Sharla

July is Roses and August is Thistle.

It has been a fun challenge. Many of my photos were horizontal but just didn't work in the masks - they just looked wrong and boring so I had to be creative with how I used them which is a good thing.

I'd not heard of the Morgue File so thanks for mentioning them - I will go explore when I have some time.

I would have really liked this one if I hadn't seen the other one first. I think the one with people in it is joyful and that gives it an edge over this one.

Donna, I don't think your backgrounds are fussy. To me they are vibrant and they fit your theme really well - I like them just as they are.

It was the first one I'd seen in years so I was over the moon especially when the bird stayed still long enough for me to get a few photos.

May is a peony in full bloom. June, lilies in the sun.

It’s been great doing this workshop with you all because we do have different styles and approaches and they are great to see and learn from. I love the differences. I never use masks in layouts so this calendar workshop has been a challenge for me. More than half of the photos I thought I’d use simply didn’t work with the masks and some of the ones I have used looked awful at their original size hence I’ve enlarged many of them so that some detail emerges. It’s been interesting having to do this because it’s not what I’d usually do. I'll persevere to the end but I am still a reluctant mask user!

Week 43 On a day out in Dumfries I was lucky to photograph a cormorant drying his wings.

That is a great photo of tulips. I like everything about your layout - it looks great.

March is blossom and April is bluebells.

I love how cheerful and fun this is. Also really like the Tolkien quote.

Sue, another beautiful and peaceful photo. Wonderful - we are fortunate that you share these images with us. Thank you.

Often the best way! I always think its fun to see what emerges when we're just creating.

And for February I have used a photo of some winter aconite photographed on a cold February day in a churchyard.

I’m using photos I’ve taken of flowers and plants. The dates have been created using Caroles Custom Calendar script – I’d already produced a calendar using these for 2025 so I saved a set as png files and am reusing them in this workshop. I have changed the colour of the days and will colour bank holiday dates blue. The month font is Century Schoolbook, Gautami for the dates. January: The photo is of frost on a small conifer in my garden taken in January of this year. The background layer is a colour from the photo with a very light watercolour texture applied.

I’m loving looking at all the wonderful calendar pages being produced – they are truly beautiful and imaginative. Hopefully I’ll get my first two pages posted later today.

Yep in Northumberland which is just south of Scotland.

Week 42 The starling and the sheep. We were visiting Corbridge Roman town and in the field alongside the site were some sheep and a few jackdaws. Then this solitary starling landed on one of the sheep and stayed for a few minutes. I love the way they both look quite regal.

Week 41 A rainbow and the sun catching a little autumn colour,. The jackdaw flying by was a pleasant addition to the photo.

Week 40 This is a photo of an installation called ‘Stars for Eternity’ inside Hexham Abbey. There are 6,000 paper origami stars made by local people and suspended in the chancel.

A delightful and restful photo - I could look at it for hours.

Oops... thought I’d posted this but hadn’t. Week 39 I wanted to photograph a rather majestic tree but this bull settled himself in my shot and wouldn’t move so I photographed him instead.

Not the sort of layout I usually do but the colour was dictated by my photo of some pink roses.

Week 38 This is a close up a Chrysanthemum bought as a houseplant. I just love the delicate colouring to the petal edges.