Young House Love

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A Free Calendar Printable

First we’ll get to the freebie download for all of you lovely people, because you know we heart you for reading our little ol’ blog. Since we’ve made a tradition of designing a homemade calendar each year (and 2012 ain’t gonna wait just cuz we’re mid-kitchen reno) we stole a moment – while the wood putty dried – to throw something together for the big one-two.

Our calendars from the last few years have all been text-based (you know, as opposed to full of photos). Like our 2010 calendar, where we assembled a dozen weird family phrases & inside jokes and laid them out in simple bright colors:

Calendar Cutting Burger

Or our 2011 calendar, where we used a numerical fact about our family to represent each month (ex: May, the fifth month, said: “Five years in Richmond” and July, the seventh month said: “Seven years spent together”).

NewCal In Place

Well, this year we ditched the text-on-white theme and went full-on photographic…

2012Calendar January Big

Each month of our 2012 calendar features a photo that we took that same month in 2011, so it’s an easy way for us to look back and say “oh yeah, so that’s what Clara looked like exactly a year ago.” Admittedly a photo calendar isn’t a groundbreaking idea, but it seemed really fun to toss together since 2011 is the first full calendar year that we’ve spent with Clara in our lives. And that girl can pose like Tyra Banks.

2012Calendar October Big

We gave each pic a “historical” feel by applying a free Photoshop action from the Pioneer Woman called “Heartland” (you can download that here) and then we brought color back into the calendar with a bright curvy border on the top and the bottom. The font that we used is a free download called Lobster (which you can get here).

2012Calendar JanFebMar

2012Calendar AprMayJun

2012Calendar JulAugSept

2012Calendar OctNovDec

And speaking of downloads, you can download our Photoshop file featuring all twelve colorful frames here. Which means you can personalize the whole thing for yourself (and then print it out and hang it proudly in your kitchen/office/mudroom) by:

  1. adding your own photos as a new layer behind each frame using Photoshop
  2. being sure to download the font if you’d like to alter the text (otherwise it could switch to a default and look wonky)
  3. applying the Heartland action to your photos if you want a similar look (or you can making ’em black & white, full color, etc)

Now all we’ve gotta do is buy a new color ink cartridge so we can print this sucker out on cardstock, cut it to size, and hang it in our finished kitchen (probably with a binder clip or two so we can easily rotate each page out as the months go by). Oh wait, guess we gotta finish the kitchen before we can “hang this in our finished kitchen”… so maybe it’ll be up by February or March. Haha. Either way, happy almost 2012 everyone! Hope you have fun making a little calendar of your own (or even whipping some up as gifts for friends and family members)!

But on to the secret… a little package arrived from my Secret Santa! Remember I mentioned that sweet Mrs. Limestone invited me to play along among a bunch of awesome fellow bloggers (and I was worried I would totally choke when it came to figuring out two perfect gifts to send someone’s way throughout the month of December)? Well, this package arrived all festively wrapped with a little “Peace On Earth” ornament on top…

Secret Santa1

… and I opened it to find this adorable silver box from Pottery Barn that reads “Good things come in small packages.” Which makes this 5’2″ gal smile.

Santa Box

And there was a little bit o’ sparkle going on – like fairy dust. Which all made sense when I cracked the lid to find three sweet ornaments with the hubster, the beanster, and my initials on them. So cute.

Ornaments

Anyone have any guesses which of these bloggers might be my secret Santa? I don’t have a clue but I love the suspense of it all!

As for my new little ornaments, off to the tree they went! Not only the three initial ornaments but the little glittering birdie too:

Ornament On Tree1

Here’s our little C in action. I love that these babies aren’t breakable – so they fit right in with our paint chips and ribbons.

C Orn Close

The red on the initials tie right into the red ribbons, and the glitter around the edges gleam like our sparkly snowflakes.

C Ornament

Oh and our tree has filled out quite a bit over the last few weeks. Care to guess why?

Tree Far

Yup, many of the ornaments on our little homemade advent calendar have been popped off the door where they were hanging…

Advent Calendar

… and onto the tree. Clara and I have had fun finding the perfect place for each one as each day goes by.

Christmas 2

Love me some holiday traditions! Maybe I was an elf in a past life. Those little seasonal activities and crafts (like our annual calendar and our ornament advent calendar) are hardly expensive or time consuming – but they’re so much fun for the family to get into the spirit. Especially little Clara. And when you’re dreading/gearing up for days and days of cabinet sanding and priming and painting… ya gotta love a little holiday spirit in the half-torn-apart house to keep ya smiling. Maybe we’ll play Christmas music while we putty and pretend the sawdust is snow…

Update: You can check out all of our favorite holiday decor finds here – many of which are under $15! 

Comments

  1. Jenna at Homeslice says

    what a great little calendar! I love the bright neon shades you used, such a great contrast with the pictures. I ALSO love (love, love, love. I’m all love!) that you can reuse your advent ornaments on your tree. Talk about double duty decor! Such fun.

    Reply

  2. jeannette says

    my deal? when the sawdust hits the fan? not to make a mess i can’t clean up before 5 p.m.. tidy by vespers is the only thing that gets me through inhome mayhem.
    xxx

    Reply

  3. mp says

    The November photo of John & Clara is my favorite of theirs. I know it scared you, Sherry, but it’s a perfect daddy/daughter moment.

    Reply

  4. Diana @ Boy + Girl says

    I’m going to take a wild guess and say Nicole at Making It Lovely sent this to you…..I don’t know though, I’m also thinking it could have been Mrs. Limestone. I’m sure I’m waaaaaaaaaaaay off. Do you have a hunch at all?
    -Diana

    Reply

  5. Julie says

    There’s a version of Photoshop online people could try. I do a calendar with my girls from the corresponding month the previous year too! We do the free vistaprint ones though since all of the grandparents want one and I can’t see using that much ink. With vistaprint you just pay about $5 shipping!

    Reply

  7. elaine K says

    Love the calendar. Traditions are great especially at Christmas. My 21 year old and 18 year old still like to help ice the rum logs my Mom made every Christmas when I was little. Now we make them and send them to her.

    Reply

  10. Michele says

    I’m I the only one that thought (just for a second) that the “Secret” could be a sibling for Clara and Burger? Thanks for the calendar template! Your present is adorable, too.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Haha- it’s still doctor’s orders to wait a while (I had some complications while having Clara). We’re having fun enjoying her and Burgsie in the meantime, though!

      xo,
      s

  13. Linda says

    You might not want Clara to handle those ornaments. I believe the glitter is made of glass, so any pieces of glitter that fall off could be dangerous to Clara and Burger.

    Reply

  14. Laura Nygaard says

    I believe that your secret santa is Miss Marian of Miss Mustard Seed. Looks like her lovely ornaments! Love your blog read it every morning, can’t wait to see your kitchen done!

    Reply

  15. Sharee A. says

    Oh God bless you for sharing this great calendar! I’ll be making several for close family members. Here’s to a promising, prosperous & healthy new year.

    Reply

  17. ellie says

    Hi, I never stop by your blog however I linked over from another blog and noticed your post on your (SO CUTE!) barstools. I saw that you said that you were going to put your daughter’s booster seat on it and I wanted to let you know that we did that with a very similar barstool when my daughter was in a booster. She managed to push against the wall under the bar or maybe even the counter, with her feet and she fell backwards and hit her head flat on the floor (a rug over tile!) thankfully she was okay but you might want to make sure that is impossible with your little one since she would be strapped in and therefore not be able to stop herself in any way from her head hitting. Just wanted to let you know!

    xo ellie

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Thanks so much for the tip! A few others mentioned this issue so although Clara’s legs aren’t long enough to push off now we’ll definitely keep a close eye to make sure it remains impossible (placing the chair far back enough to ensure that she’s safe). We also went with counter height stools (and a counter height peninsula) because we worried taller barstools would be tippier and less steady for little ones (and a longer fall) so we’re hoping since these stools are only a few inches higher than a regular dining chair that they’ll have added stability since they have that nice wide base.

      xo,
      s

  20. Rebekka says

    thanks so much for the calendar download! i spent all evening picking out photos, and luckily colors you chose look great with them! i’m excited to add this to my mom’s gift- she will LOVE it.

    Reply

  21. jamie says

    i’ll admit it….not the best on photoshop. when I open the file, should I only be seeing january? what about the rest of the months or am I suppose to edit/change the one image?
    thanks for the help.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Each month is saved as it’s own layer, so find your Layers menu and just make January invisible (there should be a little “eye” icon that you can click) and February will pop up behind it (and so on and so on). Hope that works for ya!

      -John

  22. Jesette says

    Thanks so much for the templates! And the actions! And the font! haha I downloaded everything!! I had actually been thinking about buying a calendar for 2012…now, I’ll definitely be making one (:

    Reply

  23. Mariam says

    My boyfriend and I recently purchased our very first home. This has been the most exciting and “what the hell did we get ourselves into?” time in our lives. I blog about all the designs and vintage makeovers that I do around the house. I love your living room! You have an amazing sense of interior design. Im so glad I found this site. I’ll definitely be an avid reader from now on. Check out my blog too. I’m new to all this. forevervintageblog.com

    Reply

  26. Melissa Mills says

    Love the calendar and your blog! I seriously can’t wait to read your book.

    PS- I just noticed in the ‘January’ photo of Clara from 2011 it looks like she was sitting on the larger green rug you got from Joss & Main (in the family room)! Sneaky, sneaky :-)

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Oh, that’s actually our old yellow moorish rug that lived in the living room VERY briefly (it was only 5 x 8) until it got moved into the guest bedroom. They’ve got a very similar pattern so I can see how it could be mistaken for the new rug when in black & white.

      -John

  29. Amanda says

    I just downloaded the calendar! Can’t wait to add my photos or maybe I’ll do something artsy over the holidays! We’ll see what I have time for, but thank you for this! Merry Christmas!

    Reply

  30. Sarah says

    Hi guys, Sherri I know it was a gift, but do you know if that box is still for sale on the PB website? I have looked and looked and can’t seem to find it anywhere. Any clue? Or if Sherri’s secret santa is reading this, feel free to email me at [email protected]! I promise not to reveal you!!!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Oh man, I wish I knew! Maybe it’s one of those in store things that you can find by the register or on those gift tables? If you have a local store I’d call or pop by to ask!

      xo,
      s

  31. Amanda says

    I definitely think you gave to House of Smiths. Their secret santa gift just screamed “young house love” to me. I having tons of fun going to all of the blogs and trying to guess who everyone had :-)

    Reply

  32. Elizabeth D says

    Do you have any tips for first time photoshop users? Did you teach yourselves? I have had it for almost a year, but stil cannot seem to figure it out. I LOVE the calendar, but don’t know how to drop/layer pictures in. LOVE the blog and Merry Christmas!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Oddly enough we both took elective classes in high school on it, and then continued learning it in college (advertising does a lot of photoshop stuff, so in our majors it was something we were taught). Maybe try looking for a local college class to take? You’ll learn so many tricks! There also might be some great library books on it that you could borrow for free!

      xo,
      s

  33. Amanda says

    I also think you were secret santa to Bryn Alexandra but I’m not sure which of the two gifts you sent… they both seem sort of young house love to me

    Reply

  35. Erin Squires says

    Thank you so much for this! Every year we try to make some kind of personalized gift for our family, and I just hadn’t gotten my act together this year. I saw this and loved it! I made our calendar this morning using your templates and it turned out so great. Thanks again!!

    Reply

  36. Kasey March says

    “Maybe we’ll play Christmas music while we putty and pretend the sawdust is snow…”

    That image totally made my day! I hope your family enjoys the white…er woodgrain…Christmas!

    Reply

  39. Erin O. says

    Thanks for the calendar! I downloaded it right away and worked on it today. Now it is all ready and I just need to print it. BTW, I typed in your url and forgot an “e”. WOah! I think that brought up a porn site… lol

    Reply

  40. Kelly says

    Hi! This is my first photoshop experience. I love the calendar but how do you add your photos and then get them behind?

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      You add the photo as its own layer (click “new layer” and then drag it in or paste it) and then move that layer in your layers toolbar behind the month you want to be in front (ex: the January layer should be right above the “new layer” with your pic). Then print! Hope it helps!

      xo,
      s

  43. Amanda says

    Thank you so much for this fabulous calendar template! I can’t wait to start personalizing it!

    What a wonderful holiday gift to your readers. You guys are truley amazing!

    Happy Holidays!

    Reply

  47. Hally says

    So I worked up a calender for my mother in law for Christmas, only problem is I don’t own a printer. I was wondering, do you all know what size this is when it prints, and also do you all know of any place that will print this size? Thanks!

    Reply

  50. Jenny R says

    Another Photoshop newbie here! How do you add a photo as a new layer? Thanks!! I love the calendar, especially the bright, bold colors. And of course, the adorable pictures of Clara!

    Reply

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