Made and Found: Calendars!

It's the start of a new year, and that means it's time to pick out a new calendar (if you haven't already done so). On the plus side, some places might start discounting calendars soon. I've found some great letterpress options to get you started. Ready, set, go!

lovely linnea

I discovered these calendars at Atticus, which is a local shop for local people. And when I say discovered, I mean that I stumbled upon them in December 2010. You see, the Linnea Design calendar has been around since 1987, and they're based in Seattle, so it's not like I trekked into the heart of darkness to find them. Still, I'm utterly charmed by Johanna Riley's artwork, and I've started a yearly tradition of indulging in a little desktop calendar of delight. 

Here are a few charmers from last year's edition:

And here are several from this year's edition:

I especially love all the colorful pencils. 

The tradition is currently in its second year. You can call it a tradition after two years, right? What a silly question. That's like asking yourself if 10:30 in the morning to too early to eat a bowl of delicious pea soup.
(Of course, the answer is: there's no such thing as too early.)

Lucky for me, you, and everyone else, the calendars are still available online through Linnea. Find them here.

design love

Just in time for the New Year, the ladies and gents at Love vs. Design have bestowed upon us a swell gift in the form of a free downloadable calendar. And it's not just any calendar, it's a sharp, vibrant, cool calendar. So if you received a "nuns behaving badly" or "lighthouses of Maine" calendar for Christmas, you can now consider yourself upgraded.

So pretty! And Love vs. Design sure wasn't stingy with the color options: there are five palettes to choose from. I think I like the khaki and yellow one best...how about you? Mosey on over here to adore, covet, and then download.

But wait. What's this? 

Surprise! Love vs. Design offers a free weekly download as part of their Printable Templates Tuesday series. For other stellar printables, like these uber-sweet library cards, go here. And make sure to keep checking in with the good folks at Love vs. Design, at least every Tuesday, people. Like clockwork.

images by Love vs. Design

Heavens Sake!

Okay so it's quickly reaching the middle of February and I am still calendering. I am just taking a quick break from May, which I'll tell you I am not doing this thing in sequential order so don't think you know where I am at status wise. But I am currently working on May, that's right Catherine your month. I will try not to make it the worst month, but I can't make any promises this thing is pretty unpredictable.

I know I have made a reference to calendering in the past but don't know if I have explained this new phenomenon. Well calendering is when a week before Second Christmas you start a project and have every intention to get it done in time for the present celebration. This naturally doesn't work out when you impulsively select a time consuming lengthy project like making a calender. Obviously if you rush through it and it is terrible that is something that will inevitably haunt you for a full calender year. So I need it to be good, and I need it to be done so I am not the lame ass that gives someone a calender in June. 

So to sum it up, calendering is painstakingly working on a calender that is past due and knowing that every day, every week, and (especially) every month that goes by without the gift being given the stakes get higher and the calender must be better.

Secrets.

But the initial reason for this post was to take a break from the above and share my Beauty and the Beast picture. This is Mrs. Potts and Chip, hidden somewhere in the Disneyland landscape.... To Be Continued.