Young House Love

Home Decorating & DIY Tutorials

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Our Free Annual Calendar Download

This time of year we tend to feel behind on just about everything: projects, emails, present wrapping, cleaning, proper hygiene… but by some miracle, we’re actually ahead in one department: making our homemade family calendar.

As many of you know, for the last five years we’ve whipped up a simple-yet-colorful calendar in Photoshop. A few of you (like Lauren and Alexandra) have even asked if we had this year’s ready yet (since we like to share the customizable template, in case you need a last minute gift). So I’m relieved to exclaim “the deed is done!”

Calendar Just January

It doesn’t usually serve as our note-riddled family calendar (that’s what Sherry’s desktop planner is for) but it’s more of warm & fuzzy overview of the month that we can glance at and smile while quickly checking dates or counting down to certain events. Each year we inject some meaningful elements – inside jokes in 2010, family stats in 2011, Clara pics in 2012, and sort of a hybrid of those in 2013.

Calendar Past Years

We loved 2013’s pairing of Instagram photos with funny Clara quotes so much that we decided to go that route again – just with a new design. And for the first time we designed around a standard 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper to eliminate any need to cut off excess, and to allow for a bit more space/function for the actual date part of the calendar.

Calendar The Breakdown3

The bigger size also made room for a bigger picture size: 4 x 4″ – which just so happens to be a standard print size for sites like Snapstagram or PicPlum. So if you don’t trust your home printer to do your photos justice, you can spend $6 on real prints and stick them right on to each page. That’s what we’re planning to do, so we’ve printed all of ours with just a gray placeholder box while we wait for our prints to arrive (we ordered from Snapstagram this time).

CalendarSpreadOut

And as usual, we’re sharing our template so you guys can download the calendar and tailor it to your own photos/quotes/worldly desires. I’ve tried to make it less complicated this year (i.e. fewer layers to mess with), so…

    1. If you can edit .PSD files, you can just download the Photoshop version (click that link to do so) with ready-to-edit text in the quote area (you may need to download both fonts used: Adamas and Multicolore).
    2. If Photoshop isn’t your jam, you can download a PDF version (click that link to do so) where the quote area is left blank (that way you can hand-write in your own text).

In both versions, you’ll need to add your own photo either digitally or by attaching a real 4 x 4″ print like we plan to do with ours.

Calendar Download Options

And just for kicks, here’s a look at the quotes and photos that we chose for each of our 12 months this year. Kinda makes us wish there were more months in the year, cuz Clara can be pretty quotable. That and it’d probably give me more time to squeeze in a shower.

Calendar All Months

What are your calendar plans for 2014? Do you have a go to source every year? Do you prefer a purely functional planner or wall calendar with lots of space to scribble? Do you go for something sweet and decorative, just for checking dates at a glance? Are you one of those 100% electronic folks with everything on your phone? Or do you fall somewhere in between? One more question. Who knew there were so many questions to ask about calendars?

Comments

  5. Mercy says

    Hi Jon & Sherry (& Clara & Burger too!)–
    Obviously, Clara’s the star and Burger’s second fiddle. Her quote for December was just perfect! How is everything going pregnancy-wise? And I have to try to remember stuff my kids said at that age, cuz they’re all grown now. It’s great that you’ve written this down, cuz it’s gone so quickly!
    Best wishes for the holidays!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Aw thanks! I think Burger is a sleeper star. As in, he’ll sneak up on you and make you laugh for ten minutes straight. Love that little guy too! As for my pregnancy, I’m feeling the bun wiggle around all the time and love it! I’m still sick every morning but at least it clears by noon most days (last night I oddly got sick after dinner but that’s rare now). We’re so grateful the bun seems healthy and is nice and wiggly though! Puts my worry wart mind at ease :)

      xo
      s

  6. maria says

    I LOVE THIS!!! I want to make one tonight! My 7 year old has some hilarious sayings, I will have to start writing them down, I wish I would have started with her earlier. Thanks for the idea, as always you guys are awesome!

    Reply

  7. stephanie, sandpaper & glue says

    such good quotes! she’s hilarious.
    every year our best “couple friends” give us a handmade calendar– the guy is a freelance photographer and the girl is a librarian so they use his pictures and she pairs them with literary quotes. it’s excellent, we keep it right ton our fridge all year long. :)
    then for my office, I order a calendar from the rescue my dog is from so it’s a little way of donating to them but each month features a happy rescued dog in their awesome new home!

    Reply

  11. Cassie says

    These are hilarious. You’ve inspired me to write down my own kids’ quotes! We just got a calendar this year for a whopping $2. It’s plain but cute, with a blocky feel and bright colors.

    Reply

  12. Michelle says

    Hey guys…an ad popped up for a survey (the kind that opens in an extra window) by Viszu…just an FYI…I know a post from this week said you were having some issues with these :)

    Love the calendar.

    Reply

  13. Susan says

    We used Shutterfly this year to make the in-laws a calendar-we’re moving ( we leave the snow of OR for the sunshine of San Diego TONIGHT! woohoo!)and we used a 50% off coupon-so for 16 bucks it was a win win- packing and creating at the same time is no fun.

    Writing down what kids say is so fun for when they are older-you THINK you’ll remember it all but once you get to two kids-no. That really doesn’t happen, LOL.

    Skipping=feet clapping? so cute!

    Reply

  15. Kristin says

    Dying right now over the Clara quotes! I think I’m going to steal the potty one and use it in everyday conversation.

    I’m a bit calendar/planner obsessed. I have a basic flip calendar hanging at work to quickly glance at the month. Then I use my Outlook calendar on my work computer and phone for work things. But, I’m feeling terribly disorganized and even though I love electronics, I feel like I need to write down to-do’s, dates, etc. in one place sooo, I splurged on an Erin Condren Life Planner for 2014. I cannot wait to scribble away!

    Reply

  17. Toni says

    This kills me! Clara has such a poetic view of the world. Love. I’m preggers with my first, looking forward to collecting our own hilarious quotes!

    Reply

  20. Ali Miller says

    My mother has gotten into backyard critter (bird, chipmunk etc) photography and each day posts one photo to Facebook using the scientific name and a cute quote. For instance, she might have one photo with two birds on the feeder and her quote might be, “Hey, this is all mine, get outta here!”

    She has become quite a hit in her small town!

    For the past two years I have chosen her best photo from each month and made a Shutterfly calendar for Christmas. She loves it!

    Reply

  21. Julie says

    This calendar is awesome (love those fonts!)….I try to generally do a photo filled calendar for great grand-parents of the kids (generally photo filled with not much else since it’s hard to translate funny quotes in french…I never get them to make sense again! lol) Love the Clara quotes :) . I try to make something nice for a general purpose and all the rest that holds all the info is iclouded! (since it’s super handy to have on hand!)

    Reply

  25. beekeebear says

    Adorable!
    My calendar plans for 2014: I got a pen pal from Australia in 8th grade and we are still friends (I’m 35 now). When I studied abroad there 13 years ago we actually got to hang out in person a few times. Anyway, we always have sent each other Christmas gifts, but it’s gotten so that the postage was costing more than the gifts. So she came up with the idea this year that we just buy each other a calendar from our hometown/state/country so that we can each see each other’s corner of the world throughout the year. :)

    Reply

  26. Nicole D says

    This is adorable! Love the photos and quotes. For the past few years, I make calendars through iPhoto with quotes and family photos taken throughout the years. It’s so nice to see their reactions and look at familiar faces during the year :) Happy Holidays!

    Reply

  27. betty says

    sherry! I saw yall at target last night checking out, but my fiancé told me i was creepy for wanting to say hi to you, plus yall looked like you had your hands full!! so here’s my ‘hi!!’ haha one day i’ll get the nerve to say hi when i see you around town!

    Reply

  28. Ashley says

    Love this! Any chance I can get it in a Word doc? My computer is not allowing me to edit either version – frustrating! Thanks a bunch!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      So sorry, we can’t convert it to a word doc (we don’t have that program) but the second version we offered is flattened (not editable) intentionally, so you can write in quotes and add pics by hand. Hope it helps!

      xo
      s

  33. Amelinda says

    Oh my goodness, I love all the quotes. And Clara’s face in the first picture reminds me from a character from Lilo and Stitch or Ponyo, with the big cute mouth about to chomp some chompsticks :-)

    Reply

  35. Kim says

    Hi Petersiks, you asked for a url if we saw a pop-up on your site; I wasn’t able to get a screen grab, but here’s the url:

    http://survey.suitesmart.com/survey.sp?PAG=H;GID=29907;SID=119770;CRE=null;PLA=469112420;ADI=312106681;REF=life.younghouselove.com/;DOM=view.atdmt.com;PAT=/AVE/iview/469112420/direct;wi.300;hi.250/01/558339520;SEA=click=http://at.atwola.com/adlink/5113/3004662/0/170/AdId=5005791;BnId=1;itime=558339520;nodecode=yes;impref=1387558339555605865;link=

    Hope it helps!

    Reply

  38. Kelli says

    I love these! Every year, I make Shutterfly calendars for my immediate family and a couple of friends for Christmas. Then I hand write in messages, birthdays, anniversaries and ‘obscure holidays’ like “National Blueberry Day” or “Jump Roping Day” – totally random but kinda fun!

    Reply

  39. Tracy says

    I really like the larger template. I never wanted to print my own because I didn’t like the small size. This is just perfect…I can’t wait to create my own with pictures and quotes from my children. Thank you!

    Reply

  40. Heidi P. says

    Yay! I’ve been anxiously awaiting this :). But didn’t want to pressure you :).
    I don’t think I ever showed you the ones from this year! https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10101174574425409&set=a.10101174572673919.1073741829.17822366&type=1&theater
    https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10101174574420419&set=a.10101174572673919.1073741829.17822366&type=1&theater
    I’ve loved having it up in the kitchen! Thank you for sharing your cute templates with us!!

    Reply

  41. Kelly says

    Cute! Just wanted to let you know I got a “Pier 1” survey popup (Powered by Vizu) on the lower left of my screen today. Boo! I screen grabbed it if you need it.

    Reply

  42. Kathy says

    The “I can take a nap in my crib…or at Home Depot” quote literally made me spit coffee all over my work keyboard.

    I have a feeling that IT isn’t going to be too happy with me! :(

    Reply

  48. Ettie says

    Such a lovely calendar! Thanks for sharing, I think this will be the perfect gift for my parents. I usually make them a shutterfly calendar but kinda missed the boat this year (I ordered it but won’t arrive until Jan and their anniversary is next week whooops) so this will be perfect and I love how you can personalize it with funny quotes. Speaking of funniness, Clara is so precious! I think our daughters might be the same age? My little lady is 3.5 yrs old and says the most hilarious things!!! I started a little notebook and I try to make a point of emailing my parents/inlaws with updates on her quote of the day :)

    Reply

  49. kami says

    it doesn’t get any better than clara quotes over here. i sing, “bah bah blacksheep have you any chickens?” all the time and nobody gets it.

    Reply

  50. Danielle says

    Skipping is like your feet clapping! That is awesome! I love using the funny things my boys say in a yearly photo book. I give them as gifts to grandparents! So many funny memories! These are really cute!

    Reply

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