Sep 4, 2017

2018 Mini Calendar + Free Printable

Free 2018 Calendar Printable with Cut Lines (for personal use only please).
Ever since the debut of the Paper Pumpkin calendar kit, a couple of years ago, I have been making my mother a custom desk calendar every month. She lives in another state and looks forward to receiving her happy mail once a month with a new calendar design to put on her desk. The first year I did a custom easel card similar to this:
This is actually the same template I used for her calendars. Silly me, I didn't think to photograph the darn things. The calendar went on the pop up, I put a hidden message underneath that only she could see, and then I decorated it per the month/holiday what-have-you. Halfway through the year I realized that these were pretty time consuming. After that first year ended I didn't send out a new one for the following January. It didn't take long before I got a phone call wondering where her new calendar was. So I searched for an alternative, one that would make customizing it every month a little faster, and after purchasing a few downloads that were duds I decided to make my own. I designed one that I could print onto card stock and run through my Minc foil machine. Here are a few samples from this year (yes, I actually remembered to photograph each one before I sent them this time):
I designed these to be a 4x6 photo size to fit on a stand alone easel that she could switch out each month. That was mistake number 1. As beautiful as they are, and easier to design, I used up A LOT of card stock. Because I did individual months, which had to be printed onto a full sheet of card stock, that meant that I had to use one full sheet for each month and cut it down (carefully lining up where I needed to cut). I tell you, I have a huge stash of white card stock paper scraps leftover to use up. Mistake number 2 was doing such an odd size that I couldn't use any of my fabulous card matting dies, which I might add make things a lot easier to line up. So part way through the year I decided to make a revision to the size:
It still fits on her easel but I get to use my stitched frame dies and line up exactly where I want the calendar without eyeballing dimensions. On to next year, I am working on a calendar design with chipboard coasters. I thought it would be fun to be able to use my stock pile of fabulous designer paper. I will have one side decorative, and a mini calendar on the other. Here is one similar that I sourced from pinterest and the penguinstamper:
I haven't completely formulated my construction yet but here is where I ran into a problem. Do you think I can find those darn mini calendar pads anywhere? Maybe it is too early in the year but I haven't been happy with any of the sources I have found so far. Either they are the wrong size, mostly they are the wrong size, but I found only maybe one or two printables with generic boring font. I was really looking for these little minis on a glued pad instead of having to print and cut myself. To no avail I have not found anything remotely to what I have envisioned so I decided to heck with this. I can't be the only one wanting this product I will have to just make it myself. So I did, now I can't give you a paper stack but I am sharing my printable file with handy dandy cut lines. You can use each month individually or put all 12 together and staple the stack.
Because my coaster is 4X4 I needed the calendars to be a specific size. This print file will give you calendars that are about the size of a business card,  3 3/4 x 2 3/4. (the lines in this jpg look wonky but trust me, they are straight in the printed file). My design is nearly complete so stay tuned. The blog entry and instructions will be coming out shortly so make sure you check back for that! I also will have some 4x4 coasters available for sale for your own projects so that you don't have to purchase a jumbo 100 pack to do one set of calendars.

Make sure you subscribe to the really awesome crafty news while you are here so that you don't miss the 2018 calendar design and instructions.

Make sure your print settings are set to actual size and not fit to page to allow for the bleed lines and crop marks.

Have a fabulous day, and happy crafting!
-Sherry

2018 Free Mini Calendar Printable







18 comments:

  1. Thank you so much, I have been looking for something like this for a long time <3 I would be willing to pay... Do you design these with different fonts.
    Cheers Shaz

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    1. Absolutely, I do custom work. Inbox me at craftedcharm@outlook.com with what you are looking for.

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  2. Thank you so much for the calendar, it's so difficult to find the correct size without having to spend a ridiculous amount online!! I would be willing to pay you too like Sharon said:) I subscribed to your email, I will like your FaceBook page, if you have a YouTube channel or Instagram I will subscribe there too!!!
    Cari

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    1. Thanks Cari! That was the problem I was having. You ladies have confirmed for me that I'm not the only. I hope you find this useful. If you too are looking for a different font inbox me at craftedcharm@outlook.com. I will be happy to help!

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  3. Thanks so much! Love your site! 🤓

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  4. Thank you so very much....this is wonderful

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  5. Thanks for sharing, this is great!!

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  6. Just signed up for your blog. I can tell I will be getting plenty of ideas. TFS!!

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  7. Thanks so much for sharing this!! I just signed up to receive your blog posts and wonderful ideas! Sorry if this seems like a dumb question - I printed out the calendar, and I do not follow how these are to be cut - is it supposed to be a 1/8" allowance around each month? I am measuring 2-5/8 X 3-5/8 according to the little lines and squares that are there - And if so, that does not leave enough space at the top to staple them together or do you staple them on either side of the month?? Maybe I need an "AHA" moment for the light to go on in my brain!!! Thanks for any enlightenment you can provide!!

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    1. Oh no problem, I created it and I had to think about it a minute when I cut them to make sure myself. I will make a brief post with photo where to cut, but basically you will want to cut on the lines of the inside boxes not the single lines. You will get an 1/8 inch allowance on the sides, 1/16 the on the bottom, and closer to 1/4 on the top where you can staple if you wish to use it that way. It will be a slim fit but should work out for you. My original intent for my personal use was to do each month individually and place on a backer before I put it on my coaster.

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    2. Also, it occurred to me that you should check your print settings. Make sure your settings are at print to actual size and not fit to page to allow for the bleed lines and crop marks. Otherwise your printer will shrink the page and the calendars will come out a bit smaller.

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