7 Calendar Cover Ideas for 2016
Today, so many different things can be customized with photos of your choice that it may leave you speechless and excuseless at the moment you wish to go from just looking to bringing these into your life. Nothing beats this idea to making your gifts extra special without it costing you a fortune. And, hardly anything can come closer to guaranteeing that your gifts will be enjoyed, not discarded as useless objects.
Even if the price of some projects doesn’t seem low, it’s still worth to choose creating personalized items over simply picking something from a shelf at the store, in case you want to show someone you really care for them. People treasure moments and memories more than things and their money value or certain functionality. However, adding photos you love to an item you’re going to use is often an effective way to make beauty meet functionality and marry those two so they live happily ever after.
Different gifts are on everybody’s mind right now, but another thing we’re likely to think about in December is a calendar for the new year. Whether you view a calendar as a necessity or not in the age of business planners of all sorts, it’s a great way to display your favorite photos. Here are some traditional and less traditional ideas:
1. Family photos
Calendar featuring the moments of family fun can be both a nice gift for grandparents and something for you to enjoy. We all love winter holidays for bringing the family together. So a festive dinner table, a Christmas tree or colorful gift boxes make a creative setting for that family cover photo, as well as winter scenery, outdoor activities or simply fun in the snow. It doesn’t have to be winter-themed or Christmas-themed.
Get more creative, especially if you have a big family and would love to bring everybody together. Ask your kids to help you draw a colorful family portrait – no matter if you sketch and they add plenty of detail, or you help them just a little while they design everything, as long as the final masterpiece incorporates some of their ideas of portraying the family, and some of yours. The same applies to the techniques and materials you choose – crayons or paints, perhaps also scraps of fabric or thread for details like hair, hats, shoes or clothes.
2. Romantic photos
This seems simple enough – the two of you next to a decorated Christmas tree or a fireplace, holding champagne glasses or gift boxes. Maybe it’s something else (like coffee cups and homemade pie) that symbolizes the warmth and comfort of your home filled with love. Travels and adventures are also a great addition to that special romantic photo that makes it to your calendar cover. Actually, any activities and moments that you’ve enjoyed together are perfect.
Try to create something special for your calendar. Perhaps you had a wedding a few years ago, but still keep that wedding dress in your closet? You can take it out for another moment of glory and make fantastic photos with wonderful winter scenery in the background, which is nearly as romantic as having another wedding, only less expensive. Warm footwear and tights are recommended, of course, as well as some knitted garment or jacket thrown over your shoulders. A knitwear- or ski-themed wedding can be fun, too.
Feel free to experiment for the sake of beautiful photos. Besides, knitted dresses and skirts can be soooo lovely, as well as men’s sweaters to match your outfit, and these garments can be actually worn afterwards, unlike most fancy and dressy things typically chosen for weddings.
3. The Merry snowmen
When it comes to your partner, he may dislike the idea #2. If he refuses to take part in anything aimed at getting lovely photos, don’t get upset. Make a big snowman that looks like your partner (add distinctive details like footwear, some item of clothing, his hat, etc.) and take photos with the snowman. If someone of your friends can’t come to your New Year party, make a snowman copy of him or her, and take photos together, or make two snowmen to show they’re great friends.
Read also – 10 Easy DIY Winter Home Decorations
4. Cute photos of kids and animals
If you have kids or pets, you love them. If you don’t have any, you probably love photos of them anyway. These are often so funny or so cute that nobody can help smiling, admiring and commenting on how awesome they are. Unless you get tired of that, it makes your choice easier when it comes to images that will serve as illustrations for your calendar and its cover.
When we choose from photos of ourselves, we tend to be overly picky, so most of them seem “too THIS” or “not THAT enough” (fill-in-the-blank), even if the only thing we find wrong with these images is just being slightly different from what we had expected. As for the photos of kids and animals, these are always natural, unique and charming (perhaps with only a few exceptions of those that are blurred with fast movements or quick changes of emotions). Some of the kid and animal photos also fall into the next category:
5. Motivational images and quotes
It’s a good idea to illustrate your calendar with those, as they help you to stay focused on your priorities and goals while ignoring what’s distracting you from these or is simply less important. As for the calendar cover, this is the place for your absolute favorite, if you have one. If you don’t, you may find some motivational picture you especially like while selecting the material for your entire calendar. Combining two or more images is also an option if you have difficulty choosing.
6. Photos of nature
Fantastic scenery, lovely gardens, seascapes – whatever it is that you find the most relaxing or inspiring to look at, the beauty of nature is a perfect theme for your calendar. Sometimes it’s just the harmony of natural color combinations or the beauty of subtler and softer color tones that makes you fall in love with a photo, it’s not the objects you see in it.
Another amazing thing is the power of macro photography revealing the beauty of what usually goes unnoticed since these details are so small or hidden under something else. If you love textures and patterns more than landscapes and seasonal color changes, search within this subcategory.
7. Hobbies and experiences you love
Something just as diverse and multifold as one’s interests may be, this category offers lots of choice. If you love handmade items, your calendar can proudly display your own work or examples of the others’ work that inspire you to try creating something similar. The same can be said about gardening, cooking, art, sports, etc.
Think artwork and photography of what you love in life, what lifts your mood and makes you feel good – it is a great way to remind yourself of being happy in the moment and grateful for what you have, to prevent being discouraged by minor obstacles or long to-do lists of things that you haven’t been able to tackle yet.
With any of the above, it may not be easy to choose just one cover image or a number of photos equal to the number of pages when you have a lot to choose from. Making a collage of photos or just combining several images on a page can be a solution, but this mostly depends on the size you’d like your calendar to be. Do you have any other ideas for personalized calendar design?
