Let's Make a Perpetual Calendar!

Hello everyone! I am back again with another Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts tutorial. Visit the Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts Blog HERE! Before we get to the post...check out my NEW blog look! My daughter, Laura Stengel, designed all original graphics for me! It is a HUGE change, but...I think it is very trendy and still captures my grungy/girlie vintage side! Now, on to the project!

I have been wanting to create a perpetual calendar for a while now. For those of you who aren't familiar with the term, a perpetual calendar is one that can be used over and over again, regardless of which year it is!

When I saw the Perpetual Calendar - Bracket Style in the GSL store, I knew it was the one I wanted to use! I created the base calendar, but you know I can never leave well enough alone...so I jazzed it up a bit!

I wanted to showcase a different look for each month! I created my own unique calendar from the base calendar! As always, I want to teach you to see products in a new light, and to show you how use them in a new way!

The calendar base is made from wood, and comes in a dark finish. You can paint the wood if you wish, but I decided that I did not want to paint it, so the only preparation we need is to wipe the pieces with a damp baby wipe and sand any rough edges.

Cut four pieces of paper for the end pieces to 3 1/2" x 4 5/8". Use a gel medium to attach the paper to the wood base pieces. Trim the curved edge with a craft knife. Sand any rough edges and sponge the paper edges with Vintage Photo Distress ink. Make sure you cut out the holes on the INSIDE ONLY of each end piece.

You do not need to notch the holes on the OUTSIDE of the end pieces. I chose Graphic 45 Children's Hour papers for my project. Since I live in the land of perpetual summer, I used the July and August papers in the collection to decorate my box.

Trim two pieces of paper to 3 1/2" x 5 1/4" for the back of the box. Use a craft knife to trim around the bracket shape on the top of the piece. For the bottom, trim two pieces of paper to 3 1/2" x 3 1/2". For the front piece, trim two pieces of paper to 3 1/2" x 1 7/8". For the inside dividers trim four pieces of paper to 3 1/2" x 1 7/8".

Sponge the edges with Vintage Photo ink. Attach the paper to the wood shapes with gel medium.

Make sure to dry fit the box before gluing to avoid making a mistake! Use a wet glue, such as Glossy Accents, to attach the pieces of the box together. The notched pieces make it very easy to assemble the box. You may need to clamp or hold each piece for a minute or so to allow the glue to dry. Set the box aside while you assemble the inside pieces.

This is what your box will look like from the back. You can see on the right side that my box is not fitting together properly. I had to clamp the box for a few minutes until the glue dried completely. {See, even us fancy pants designers mess up!}

Color all the words and numbers with Beetle Black Glimmer Mist. Allow to dry.

If desired, sponge the edges of all the inserts with Vintage Photo ink.

Make sure that your pieces are dry before starting the next step.

Cover each month insert with printed paper cut to 3 3/8" x 4 7/8". For the month inserts, cover both sides of the insert, trimming the bracket edge with a craft knife or sharp scissors. Use a file or sanding block to smooth any rough edges.

I decided that I did not want to trim the day and date inserts to have a bracket edge. (Frankly, I got tired of all that trimming!) To crate inserts with a smooth edge, trim paper for the day of the week inserts to 3 3/8" x 4" and round the top two corners. Trim the edges with a craft knife if needed. Cover both sides of the four inserts.  (There are other ways to cover the inserts and still show the top bracket, but I chose this way to cover my inserts.)

For the date inserts, trim paper to 1 5/8" x 3" and round the top two corners. Trim the edges with a craft knife if needed. You only need to cover one side of the 14 date inserts, but you may cover both sides if you wish.

Sponge the edges of the inserts with Vintage Photo ink. Place the inserts into the box to see where you want to glue the words and numbers.

Use a strong glue to attach your months, days, and dates to the inserts. Your month and day inserts will be "double-sided." Each month insert will have a month name on each side. Three of the four day of the week inserts will also be double-sided. 

Attach one number to the top of each date insert. These inserts will be single-sided. You need to be able to select 0-3 for your first number and 0-9 for the second number. For example, to be able to show Monday, February 29, you need a "2" panel and a "9" panel.

Place your inserts into the box. Add a bit of decoration to the front of the box, and you are FINISHED! Well...maybe! You can see the "January" on my insert seems a bit low. That is because I decided that wanted to do something different with my box. I decide that I did not wish to use the day of the week inserts, and to showcase the month inserts!

I decided to create a faux easel for my month cards and just display the box with my month and date. Read on to see how to do that!

Trim a piece of black heavy-weight cardstock or chipboard to 3 1/2" x 7 1/2" and place it into the divider where the days of the week panels should go. Use a clip to attach the month panel to the cardstock panel. Store the other month panels in the divider. Each month, change out the panel using the clip. Each day, change the date panels.

Since I used Graphic 45 Children's Hour paper, I was able to decorate each month insert to reflect the "theme" of the month. I kept the design simple and used the same design for each month.

Flip January insert over and decorate with February. (I actually think that my February is on the reverse of August.)

And there you have 12 months of inserts!

I hope you like my twist on the perpetual calendar! I created this amazing project with minimal supplies and effort. It will be the star of my desk for some time to come!

Visit the Gypsy Soul Blog for more inspiration!

Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts Products:

Perpetual Calendar - Bracket Style

Other Products:

Paper: Graphic 45 Children's Hour 12x12 paper

Decorative chipboard: Graphic 45 Children's Hour

Ink: Ranger Distress Vintage Photo

Spray Mist: Tattered Angels Beetle Black (retired - substitute It's Black)
Gems: Want2Scrap
Clip: from my stash
Cardstock scrap: WorldWin Papers Black

Adhesive: Liquitex Matt Gel, Ranger Glossy Accents, ATG tape