Handmade Calendar Ideas
A small selection of beautiful (mostly) handmade calendar's to inspire you in your making.
December: CALENDARS
Hello makers,
There are no shortage of beautiful calendars in the world, but I found it surprisingly hard to find examples of unique handmade calendars. Luckily, there is lots of beautiful artwork in the world and, after all, what is a calendar if not just a selection of lovely art with some dates attached :)
So, in the coming month I’ll share inspirational work from artists around the world in the form of specific art ideas (think collage, print making, using thread!) that could easily be turned into calendar art.
As for my own calendar journey, in the lead-up to the birth of my first child I put my sewing machine away and got out the pens to do some meditative doodle art. I ended up with quite of few of these little birds so I decided to digitise the images and make a calendar! Who knew that almost 10 years later I’d be writing about handmade calendars!!
Anyway, here are some more cool calendar ideas to get you inspired to make your own…
Simple but effective desktop watercolour calendar:
Hammering flowers onto a little desktop calendar:
An embroidery journal calendar!
Mixed media and collage calendar on clipboards:
Experiments in watercolour desktop calendar:
Not handmade, but a giant reusable wall calendar!
This next one is not handmade either but probably the most epic calendar of all time because it shows you EVERY SINGLE DAY UNTIL YOU ARE 80!!
Life At A Glance Motivational Calendar - by Dave Kang
I definitely have mixed feelings about seeing over half my life gone on this calendar but then again, if I marked all the little things I’ve done and places I’ve gone on it, that would feel pretty good to look at.
This epic calendar also reminds me of Oliver Burkeman’s book - Four Thousand Weeks, in which he questions how “time became a thing that you use”. Life (and therefore time) is to be experienced, all of it, the good, the bad and the ugly, rather than thought of as a thing we must make the most of. This is probably why I’m a huge fan of Mary Oliver’s work, as it feels like she was happy experiencing and noticing the world around her. Did she feel the need to be productive 24/7 or was laying down in a field of grass and watching the insects and the flowers and the world all day a worthwhile experience? Yes!
Anyway, I got a bit off-track there!
Have you got any ideas on what sort of calendar you would love to make?
I’m planning on incorporating thread somehow, as usual! But I also would like to try something new each month so maybe some watercolour or collage experiments too. But just to keep things real, I very much doubt I’ll get more than one month done at a time. Always trying to remember, it’s a journey not a race.
Let me know your thoughts and ideas in the comments below and let’s connect.
Happy making,
Esta
Seek to Make is an exploration of creativity and making. Each month, I share a monthly theme around making, showcase inspiring makers, share tips, tools and encouragement. Together let's get curious and immerse ourselves in the art of making!
Awesome list, thanks for including mine!