Extra photos for bloggers: 1, 2

One of our readers, Sandy Weisz, sent us this idea for a calendar made out of number photos. He said it sounded perfect for us because:

• It’s a photo project.
• It’s a DIY project.
• It’s functional.
• You can use it forever.
• AND it looks amazing on the wall!

What, are you kidding? We LOVE this!!

It’s typography! It’s photography! It’s design! And it looks freakin’ stunning.

Plus we can rearrange the numbers each month, so we’ll never need to buy a calendar ever again. We’re so in love right now.

The DIY Perpetual Photo Wall Calendar

Why’s It Cool?

This is the best calendar we’ve ever seen. Seriously. It looks amazing on our wall and people are always complimenting us on it. And we can use it forever and ever and ever! Awesome.

What You’ll Need

• Fotoclips (By a startling coincidence, these just happen to be available from the Photojojo Store. Weird.)
• Matte 4×6 inkjet paper (optional)
• Paper cutter (optional)

Step 1: Find the Numbers

Carry your camera around wherever you go. Any time you see a number between 1 and 31, take a picture of it. Look for letters to represent the seven days of the week, too.

Keep in mind the final format of your calendar when you’re shooting: you can make all of the photos vertical, or all horizontal. We decided to make everything square.

Here are the photos you’ll need to capture:

• At least one photo each of numbers 1 through 31
• Letters or text to represent of each day of the week (i.e. M, or Mon, or Monday)
• Six extra photos to fill in gaps in the calendar (can be anything you want!)

Step 2: Make Prints

Once you have all the photos you need, print everything out at 4×6 size (or have a photo lab do it for you).

Printing on matte paper (or cardstock) will help you ward off the fingerprints that the act of assembling the calendar will leave all over your prints.

For sheer indestructibility, you can laminate your photos. Nothing but the Dark Side of the Force will ever be able to harm them and they’ll pretty much last forever.

If you choose to make your prints square, use a paper cutter to trim them to size.

Step 3: Clip It Together

Get a mess of Fotoclips together and start clipping your prints together.

Consult a calendar to see what order the numbers should go in, and use the extra photos to fill any blank spaces at the beginning of the calendar.

Start by making the rows for each week, then clip the rows together to make up the body of the calendar.

Try to place the fotoclips as close to the center of each photo as you can. The easiest way to put the clips on without crumpling the photo is to lead with a corner of the clip, then slide it into place.

Step 4: Put It Up and Use the Darn Thing!

Once you have the whole calendar assembled, put it up on the wall and admire your clever handiwork!

When each new month begins, you can reconfigure the numbers to keep the calendar up to date.

Don’t take off all the clips and start over, though. Leave the row of weekdays intact and take advantage of this obscure but invaluable fact:

While their position in the calendar will shift throughout the year, these numbers will always line up on top of each other in a column.

• 1/8/15/22
• 2/9/16/23
• 3/10/17/24
• 4/11/18/25
• 5/12/19/26
• 6/13/20/27
• 7/14/21/28

Add numbers to the end of each column as needed, but leave those columns intact and just rearrange their position.

See The One We Made?

More Resources

• OK, we know: this calendar’s so brilliant that you can’t wait to put up your own. If you must have it this very moment, go on flickr and find number photos there. Look through pools like “The Numbers Project” and “One Letter“. Check the photographer’s copyright to make sure it’s cool to use their photo.
• Use post-its to add your appointments and important holidays to each month. At the end of the month, you can peel ‘em off.
• Check out Click.Wind.Repeat.‘s original Polaroid version.
• And don’t miss the greentheory project that inspired it all!

Photo credits: Leo Reynolds, markdodds, quasimondo, ebolasmallpox, sharynmorrow, phatcontroller, nachomerlo, sidelong, supersucker, grrrl, duncan, sillydog, kasaa, carbonnyc, arbyreed, shelleygibb, moe, christing-O-, Lincolnian, mag3737, 96dpi.

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