“Why pocket-sized calendar?”, a friend asked when I told her about my new (and very exciting) paper project — a tiny handmade calendar.
Here’s why.
If you follow me, you already know that my husband and I travel a lot because of his work. And as a massive paper lover, I use every trip as an excuse to collect paper bits from all over the world. Actually… “use the opportunity” is too gentle. I hunt down every interesting piece of paper or cardboard I see. The result? One section of my luggage is always full of colourful scraps, and I have no idea what airport security thinks when they scan my bag. Hopefully they’ve seen worse!
But all these scraps need a purpose. Otherwise, they’re wasted craft material — and you know how much I hate waste.
First Steps: Making the Pocket-Sized Calendar
To turn the chaos into something useful, I first trimmed all the paper pieces to the same size — 6×8 cm (about 2.4×3.1”). Small enough to fit even my tiniest handbags.
Suddenly, I had these adorable piles of tiny rectangles, each one sparking a different crafting idea. I also mixed in some coffee- and tea-dyed instruction sheets. Once dyed, they get a lovely vintage look — the perfect base for decoupage, drawing or stamping.
I cut 365 rectangles for the days + 12 more for monthly covers. Then I sorted them so each month had a similar mix of bright and muted pages. Because the idea wasn’t just to make a calendar — I also wanted a mini daily art journal. I didn’t want some months to look dull and others wildly colourful.
For each month, I placed a calmer, more monochromatic page on top as the cover.
Decorating the Calendar Pages
This part was huge — honestly a full week of daily decoupaging, colouring and stamping. I even carved my own number stamps (I’ll write about this soon — it’s ridiculously fun!), which naturally led to yet another calendar idea… because of course it did.
I also stamped each monthly cover.
Putting the Calendar Blocks Together
Once each month was sorted, binding them was easy — in theory. In practice, we only had one pair of clamps the right size, so it took several days. If you have crafty neighbours, borrow clamps and speed things up. Sadly, in our little holiday village by the Black Sea, only three families live nearby, and I doubt any of them have a stash of craft tools.
Before gluing everything, I made one more decision. Since we travel constantly, I didn’t want one big bulky block. So I split the calendar into four smaller books — three months each — which actually matches our “migration routine” pretty well. And even if it didn’t, two tiny cubes are easier to pack than one thick brick.
So I aligned the pages, clamped them, brushed on a generous layer of PVA glue, and left them to dry overnight.
Look at this gorgeous mix of pages — messy, colourful, a bit junk-journal… absolutely perfect.
A Little Repair Trick for Torn Pages
When crafting at home without professional tools, mistakes happen. And they’re all fixable.
I was admiring my first finished block when I accidentally pulled one page loose (it must have been slightly misaligned).
Here’s the easy fix:
Trim about half a millimetre from the top edge with very sharp scissors.
Put a small amount of PVA glue on scrap paper and dip just the top edge of the page.
Open the block gently where the page used to sit and slide it back into the gap.
Press down lightly so it sinks in as deep as possible.
Leave it overnight — PVA works magic, especially with thin paper.
And that’s it. Problem gone.
The Pocket-Sized Calendar Is Ready!
Here are some of my first spreads — it was honestly torture waiting until the 1st of October to start using it! But now I have almost a full little notebook filled with tiny pieces of daily art, and writing my diary has never been more joyful.
Questions? Ask Me Anything
If you’re curious about the process, tools or materials I used — or if you want help making your own — leave a comment and I’ll happily answer.
Do you know that you can use all your travel paper junk collectibles for creating memorable Christmas decoration? Check my article Christmas Tree Scrapbook Ornaments and use your junk memorabilia for making unique holiday decoration!
Enjoy your craft time!
