Stay Up-to-Date in 2022 With These Custom Photo Calendar Ideas

Photo Courtesy: Mixbook Inspiration/Mixbook

If you haven’t done so already, it’s time to update last year’s custom photo calendar. After all, it’s just another way to show some excitement for the end of 2021. In addition to providing a fresh start, a new calendar can keep you organized; serve as a great, personalized decoration; or make a fun gift for family and friends. Best of all, whether you’re using a service or embarking on a DIY adventure, custom photo calendars are incredibly easy to make. Here’s everything you need to know!

Top Paid Photo Calendar Services

These days, there are plenty of great custom photo calendar services that make creating your project as easy as choosing the photos you’d like to include. If this sounds like a great deal to you, then check out some of the internet’s top-rated custom calendar printing services — and leave your printer troubles behind.

Photo Courtesy: Mixbook Inspiration/Mixbook

Here are our favorites:

  • Mixbook: If you don’t know about Mixbook yet, then prepare to be delighted. The site offers over 115 different calendar templates that you can customize with their easy-to-use calendar creator. Long story short, Mixbook is a great choice for high-quality calendars — and it goes hand-in-hand with a 100% satisfaction guarantee.
  • Shutterfly: Shutterfly offers a little bit of everything, from cards and prints to wall decor. Their calendar selection is just as impressive and offers you the chance to make wall, easel and desk calendars. With plenty of different templates to choose from, they’ll help you create the perfect gift for your loved one.
  • Vistaprint: You may know Vistaprint as a one-stop shop for creating pretty much any promotional product ever. But it turns out that they offer more than just killer business cards, banners and stationery. They’ll also print your custom photo calendar, complete with a chosen theme and any sort of business logo you desire.
  • Walmart: If you’re a last-minute shopper who isn’t willing to take any chances on shipping, Walmart Photo Center has you covered. Walmart actually offers an impressive variety of custom photo calendar options that you can create online and then pick up from your local store the same day. Convenient!

How to Make Your Own Photo Calendar

If you’ve already got your own paper and a trusty at-home printer, you can opt for a DIY photo calendar thanks to free-to-use programs like Microsoft Word and Canva.

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Photo Courtesy: Vaclav Krejci/YouTube

How To Make a Calendar in Word:

  • Just choose one of their templates and open it in Word on your desktop. You can also access the templates if you’re already in Word by selecting File>New>More Templates>Explore All Templates>Calendars.
  • Once you’re in the calendar section, choose a template, such as Photo Calendar, that will allow you to use your own photos. When you pull the calendar up, it will have a stock photo at the top of each month that you can replace with your own.
  • To input your own pictures, click the photo you want to replace and then hit Insert>Picture. Choose the source you want to upload your photo from and select the picture you want. When done correctly, it will appear at the top of the selected month.

Make a DIY Calendar with Canva:

  • Another great option for making your own photo calendar is a website called Canva. It allows you to customize your own calendar online without having to download any software. The one thing to keep in mind with this site is that you’ll want to double-check the template you choose, as some of them might feature old dates.
  • That said, even if you really love a photo calendar template from 2017, you can still use it with a few quick edits — just click the year at the top and adjust it. Simple, right? You’ll also want to make sure you rearrange the dates so that they’re correct for your year of choice. To do this, simply click and drag the date to the correct day.
  • As for the photos, you’ll be able to upload them from your device, social media profile, or drive by clicking the “Upload” button. From there, drag and drop each photo as you see fit. When you’re finished, simply download your calendar from the site.

Tips and Tricks for Making a DIY Calendar

Whether you plan to order a calendar from a printing service or create your own at home, there are some helpful tips and tricks you should keep in mind in order to ensure a higher standard of quality.

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Photo Courtesy: Brown Paper Fox/YouTube

First, you’ll want to check for a high-quality photo resolution. This one can be a bit tricky, as it depends on what size calendar you’re creating. As a general rule, the bigger the photo you plan to have printed, the higher the resolution you’ll want it to be. If you’re using a printing service, be sure to check in with them before you place your order. Printing at home? Check out this handy guide to image resolutions to get an idea of what size you should aim for. To resize your photos, you can use free online photo editing tools like Fotor or Canva.

It’s also important to be choosy when it comes to selecting photographs. That might sound obvious, but, depending upon who your calendar’s for, that selection will likely change. After all, a picture says a thousand words. And keep in mind: Each photo will be displayed on your giftee’s wall for a full month, so, when in doubt, be sure to pick the most flattering images!

Last but not least, if you print your own calendar from home, don’t forget to give some thought to the binding. The easiest way might be to fold the pages down the middle and staple them, but there are some more aesthetically pleasing options too. For example, using a three-hole punch and some crafty ribbon or binder rings adds an extra layer of professionalism to the project. Don’t be afraid to explore different options — and always let your creativity shine!

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