Free May Calendar and Desktop

Dang! I guess I wasn't paying attention, because Wednesday night I suddenly realized it was time for a new calendar and I didn't have time to get to it until Thursday night. So I'm a day late. I hope that didn't throw anyone off!

I may have missed May Day, but today is pretty important, too. My parents were married fifty years ago today. Yes, FIFTY! 

So...Happy Anniversary Mom & Dad! 

Now, back to the task at hand.... Just click on the calendar above to save it to your iWhatever or other device. If you need more detailed instructions, click here.

If you would like a calendar on your computer desktop, I've got one of those, too. My own desktop is pretty much covered with icons--mine on one side, Andy's on one side, the boys' along the bottom--so I put a small version of the calendar in the middle of a very simple background. Like this:

And last, but not least, if you would like to make your own calendar, feel free to use my days and dates:

Ok--I have forty-eleven things (our middle school/jr high band director used to say that all the time!) on my list for today, including de-skunking a dog, so I am outta here!

Thanks for stopping by!

Free April Desktop and iWhatever Calendar

IT'S NEW CALENDAR DAY! IT'S NEW CALENDAR DAY! 

YIPPEEEE!!!

*April 10--Here is the link to the Linky Party I talk about a few lines down.*

No, this is not an April Fools' joke. It really is free! The one above is great for the lock screen on your phone or iWhatever. 

And if it is too busy for your computer desktop, I also have a version that leaves space around the edges for your desktop icons:

The strings of jewels make me think of April showers, and I just love the vintage style illustrations from Crafty Secrets.  The adorable little Easter chick is from this Spring Printable and the flowers are from this Flowers Printable. 

This calendar is going to the Crafty Secrets Linky Party at the Heartwarming Vintage Blog next week. I'll come back and add a link as soon as the ladies there get it set up.

If you need a little reminder to save the calendar to your device, follow this link. And if you'd like to make your own calendar, feel free to use my days and dates:

Andy and I have spent a lot of time away from home in the last few months (Thank goodness! It was really cold here!) but I think we are here to stay for a while now. I have tons of projects to get caught up and some weddings to prepare for, so I kind of need to stay around for a while!

Thanks for stopping by!

Tiny Houses

My friend Jackie at Smooth Pebble Studio was feeling a bit hemmed in by winter recently and decided to host a party. And by party I mean a swap. Since the only swaps I've ever participated in are those that we have for Christmas cards and Valentines at our monthly Stampin' Up! gatherings, I decided it was about time I give it a go. So along with several other crafters, I accepted Jackie's challenge and started thinking about Tiny Houses. Jackie gathered everyone's contact information and assigned partners. I don't know who is sending Tiny Houses to me, but I sent mine to Emily at Mousy Brown's House. And what, pray tell, did I send? I am so glad you asked! 

This mini album is six inches wide and about eight inches tall. I chose this paper for the front and back cover because it gives a bit of an English cottage feel. Emily lives "across the pond" and has taken some beautiful photos of flowers, so that just felt right. Inside the covers are four pages, each a house with a different roofline. Here are a couple:

These tags and journaling cards slip into the side of each of the houses. 

And here is the back cover....

 

I hope Emily will be able to find a good use for it. I have enough of these papers to make a similar mini album to put in my Etsy shop (when I finally get it back up and running!) so I've added it to my to do list.

It's time for another Linky Party at Heartwarming Vintage and I'm heading there right now to add a couple of my pieces.

Thanks for stopping by today! See you next time!

Free March iWhatever Calendar and Desktop Background

Is your phone ready for a new calendar? Mine is! 

Hopefully you know the drill by now, but just in case there's someone new out there....
Click here if you need help saving this to your iWhatever, and here if you want to see how to design your own calendar. I will add a plain calendar--just the days and dates--at the bottom that you can use if you like.

Here is a calmer version that will work nicely for your computer desktop. There's lots of open space around the edges for all those icons that seem to keep piling up!

And here is the plain March calendar. Feel free to load and use any of these!

That's it for now! I shouldn't be gone so long next time ;)  Thanks for stopping by! 

Free February Calendar and Desktop

***Edited March 9, 2014***
***Welcome to anyone visiting from the Heartwarming Vintage Linky Party! I know there was a problem with the link, so I'm glad you were able to find the right page!  Each month I make a calendar to use as the lockscreen on your phone or other device, and in February I used a tag from a Crafty Secrets Valentine kit. I know it is now March, but I missed February's linky and I really wanted to share! Since the link doesn't work properly, I will try to use some Crafty Secrets digis in my April calendar and link again.
Please feel free to come back at the first of each month for a new calendar!***

 It's time to update your iWhatever with a new calendar! 

I know some of you with iPhones or iPads have had trouble with this since the update to iOS7. My iPad is too full to do the upgrade (shocking, right?!) so I haven't been able to figure out a way around it. I'm not so sure I'd update even if I had the space. While I like some of the new features in iOS7, I DO NOT like it visually. I have 49 year old eyes that don't see the stick-figure-ish line drawings very well. And I absolutely DESPISE the stark white background in the photo albums, but I'm sure millions of minimalists are thrilled with the new look. *insert BIG eyeroll here* Hey, Apple! What were you thinking?! But I digress.... 

I recently broke down and bought an iPhone, so I have been able to experiment and figure out how to make my calendars work!

Here is the calendar you can use if you have a device that does not use iOS7:

And here is the calendar you can use for your desktop or your iWhatever that does have iOS7:

I used Coolibah to make these, as usual. The little angel in the middle of the roses is an image from a Crafty Secrets Valentine kit that I got about this time last year. She started out as a tag, but with a little cropping she looks more like a postcard. 

Now, here is how you make my calendar work in a device with iOS7: 

Save the desktop calendar to your Photos just like you always have--tap on the picture and when a bigger image opens, choose Save Image to send it to your Photos.

 I took screenshots from my phone for the next few steps, because I think it's easier to follow along when you can SEE what I'm doing. (And it makes me feel like a little bit of a Geek Goddess! Heehee....)

Go to your Photos and tap the calendar picture, then tap the box in the lower left corner to bring up a list of options.

Tap on Use as Wallpaper. (See what I mean about stick-figure-ish line drawings? ugh!)

You will only be able to see the edge of the photo, and while you can't shrink it...

...you CAN move it around and stretch it to fill the screen. Once you have it the way you want it, tap on Set.

Now choose where you want it. I put mine on the Lock Screen...

...so it shows up with one click of the Home Button and it doesn't interfere with the icons on the Home Screen.

Alrighty! Got it? Great!

Now, just in case you aren't crazy about my design and would like to make your own, here is the February calendar I made:

Phew! That got kind of lengthy! But hopefully we now have a way to work around an issue.

I would love to know if my tutelage helped anyone, so please leave a message. And if you have another problem with the calendar let me know and I'll see what I can do to help you fix it.

Thanks for stopping by! 

Happy Anniversary!

My husband and I recently celebrated our 29th anniversary! We don't normally exchange gifts, but I did not even make him a card! Well, not until tonight....

It's time for another Linky Party over at the Heartwarming Vintage blog, so I got into some of the goodies Sandy sent me a few weeks ago. I picked out an image from "Romance," which is a digital printable. These are so easy to use! You just order the item you want and the ladies at Crafty Secrets send you a link to it. Follow the link, save it to your computer or Dropbox, and it's there for you to print whenever you want. 

Are you intrigued? Sandy and the ladies on the design team have tutorials that walk you through the whole process. You can start small and experiment. If you like the way it works you can always get more.  ;)

Ok--so back to the card!

I printed the image I wanted to use ("In Loving You...") and a couple of other images to use as backgrounds. The paper with the handwriting and leaves is one that I have used like crazy! It's on cards, clothespins, and calendars! I also embossed a piece of vellum and inked the edges of all the layers.

Then I started stacking. The hardest part was deciding which heart charm I wanted to use. Here are a few that I have to choose from....

If I find jewelry really cheap--I mean reasonably priced--I'll snatch it up and take it apart to use on cards or mini albums, so I have a few charms.

I put just a dot of adhesive on the back of the heart. It's pretty heavy and I wouldn't want it to fall off.

See? It's THAT simple! It has taken me longer to write this than it did to put the card together! And that's not good--I'm about to run out of time for the Linky Party. Hop on over and check it out!

Thanks for stopping by!

January 2014 Calendar and Desktop

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Your new calendar is ready and waiting for you to click and download!

Of course there is a desktop version, so you can see all those unused icons that you never get around to deleting. ;)

I'm sure you know the drill by now, but just in case, this post gives a quick how-to. I did that almost two years ago, and Apple has changed their operating system, but I'm pretty sure everything is basically the same. And this post tells how to make your own calendar using Coolibah. I've included a plain calendar--just the days and dates--in case you want to give that a try.

Ok. I think you're good to go! Have a fantastic 2014! 

Thanks for stopping by!