New Year Gifts

So I had a stressful, busy December and I didn't get gifts done for my close friends.  I have just a few I like to do gifts for, but it was still a few too many to fit into the end of the year.   Instead I decided to do "New Year Gifts."   Mostly because I saw an adorable free printable calendar from Skip To My Lou that looked perfect to gift.   At first I just printed out four sets and got them trimmed and cut.  That lovely stack of calendars inspired me to create this:

A stack of calendar hangers!  

You'll need a 1x6 board, small cup hooks, and sawtooth hangers to make your own.

These were really easy to make.  I cut a 1x6 into 12 inch pieces.   I have a miter saw, but it's a narrow board so a circular saw or even a hand saw would work fine.    I sanded, stained, and polyurethaned the boards doing all the proper steps the experts recommend (ok, so I skipped a step or two, but they still came out fine.)  I thought stained wood worked best with this calendar, but paint would be pretty too.

The calendars are hanging from a simple hole I punched with a standard office supply hole punch.  Make sure you don't punch farther than 3/8" from the top edge so they fit in the hook.  It's easiest if you mark and punch the first calendar page and then mark all the others from that one.  Just lay it exactly over the other sheets one at a time and trace the inside of the punched hole.    Punch that pencil circle out on each sheet.  They should all be lined up perfectly.

To place the cup hook, measure down 1" plus the distance the hole is from the top edge of the paper.   Mine was 2.5" over and 1.25" down.   If you have a hard time getting the cup hooks into the wood, you can pre-drill holes with a very fine drill bit.  check your cup hook packaging to find the right size.

To hang them on the wall, I put sawtooth hangers on the back 1" down.

This was a super fun project and it only cost me a few cents for paper and ink because I already had all the supplies for the hanger boards on hand.  Shockingly, I even had the sawtooth hangers.   I would say that cutting, sanding, staining, etc. all together took maybe an hour for all four boards.  It's a super quick project and I can't wait to give them to my friends.

(PS.  I've joined a link party at Remodelaholic to show off my calendars.)