Don't Panic Mr. Mainwaring!

I always like to have a desk calendar at work and have made myself one in the past, but last year I bought one and intended to do the same this year. Unfortunately I never saw one I liked, so a couple of days ago I (somewhat belatedly) decided to make myself one.

I suddenly had a brainwave for a calendar theme (based on recently bought stash) that I thought would not only be funky, fashionable and very suitable for office life, but would also be particularly apt for this year of celebrating various British events such as the London Olympics and the Diamond Jubilee. I even imagined making calendars as li'l belated new year gifts for my team mates in the office ... I was really enthusiastic about the whole thing!

There was a problem though ... all my local stockists seemed to have run out of small calendar tabs, and all the online suppliers were also either out of stock or charging thrice for postage what the actual calendars cost (Anita's - £1 for a pack of ten!).  In desperation I sent out an online call to some bloggy buds to see if anyone had any leftovers (just for me, not all my workmates, I hasten to add!) , and the lovely Helen stepped straight up to the mark and offered to post me one ... thanks so much hun!!

If Helen is reading this now she is probably quite confused as there is no way her li'l calendar could have arrived with me yet ... well it's like this. I went for a little jaunt yesterday afternoon (Saturday) to a craft shop a few miles away ... and lo and behold they had a few individual calendar tabs hiding near the till! They're not actually as nice as the Anita's ones so I am waiting patiently for my promised one to arrive to use on my own calendar, but I was able to buy enough to make up six calendars for my work teamies ... they all look something like these!!

Although I say so myself  I'm quite chuffed with these. The idea came from seeing a card of Squirrel's earlier in the week which alerted me to the existence of the "Keep Calm And ..." set of sentiments from Personal Impressions (I just HAD to have them immediately!) ; and I soon made the mental connection with the "Portobello Road" paper pad I had bought last week in case of Olympic / Jubilee challenges. I had been wondering what to do with the funky Union Jack papers though ... well suddenly it was obvious to me! I really like this kinda retro look and Second World War sayings (with a bit of artistic licence lol!)  :-)

Most of my workmates are big tea drinkers, so 4 out of the 6 calendars follow that theme. The other 2 non-tea drinkers are getting "Drink Wine" calendars ... I really hope they a e going to like them!

Stamps: Personal Impressions "Keep Calm And" set;

Papers: Papermania "Portobello Road";

Tools: Martha Stewart "Iron Gate" punch.

Challenges:

Allsorts #137 - Celebration of Nations

Stamp With Fun #143 - Calendar 

Pollycraft Monday #122 - Anything But A Card

Hotshot Crafts #2 - Easel Card

Divas By Design #18 - New Beginnings

Ooh-La-La #96 - New Beginnings

Sparkles #28 - New Crafty Goodies
The Stamp Man - Use Red

CES #68 - Vintage

Incy Wincy #128 - Vintage

Crafty Cardmakers #59 - No Floral Embellishments

So with that I guess I'll just Keep Calm and Carry on ... enjoy the rest of your weekend!