Press Printed Calendars are the classic end of year or New Year gift. It’s such a personal way to connect with friends and loved ones throughout the year ahead! What’s great about a calendar gift is there are no rules to calendar creation. It can be anything you want it to be! One image or 12, epic photos or snapshots, for the wall or in your pocketbook… available in lots of paper choices…the options are exciting!
I love the fact that the theme or topic for your calendar images can really be ANYTHING you like, from phone snaps of the kids and dogs for the distant relatives and grandparents, to your most epic work — like the International Competition images you submitted for the World Cup or your Fine Art Gallery exhibit last fall! Base the theme on the recipient and express yourself however you want! WHEEEE!! Let the creativity begin.
With regard to format, if you only have one picture that strikes your fancy, the calendar can feature just ONE killer image with all the months below! There are actually 8 different Annual Calendar formats: Check it out!
I personally like the theme idea with 12 or more, though, since I love collections of images. And most calendars offer 12 months plus a front and back cover, so 14 is my goal. Last year we gave out MANY of the custom Bubble Trailer Light Tour Calendars, which captured 13 of the most epic scenes from the Tour, featuring Ms. Bubble Trailer, of course (she was our traveling model)! Check out the gallery here. I chose the Monthly Calendar Style CM20 which has pastel earth tone pages and folded/stapled instead of a spiral binding. They were beautiful!
Another Calendar format I love is the Yearly Planner. It’s desk or pocket-sized (5x5, 8x8, 8.5x5.5, or 8.5x11). Spiral bound and very affordable! Here is my latest one — a gift to my girlfriends titled “BLOOMING WITH HOPE”. As a total flower freak, I gathered a lot of my single flowers and added a little inspirational phrase along with a painting effect on a few of them. (These also make great coasters!)
Calendars are the always-appreciated gift, as a renewed need happens every January 1st. And Bay Photo's monthly Calendars can start on any month, so it’s always great timing for those of us who were too busy with holiday orders to get all our OWN creative plans finished in time for Christmas.
So, HAPPY NEW YEAR to all of you creatives and image makers — January is here and it’s TIME to make a calendar! Pick a format, drag and drop, and voila!
Bay Photo: making our days brighter with color, printing and the spirit of excellence!
Suzette Allen, Lumix Ambassador, Bay Photo Ambassador and Adobe Influencer, is a long- time Photoshop instructor and Hybrid pioneer who continues to reinvent herself to stay current with the changing landscape of photography. Majoring on creativity and innovation, as well as embracing technology, has become a hallmark of her style and a continual driving force toward sharing her creativity with the world. She passionately creates and shares her vision, as a Photographer and Educator, since she loves to TEACH creativity as much as she loves people and photographic art!
Follow Suzette’s journey of creativity: