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  4. 7 Clever Ways to Repurpose Your Old Calendars
waste less, live better

7 Clever Ways to Repurpose Your Old Calendars

By Sarah Yang Updated December 20, 2016
Each product we feature has been independently selected and reviewed by our editorial team. If you make a purchase using the links included, we may earn commission.
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Repurposed calendars as coasters
Credit: Emily Kinni

Don't throw away last year's calendar just yet. Give it new life by recycling those pretty designs and photos with one of these crafts.

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1 of 7

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Decorative Boxes

Repurposed calendars as gift boxes
Credit: Emily Kinni
  • What You'll Need:
  • Calendar paper
  • Scissors or craft knife
  • Glue stick
  • Plain gift boxes with lids

How-to:

  1. Place the lid of the plain gift box on the calendar paper (the design side facing the surface). Trim the paper around the lid so there's not a lot of excess paper, but you can still cover the top and sides of the lid.
  2. Apply the glue onto the top of the box and stick the paper onto the surface.
  3. Glue the sides of the box and fold the paper along the sides, pressing to adhere it to the box.
  4. Trim the edges or fold the paper along the edge of the lid and glue to the interior of the box for a neater look.
  5. Repeat the steps for the base of the box.

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Coasters

Repurposed calendars as coasters
Credit: Emily Kinni
  • What You'll Need:
  • Calendar paper
  • Plain set of coasters
  • Mod Podge
  • Scissors or craft knife
  • Paintbrush

How-to:

  1. Cut the paper to cover the coaster or cut out a part of the paper's design.
  2. Use a paintbrush to cover the surface of the coaster with Mod Podge.
  3. Place the paper on the coaster and smooth out any wrinkles.
  4. Apply another layer of Mod Podge onto the image. Let dry.

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Candle Holders

Repurposed calendars as candle holders
Credit: Emily Kinni
  • What You'll Need:
  • Calendar paper
  • Different-sized glass jars
  • Mod Podge
  • Scissors
  • Paintbrush

How-to:

  1. Cut out a part of the calendar paper to fit the jar.
  2. Brush Mod Podge onto the jar.
  3. Place the paper onto the jar and smooth out any wrinkles.
  4. Apply another layer of Mod Podge onto the jar and paper. Let dry.

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Notebook Covers

Repurposed calendars as notebook covers
Credit: Emily Kinni
  • What You'll Need:
  • Calendar paper
  • Plain notebooks
  • Scissors
  • Mod Podge or glue stick

How-to:

  1. Cut the paper to the size of the notebook. For spiral-bound notebooks, place two sheets of the paper on the front and back. For staple-bound notebooks, you can wrap them completely with the paper.
  2. Adhere the paper to the notebook with Mod Podge or a glue stick.

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Gift Tags

Repurposed calendars as gift tags
Credit: Emily Kinni

What You'll Need:
Calendar paper
String or ribbon
Hole punch or thumbtack
Scissors

How-to:

  1. Cut out small rectangles, squares, or other shapes from the paper.
  2. Create a hole at the top of the shape with a hole punch or thumbtack.
  3. Loop string or ribbon through the hole to tie to presents.

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Gallery Wall

Repurposed calendars as framed prints
Credit: Emily Kinni
  • What You'll Need:
  • Calendar paper
  • Different-sized frames
  • Scissors

How-to:

  1. Cut the paper to fit the frame. You can take the glass out of the frame, place it on the paper, trace around it, and cut to size.
  2. Place the paper in the frame.
  3. Repeat with the other frames. Arrange and hang on a blank wall.

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Envelopes

Repurposed calendars as envelopes
Credit: Emily Kinni

What You'll Need:
Calendar paper
Glue stick
Scissors

How-to:

  1. Cut a square shape out of the calendar paper.
  2. Place the paper on your surface so it's lying like a diamond shape (pattern or design side facing down). Take the two side corners and fold so the pointed ends are facing each other.
  3. Take the bottom corner and fold it up, so it overlaps with the two side corners. Trim off the pointed end. Glue the edges together.
  4. Fold the top corner down.

Crafts developed by Morgan Levine

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    1 of 7 Decorative Boxes
    2 of 7 Coasters
    3 of 7 Candle Holders
    4 of 7 Notebook Covers
    5 of 7 Gift Tags
    6 of 7 Gallery Wall
    7 of 7 Envelopes

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