Monday 1 January 2018

Happy New Year and a calender for the Mini Album Makers challenge blog.

Hello friends, welcome and a Very Happy New Year to you all!!!

It being the first of the month I have two new DT projects going live today, so here is number 1.
Made for the Mini Album Makers Callenge, where our sponsor this month is no other than
For this project I set myself the challenge to make something that would be really useful and to only use leftover stash from last year's projects, so I decided to make a desktop calendar in the form of a mini album.
The substrates for the different pages are textured coloured chipboard pieces, 6 x 4 " in size that I picked up years ago in Michaels when visiting the States. I have no idea who makes them and whether they are still available, but they were just perfect for this. I punched holes at the top of each, using a cropodile, and the whole little book is held together with twine, which makes it really easy to turn the pages to the next month.
Here is January. I always adhered a month to both sides of my substrates, so January and February are both attaches to a light blue piece, for a wintry feel. For each of the months I used leftover Maja Design papers in neutral colours, added some inks, stamping and die cuts to make them match the season.
February got a bit of a Valentine's romantic feel, with a little image found on Pinterest and fussycut, but otherwise is still kept in a wintry mood.
March and April both have a light buff coloured background, but the images and elements used now become more Springlike. For this one I did some stencilling in green tones of Distress inks, added scraps of a paper napkin and a St Patricks image fussy cut from Graphics 45 Place in Time collection.
More stencilling, paper napkin scraps and some little diecuts I have had in my stash for years, I think they are from K & Co.
May and June are both on a Sage coloured substrate. For May I used one of Tim Holtz's layering stencils and texture paste, and when that had dried coloured it with Tombow brush markers and finally added some of Tim's botanical ephemera pieces and some tiny Prima flowers.
June, another paper napkin scrap, plus  another little diecut from my stash.
July and August are both on a golden yellow substrate and this July page is enhanced with paper napkin scraps and an image cut from a paper collection I have had for years. So useful to finally use some of these hoarded bits and pieces...
More of the same, the background paper is from the Prima Love Clippings collection. After cutting it to size I made a litte slit along some of the roses so I could tuck the calendar bit underneath before adhearing it to the substrate.
With the next two month we get into Autumn here in the Northern Hemisphere. The substrate is a warm orangy red, like the leaves outside. I used fussy cut elements from the Graphics 45 Seasons collection and some gorgeous chip board corners from Gypsy Soul, one of our wonderful sponsors.
October is a mix of further fussycut elements from the G 45 Seasons collection and some Heartfelt Creations stamps, cut with matching dies and then coloured with Brushmarkers again.
Finally, November and December have a deep red/burgundy substrate. November has a mix of images from the G 45 Place in Time and Seasons collections and is inked in brown tones, again to reflect what is happening in nature outside.
And with December we have pretty much come full circle and I mostly used leftover bits and pieces from my Christmas card making that were still flying around on my desk.
For the cover I ised a postcard size piece from the G45 Seasons collection, edged it with Stampendous Embossing Powder in Ancient Silver and added 2018 with some sticky chipboard letters from my stash.
I think they came originally with a Bo Bunny collection of papers that again I have had in my stash like forever, so glad I found a use for them now.
Well, that's it for now, thank you for your visit and I wish you all the most fantastic New Year with lots of creative happiness within it. 

If you want to get loads of inspiration, do not forget to visit our challenge blog and of course we all hope you will share your own mini album creations with us!! And don't forget, you could win a $25 voucher from Lyndy's !!!


20 comments:

Valerie-Jael said...

Beautiful work, the calendar is gorgeous. Have a great 2018, hugs, Valerie

froebelsternchen said...

Your vintage calendas is AMAZING!!!!

froebelsternchen said...

sorry : calendar!

Meggymay said...

Its a gorgeous calendar each page looks beautiful.
Happy New Year wishes to you and your family Astrid.
Yvonne xx

Tracey@Hotchpotchcreations said...

What a fabulous idea Astrid, reminds me of the calendars I used to get as a child but they were no where near as beautiful and decorative as this. Fabulous use of left overs again, i'm sure you will find this most useful if not a sheer delight to look at each day. Beautiful..
Creative Happy New Year Hugs Tracey xx

Sharon Wheet said...

what a great project! love it! TFS

Mrs.B said...

A beautiful calendar Astrid, so much detail in each page. A great way of using leftover pieces.
Avril xx

maj. said...

Great calendar!!!
Happy New Year!!!

Redanne said...

An inspired idea Astrid, leftovers never looked so beautiful! I love each page of your wonderful calendar album - such a great idea and beautifully executed!! Happy New Year! Going back for another look now.... Hugs, Anne xx

Let's Art Journal said...

Oh my, your desktop calender is a delight! I love all the designs that you created, they depict the different months perfectly 😁. It's so very beautiful and so inspiring, thank you! Wishing you a very happy and creative New Year! J 😊

Maryann Laursen said...

Just soooo gorgeous as always from you Astrid, A really great idea for a gift too and a great way to use some of the many left overs we all have loads of all the time. I love how each month show the year of time in the decor too.
A very Happy New Year to you and I´m sooo looking forward to see, what you´ll come up with in the new year here, but I know, it´ll be fabulous.

Patty O'Malley said...

Beautiful calendar book, Astrid. Happy New Year!

Words and Pictures said...

Oh, it's just delightful, Astrid - moving through the seasonal pages was like moving through the year - beautifully done - the images given that extra oomph with the fussy-cutting and delicate die-cut enhancements. A charming calendar to take you through the months of 2018. Happy New Year!
Alison x

SewPaperPaint said...

Useful and absolutely beautiful! Each page is a treasure and the turn of the months will be anxiously awaited. I really love the way you brought these G45 papers to life with the great layouts and embellishments. I just love this! Hugs, Autumn

Annie said...

wow!!! Love your beautiful desk planner Astrid x The papers are simply stunning and your layers of details perfect for each month as well as the sessions


Love it

Hugs Annie xx

Inna Bronnikova said...

Great calendar, Astrid! Each page is beautiful and thought out.

Nora said...

Gorgeous calender!!! You have embellished it, in such a beautiful way!!!

Gloria Stengel said...

I love calendars and calendar projects! I try to make a new one each year...but sometimes I don't finish it until halfway through the year! LOL This is perfect. I love the images and the papers you chose!!

Deb said...

Oh my gosh Astrid, this is gorgeous, love each and every page of your desk top calendar! What a wonderful creation, thanks so much for sharing it, Deb xo

crafty creations said...

Absolutely stunning Astrid and so useful too x Hilda

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