to a friend. I just set my printer settings to 'custom' paper size - 23 x 11.5 cm, and cut my paper to the right dimensions before printing.

Set One - MIY Birthday Calendar just has the names of the months and a few botanical illustrations (as seen above).

Set Two - MIY Birthday Calendar has the same botanical details plus a selection of biblical verses to facilitate and stimulate prayer for all the special people you put in the birthday calendar. 

(There is an extra file suitable for creating date labels in each folder. This could be printed on an A4 sticker sheet.)

We hope you enjoy making, giving and using your 'MIY Birthday Calendar'. Do send us photographs of your own versions.

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