A3 Calendar Layout Ideas

Posted on 17th October 2024 by Papermill Direct
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Have you tried our Create-a-Calendar yet?
These calendars are a wonderful way to give a creative gift! Make them up for someone or gift them blank for the receiver to decorate at their leisure!
Available as A3, A4, Slimline or Desk Calendars!

We've put together some simple plans to get you started with decorating your calendars.

These layouts contain the measurements in Millimetres so you know exactly what size to cut your card to. Where you add your stamps, stickers, and extra embellishments is up to you but sometimes a little direction is all you need to get those creative ideas flowing!

These layouts can be reused for Scrap Books or junk journals but you may need to resize the card depending on the size of medium you use. We've also added helpful hints and tips for creating intriguing and eye-catching calendar pages which you can use whilst scrapbooking or junk journalling too!

A3 Create-A-Calendar

A3 Calendar 420mm x 297mm
A3 Blank Space: 292mm x 190mm (11.5" x 7.5”)

Starting out you will want to pick which pictures or stamps you want to be the center focus of the page. As it's a calendar, many people tend to use photos taken in the month they're decorating or a stamp that compliments the holidays in that month. You might want to plan a theme for each month or a colour that compliments your photos.

What you'll need before getting started:

Coloured Card Stock! - Lots of lovely different shades and sizes! You won't need any card larger than A5 as the blank space for the A4 calendar is 203mm x 127mm (8” x 5”) but you will need plenty of Offcuts! We do a selection of different Offcut Boxes which would help you to decorate your calendar, or if you're gifting a blank calendar why not pair it with an offcut box and an adhesive like our Double sided tape to create a gorgeous gift!

Double-Sided Tape - Our double-sided tape or glue dots work nicely when adding photos and cards. You can use glue but the tape/glue dots have a shorter drying time which means less waiting around when you're in that creative streak.

Card Trimmer - A proper card trimmer will give you those straight crisp cut lines and will help with getting the sizes of your card perfect. You can use scissors or a cutting knife if you haven't got a card trimmer though.

What we recommend adding (but you don't have to!)

Photos - The most common Calendar design we see from our customers is one filled with happy loving faces of their families! Our Calendars can work just like a scrapbook except every month one of your wonderful pages will be on display so everyone can marvel and compliment you on your creative talent! I like to use the app FreePrints which allows you so many free photos printed each month and all you pay for is the postage to have them delivered to you!

Stamps or Stickers - You could focus your entire calendar page around any special stamps you have or you could use them as an addition to your photos to fill in the pages and add intrigue.

Dies & Die Cutting Machine - Letters and number dies would be a great way to add titles to your calendar page or use circle dies for backing cards and cropping images where the background may not be necessary

Memorabilia - Don't limit yourself to just photos! If you keep receipts, packaging, or odd little things from your days out then why not add those as decorations to your calendars?

Add drawings & free-hand patterns - Even if they're not perfect or you don't love them at first site adding your own little doodles or patterns will add a level of intimacy to your calendar and uniqueness that no one else can replicate

We make our Create-a-Calendars with 250gsm card so they will take a small amount of paint without warping the page or going through but we always advise adding an extra sheet of card underneath the calendar page just to be safe!

If you keep a camera or your phone handy whilst making the layout then take reference photos, this can save you time if you're making multiple calendars or are a great way to try out multiple layouts before sticking anything to the calendar.

Use C7 Envelopes to add secret notes to your calendar!
Our C7 envelopes measure 82mm x 113mm so can fit into an A3 calendar blank space while there is still a good amount of space for adding photos, stamps, and other decorations.
If you're gifting the calendar, add this to the month of the recipient's birthday with a cheeky Birthday note.

What do we think of Washi Tape?
It's a great way to add a little interest to a page and can come in a variety of colours and patterns.

Try adding the same photo but have one in full colour and the other in Black and white or sepia. Place the colour photo behind then layer the black & white or sepia photo over this. The colour photo will draw the eye and act as an interesting background for the second photo.