The 2015 CD Calendar

by Deanna

Oh I have been busy busy busy this last week.  Every year about this time I begin putting together small calendars that fit inside of a CD case and sell them at an Open House where the proceeds are donated to 2 charities.....Alzheimer's Research and Purdue Cancer Research Center.  This year I have created 4 different calendars....Tea Cups (see above), Flowers (always a favorite), Barns (you know how I love my midwest barns, and this year I have added Birds and Butterflies.  After my trip to Phoenix in January and visiting the Butterfly Museum I gathered quite a few butterfly and bird images and along with what I found in my garden this past summer I had plenty to create a calendar.

Shown above is a page from this year's Cup Calendar....Tracey Clark from The Shutter Sisters has provided the template for this calendar for at least 4 years.  Every year I wait patiently (well not really since I always send an email about the 1st of November begging for the next year's template) since I am always anxious to get started.  The first year I made them as gifts and then in 2012 when my good friend Marti asked me to join her Open House with my photography I thought these would be the perfect item to sell.  I do have great fun in combing thru my photos from the past year, if I was more organized (I am afraid that is never going to happen) I would have my thoughts on themes at the beginning of the year and focus on those themes when I am out and about.  I do tend to shoot barns, and flowers and butterflies and birds and teacups, so it really is just a matter of gathering.

So now that I have your interest piqued, here is all the info that you need to create your own, to give as gifts, sell, donate, or make for yourself.   I do print my own since I have a good printer and the calendar is a weird size....5 x 4.627 so your paper must be cut.

Link to the template for the 2015 Calendar -  http://ourcollective.org/2015-diy-photo-calendar/

Paper I use - Office Depot Professional Photo Paper Matte   It is a nice weight (61lb) and prints come out clean and bright.  If you are only doing a few you can use glossy paper but for the amount I do it might be too costly and glossy paper is more difficult to cut with a paper-cutter.

The CD Cases - I could not find the plain CD cases locally that have just the case without the raised hole in the center for CD's so I order them online at Amazon  (just copy and paste this into your browser)    http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001IYFYKI/ref=s9_simh_gw_p23_d0_i2?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=07G0E8HJDWWD9CQ1618F&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1688200382&pf_rd_i=507846

I also sell quite a few greeting cards....the collectivity from the miracle of birth to loss thru death and everything in between.  This is my way of giving while creating.