Up-to-Date Challenge 2021

[Carol Anne Wall]

So many neat calendars!  Life hit a major traffic jam for me this week, right after signing up.  I hope to catch up this coming week!

[Cassel]

Nathalie, that is a great idea to rotate the template! It might give me an idea for next year!

 

Raymond, I am happy to hear that you enjoyed the challenge, the process and the community. We are all here to help and support each other! I noticed that the pages for November and December have only one image in an oval shape. Did you notice that those were not the correct pages? Did you correct the dates? That was the zip file for the 2018 calendar. If you fixed the dates for 2021, and are happy with them, it is ok. If you prefer to use the actual 2021 year template, go back to the page and download the correct file (I had made a typo in the link but got it corrected after someone pointed out the discrepancy).

 

Sharon, those little details are adorable, and they make your pages so unique.

 

Minka, that is exactly the purpose of those challenges: to show you how to use your PSP tools to create more projects that you can customize and everyone answers the call by creating something unique to each interests, families, etc. And remember that you can always reuse the same templates more than once and re-customize them for a completely different result.

 

Ann S, in order to add shadows to the photos, you would have to merge the mask group so it would create an edge that can be then shadowed. Of course, it means that you won't be able to tweak the placement of the photos inside those mask groups, but when you are happy with the placement, merging the group is usually ok. Your choice of silhouettes for your pages makes such an impact!

 

Corrie, that will end up as a lovely calendar that will be wonderful to look at all year long!

 

Sue, those nature photos are so lovely. You know, some people pay for such beautiful calendars. Ever considered that? :)

 

Lynda, you did a fantastic job of making all the pages consistent together. It makes for a very unified look.

 

Monique, you still have time! The holidays are still 2 months away!

 

Carol Ann, it is never too late to start, and when you do, don't hesitate to post your pages in this thread.

 

 

[Ann Seeber]

Just finished (hopefully) my cover. I hope everyone changes the date to 2021 ;)

 

I knew I'd be tweaking and after consulting with the California crew, here's the final cover..

 

Print it, they said! ;)

[Jnet Allard]

I do not name everyone, it would take too long but I must tell you that it is nice to see everything that has been done since my last visit. Everything is fabulous!

 

Yes, Carole, I used the colors of the sunset.

 

Linda, your calendars are superb.

 

Natalie, nice idea to put the calendar in the other direction

 

Sue your background for October is beautiful, I really like

 

I managed to do my months of April, May, June and July here

[Cristina]

Beautiful work, EVERYONE! So many new ideas, creativity, and inspiration. It is always worth participating in any challenge. We learn a lot.

 

Here are the months of March and April... As Sue mentioned before, there will be some tweaking later.

 

Credits: Photos from Pixabay

 

March: photo by Alexas; April: photos by 5598375 (account inactive, maybe why there is not a name) and Corel-EasterChick3 clipart freebie

 

 

[Susan Caron]

Congratulations to everyone for such beautiful work!

 

I do not usually post, but I thought I would join this challenge and share.

 

I am still working on it, but here are the first four months. All photos are mine.

 

Sorry for the duplicate Januarey...I mistakenly hit it twice...:)

 

 

[Susan Caron]

Minka, I just saw your pages and I also am in Florida...you posted a pic of my favorite beach Stump Pass!

[Minka]

Hi Susan! Yea for us Floridians! I have yet to go to Stump Pass but it is very very close by. I am sitting in Cape Haze. I keep saying I am going there, but haven't as yet. The pictures I posted - one was a long shot of Venice Beach ... and the other was when my sister Linda and my friend Mary were here we paid the 6 bucks and rode across the bridge to Boca Grande. Loads of pretty white sand beaches here though. Do you look for shark teeth at Stump Pass? I heard they can be found there. The picture you included should be on one of your calendars! It's gorgeous with that sky!

[Gerry Landreth]

Carole - As mentioned earlier, this project will be a work in progress for a while. But, I wanted to thank you for this challenge. Each one is an adventure in learning, exploring, and growing. It's always great to see everyone's work, and particularly exciting when participants share tips and ideas.

[Susan Caron]

Yes, Stump Pass is my March picture. I live about 2 hrs away, but I love it there.  I have a friend who lives in Englewood and when I visit, we always go to the beach! I have found shark teeth and I make jewelry with them.

[Karon Dey]

Ann...You chose beautiful pictures to begin your project with. I can't wait to see them all. Lovely gradient to use with your pages. Oh Ann, what a beautiful baby. Awesome pictures. Great job on the calendar and what an idea to use silhouettes and clipart as additional designations. Adore the family pictures on your cover.

Sue...Fabulous way to add notes to your January page. Same for the February page. The photos of your daughter and the horses are priceless. The Coyote cover as is the farm equipment calendar page. Beautiful font for the month. Love your cover page. Reminds me of many an evening. October and November are great and I really like how you incorporated an additional photo. The triptych landscape is a great idea. And I appreciate the info on lightening the date boxes. I will have to go back and to that to some of mine before posting. April is a beautiful page. The gradient works so well with the photos. Both your June and October pages are lovely. It is a shame they don't like to write on them. One of the things I cherish is the calendars my mother made notes on and kept. I got them when she passed away and they were a treasure trove of information. May has turned out just a perfect as the previous pages. Thanks for the information on how you created your gradient.

Linda...Awesome bird pictures they are quite elegant. Can't wait to see the finished pictures. Love how you finished out January. So sorry to hear about your husband; hopefully by this time he is on he way to recovery.

Minka...Wonderful pages. The gradients are superb and the pictures are priceless. Looks like you live in a beautiful area. Really like how your used the space below the pictures for your quote and moving the month to the side. I am in awe of your March through June layouts. Perfect in everyway.

Alicia...You are some photographer. Lovely pictures and lovely pages. Like how you incorporated information about the pictures below them.

Jnet...Great calendar pages. Beautiful layout of the pictures and I like how you chose a gradient that works so well with the pictures. Wow, your March page is beautiful and colorful. Again another perfect gradient use.

Lynda...Love, love, love January page. Awesome font, excellent picture and the perfect gradient. Wow, you have been busy and I like that you chose to use the flowers of the months, birthstone and information.

Sharon...Interesting use of a circular gradient. That would never have crossed my mind. Lovely pages.

Gerry... Great idea on the inclusion of pictures of those having birthdays, etc. during the month. I can so relate with you on the snow. I pretty much grew up in the mid-west and having no snow in NW Florida is definitely striking. Have gotten use to it though (although when it does, everyone I work with calls me for a ride to work, LOL)

Marie-Claire... Lovely calendar pages and I am so in love with the star of them.

Raymond...A delightful calendar and nice job you did. Love Tattoo, reminds me of Cat (yes, I named our cat Cat; everyone else called him the Kitty Formerly Known as Prince).

Ann Adams...Great job on the pages and awesome pictures. I like how you chose to use different fonts for each month.

Corrie...Fantastic job on your calendar pages. Beautiful pictures.

Cristina...Oh My.. What wonderful pages. I wish I had thought to do something similar with my Lego people.

Susan...Awesome pages. I really like how you as incorporated a picture as a background in some of them. And like you I am also in Florida but further north.

[Sue Thomas]

Jnet, thank you for your kind comment on my background paper.  I used the photos to create the backgrounds. Starting with radial blur, from there it was  using other effects to achieve similar  patters throughout the months.

 

Cristina, your  pages are gorgeous, you always such  beautiful pages.

 

Carole, thank you very much for  your kind comment on my photos.  This calendar is for my daughter and  son in law.  They feature in  each month, so it's very personal to me.

[Sue Thomas]

Karon, thank you ever so much for your kind words on my pages.   As always, all comments are greatly appreciated, and mean a great deal to me.  With regards to the gradients.  I didn't use gradients this year to create the  backgrounds.  I used one of the photos displayed in the page, starting with  radial blur, and then  distortion effects, to achieve  a wavy effect, which is consistent throughout the months,  to depict the  skies,  sand and   water.  Settings and  effects varied,  depending on the  photo.

[Susan Caron]

Carole, I love that you have the Florida state of mind!  I miss the seasons, yes even the snow...

 

The pictures for January are from when I lived in Rhode Island. We are not staying in Florida forever, we are building a house in the north Georgia mountains...I will have seasons again although the snow will not be more than 3 or 4 inches at most and only last a short time.

 

 

[Sue Thomas]

These are the last pages.  I dare say I'll be  tweaking them before printing.  Tom made some Tit houses, and sent me a photo of them. The  tit in the main image is a Great Tit, the  one I extracted is a Blue Tit.  Thank you ever so much Carole for the challenge.  I've enjoyed the different layouts.  Now I will have to take photos  with these  layouts in mind. Again, thank you!  I hope everyone has enjoyed  the views of the West Wales  coast  and countryside.

[Raymond Easley]

Carole, thank you for pointing out the template for December was the wrong year. I changed the one for December but kept the older one for November. I used a photo with the dates and moved the opacity down a little for the photo. Three of the photos are from Studio Backlot and the fireplace is our home. I finally learned by trial and error how to outline the text by increasing the value of  "stroke". I am still having problems figuring out to use the Foreground or Background for Color plus Gradient??

[Karon Dey]

Okay, little late posting although I have been working on them daily.

 

January includes a pic of Cat. I was wishy washy on this because my DH loved Cat and he can get rather surly when he is brought up. We lost Cat (Kfcap...Kitten formerly known as Prince) at the start of the pandemic. I have pretty much stuck with Kimeric Kreations kits for the backgrounds (with a gradient overlay) and additions. I chose Bondoni MT Poster Condensed for the info in the date boxes and Wild Creatures for the months.

[Karon Dey]

While they may not see to go with the month, all of the pictures included each month were taken during that month. Also I neglected to mention that the note paper I used on January (and you will see on various other months) is from one of Cassel's paper patterns with the notebook edges from lab 8 module 12. I did take Sue's advise and changed the background on the boxes which included birthday, anniversaries; but I didn't do it for all the boxes.

[Karon Dey]

Sue...Thank you for the information. It is always appreciated and I do try to incorporate it into some of my work. Always wanting to learn new ways.

 

Susan...If not to bold, can I ask where in the Georgia mountains? My granddaughter lives in Silva, NC and daughter in Clayton, GA.

 

Raymond...Very interesting technique used for your December page.

[Karon Dey]

Already up to March. My DH's favorite month. He is half Irish, half Scotch. The girl is our "adopted" daughter Meg. We have known her for 5-6 years and she comes over on Halloweens and Christmas' to help decorate. Again I used Cassel's paper pattern to make note paper but used the color changer pen to give it a slight green tint.

[Karon Dey]

With the pages, within reason, I have tried to stick with the birthstone colors for the pages. April is diamond, whoa. Instead I chose to go with the April Fool's palette. And yes, that one pic has my daughter born the day after St. Pattie's. She would have been born on the 17th if she hadn't been so stubborn, LOL. The flowers aren't really flowers but grape leaves just coming out. My sister has a small vineyard and gets the most beautiful grapes.

[Karon Dey]

Most of the pictures I used are from 2019 or 2018. Needless to say 2020 didn't give much in the way of taking pictures. And while we live in a beautiful beach community, the beaches were closed down. So we spent a lot of time at home. I can at least look back to the year before with dates at the theater and WOB. May's birthstone is emerald, so I tried to stick with green.

[Karon Dey]

June's birthstone is pearl but I chose to go with the alternate Alexandrite for the color; light purple. One of the places we like to eat, World of Beer, has the most unique cobb salad. When you touch it, it unfolds like a flower. Wish I had gotten an after shot. At Escapeology, all I had to do was stand back and drink wine, while Pan and Bryce figured out the clues. Okay that is just a prop; We did fairly well together with Bryce being the one to figure it out most of the time.

[Lynda DiGregor]

Karon, You are a super woman..  You have been paying attention to everyone and have given us all some great feedback. I couldn't do that as it's  very time consuming and  I wouldn't be able to keep everyone straight. Great job!

 

Thankyou

[Susan Caron]

Carole, we are very near to Dahlonega, GA. Close to both the NC, SC, and TN