fun uses for old calendars

I hope you all had a lovely holiday weekend. As 2011 comes to a close, it is likely you have an old calendar or two kicking around probably filled with beautiful illustrations. Here are a couple ways to re-use them in the year ahead.

1. Gift cards. This year I made salt scrub for a girlfriend gift. I use 2 cups Epsom salt, scant 1 cup extra light olive oil, several drops of lavender oil and some bits of lavender blossom. Some people use food coloring, but I don't think you need it. Anyway, back to the gift cards. I packaged the scrub this year with a month from my 2011 calendar. On the back of each month, I wrote little notes about things that happened to the person receiving the gift during that month of the year, as well as the ingredients for the salt scrub. It was fun to think about all the things that had happened in my friend's lives throughout 2011 and it was a great way to re-use my calendar which was just too pretty to throw in with the mixed paper for recycling. Here are some pictures.

2. Gift wrap. Another way to re-use calendars is to wrap gifts in them. Simple and lovely and they can be used again and again...

photos via tidbits