2020 Desktop Calendars

Every year, I create desktop calendars for Christmas presents. My goal is to design one calendar page each month for the following year, so by the end of the year, I have eight sets to hand out to family and friends. Some months seem to slip by WAY too fast (like January), so I’m working on catching up!

Today, I’m posting both the January and February 2020 calendar pages. They measure 4″ x 6″ and fit in a standard frame.

If you would like to follow along this year and make your own set, I will be posting links to the JPEGs I create to print the calendar days and months. (See the bottom of this post for links and cutting instructions.)

For January 2020, I used the Winter Woods stamp set and coordinating In The Woods Thinlits Dies. I also used Wood Textures Designer Series Paper for both the background and to cut out the trees.

To start out, I printed the calendars on Shimmery White Cardstock, so that I could watercolor a light wash using Balmy Blue and Highlander Heather ink. Watercoloring a wash is easy! First, I squeezed my stamp pads to pool ink in the lids, and then used an Aqua Painter a add a little water to the ink. Next, clean out your Aqua Painter brush by squeezing it until clear water runs through. Then, map out the wash area on the Shimmery White background by painting the borders and filling in the center with clear water. Next, add your watered-down ink as desired. Mapping out the area with clear water first helps to contain the bleed area.

To stamp the month, I used a retired stamp set called Date It. However, you could easily substitute it with any small alphabet stamp set, such as the Make A Difference stamp set. I embossed the month in white on Balmy Blue Cardstock, and then cut it out with a Rectangle Stitched Framelits Die.

Supplies used to create the January calendars:

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Now, on to February. I made these very simple by showcasing the beautiful All My Love Designer Series Paper and Be Mine Stitched Framelits Dies. I didn’t have much of the designer series paper left after Valentine’s Day, so I had to use two different prints in order to squeeze out eight calendars! While the color combinations vary a little, they are all the same basic design.

I cut out the detailed hearts and rose dies using Flirty Flamingo, Lovely Lipstick, Whisper White, and the Sale-A-Bration Foil Sheets (which you can earn for free with a $50 purchase through March 31, 2019.)

I also used the Be Mine Stitched Framelits Dies to cut out the center hearts from Whisper White or All My Love Designer Series Paper. Then, for the Whisper White hearts, I used Mint Macaron Stampin’ Blends to color them with an ombre design. To achieve this, start at the bottom with the dark marker and using the brush end. Color about a third of the way up the heart. Next, use the light marker (brush end again) to color over the dark ink and then extend upwards to about 2/3. Lastly, use the Color Lifter marker to blend to white at the top.

I love using my favorite paper of the season for these calendars! That means I get to look at it for a whole month next year!!!

To stamp the month, I used the retired Date It stamp set again with Lovely Lipstick ink. Any small alphabet stamp would work as well.

Prior to stamping the month, I cut out strips of Whisper White Cardstock using the border die from the Be Mine Stitched Framelits Dies. Tip: Use some old washi tape to secure the die and keep it in place during the cutting process.

Supplies used to create the February calendars:

Click HERE to download the January 2020 calendar printable and HERE to download the February calendar printable. I created both of these JPEGs using My Memories Suite software. Each page makes four calendars. Trim each sheet as shown to create individual calendar layers that measure 3″ x 5″.

Print the January calendar on Shimmery White Cardstock and the February calendar on Whisper White Cardstock. The January calendar is black and white, while the February calendar is colored Crumb Cake. Print with the smallest margins possible for your printer. I designed the pages to go all the way to the edges of a standard 8-1/2″ x 11″ sheet of cardstock.

Have fun creating your own calendars! I would love to hear your comments and see what you create!