Re-Purposing Old Calendars…
What do you do with your old wall calendars when the new year begins? I have trouble parting with old wall calendars, especially the ones with images I have grown to love. Each calendar that hangs on the wall (or sits on a desk), was most likely chosen for it’s images. The calendar and it’s pages becomes part of everyday life, making it more likely to connect to the visuals. So, if like me, you have trouble discarding these visual gems, here are some ideas for reusing your favorite calendar pages in the new year.
Use the images as colorful elements in personal collage creations. Or create a collage of the past year and incorporate the calendar pages into the design.
Work them into creative journals or use them as backgrounds for scrapbook pages.
Frame your favorite art or photos from last year's calendar or choose this year's calendar with the intention of framing them at the beginning of next year.
Cut the pages into gift tags. Punch holes and add a strip of ribbon. Some of the calendars I have bought are produced on thick paper and lend themselves perfectly to a gift tag. For thinner calendar paper, glue the pages onto cut pieces of card stock or poster board in order to make a stronger gift tag. OR create a bookmark instead.
Binder with inserted image from calendar.
Insert a calendar page, cut to size, into the clear front pocket of a 3-ring binder. This is a great way to reuse one of your favorite calendar images. (See image above.) Am I the only one who still uses binders?
Cut calendar pages to create dividers for sections of a recipe file, folder, or binder.
Use your calendar pages as wrapping paper.
Turn calendar pages into decorative envelopes. Check out the instructions for making envelopes at Wiki How.
With some scissors, a glue stick, and an old calendar page, you can turn any piece of folded card stock into a decorated note card. OR consider redesigning old note cards you have around the house. Just cut the calendar page to the size of the note card (to either cover the front of the card or for both the front and back) and glue it on.
You can even make a gift bag from a page of a calendar! See how it's done on this video, found at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSi25TNoqho (It's all visual with no verbal directions.)
This is a revised repost from a 2015 blog issue.