Cards and Gift Packaging Using Calendar Pages

I have been collecting my used Lang Coffee Calendars by Lisa Kaus for years! I just can't bring myself to throw them away. I have used them before for several flipbooks, but otherwise they have sat idle in my craft room waiting to be brought back to life!

While I was cleaning out my papers a few weeks ago, I came across the stack of calendars dating back to 2011 and decided I had to put them to use! I love the artwork so much and have framed a few over the years, but I wanted to do something different. I decided to see if I could make some cards. That then led to a notepad cover, gift packaging and bookmarks! The possibilities are endless!

To make a card, I took a piece of clear plastic (window sheet material, heavyweight cellophane bag, etc.) cut to about 4 x 6 and placed it on various areas of the calendar page. When I found an area that would make a good card, I marked it and cut it out. From there, I found cardstock to coordinate with the prints, trimmed down the image where needed, and made a card! I even used scraps to stamp the greetings on.

 After I made the cards, I went on to gift packaging. I had this plain kraft gable box that I hadn't used in years and started finding pieces to cover it.  I cut out the letters for "coffee" to add to the top and other words for the front of the box. I plan to put packages of coffee or K-cups inside.

Then I took one of my fold top kraft bags and decorated it. I cut out the coffee cup image and then hand cut the J, A, V and A to add on top of the image. I wrapped some twine around the bag and added a small corrugated tag to complete the bag!

I also made a notepad cover. (I am not including directions because there are a lot out there already.) I stamped on the front and made a small pocket for the inside. I covered the white part of the notepad with another piece of the calendar page. You can cut and piece and decorate to your heart's content! 

This is what the notepade looks like open, from the back.

I also made a matching bookmark. I just glued a piece of the calendar onto a tag I cut from kraft cardstock. 

As you can tell, this can become addictive! I spent an entire weekend creating cards and projects and I still have plenty of calendar pages left! It is a really fun project. Don't throw this year's calendar away! Put it to good use and see what you can create!