Calendars don't have to start in January!

January heralds the start of the new year and is usually the time for us to buy calendars, but that is no longer the only window of opportunity that we have to get ourselves a nice new calendar to hang on the wall.  With companies such as Vistaprint, we are able to create beautiful bespoke calendars, which can begin at any month of the year!

Vistaprint gave me the opportunity to make my own wall calendar, with months going from April 2014 through to the end of March 2015.   Starting calendars on different months is a great idea if you moving house and want a new calendar to display or if you decorate and want one to match the new colour scheme. Having them start on a particular month to coincide with a birthday makes a great gift idea - and one that will last for a whole year. Or make one to run along the school year from September or the financial year from April.  It would be a lovely present for someone off to university in September to make a calendar starting from then filled with photos of family and home to hang in their uni lodgings.

The website offers hundreds of different design choices with the option to include your own photographs. For children there are some fun Nickelodeon templates, while other designs include block colours, geometric patterns, floral print, landscapes, cartoons and nature.  With themes that would suit various industries to backgrounds that are perfect for families, there is a design for all tastes.

Once you have chosen a design you can personalise the calendar by uploading favourite photos which can be added to each page using a chosen layout featuring up to six images per page.  Events can be added to the date grid to remind you of special occasions.  Text can also be added to make a title and captions.

You get to preview the calendar before you order it and a pop up box alerts you to anything you may have missed.

Prices currently start at £6.66 for a single calendar order (which excludes VAT and postage) a saving of 50% off the regular price. Glossy paper comes as standard on the calendar but you can currently upgrade to a premium, thicker paper for just £1.24.  At the checkout, Vistaprint show images of other products you might like using the photos you used, but you can easily skip these offers and head straight for your cart.

Checkout is easy and the charges are shown clearly along with any discounts that have been applied. Payment is by major credit card or Paypal and is secure.  Various postage alternatives are offered.

My calendar arrived securely packaged within a week.  It is printed exactly to my specifications and the thick paper upgrade has a lovely finish.  It will look fabulous on my wall and is a super way to display favourite photographs all year round.

Vistaprint also make a huge range of items for business and home including photo products, invitations, business cards, signs and banners.  Check out the full range at vistaprint.co.uk.

Personalised Presents from Bonusprint

At this time of year I start looking at ordering gifts for the inlaws and other relatives in time for Christmas.  Something I really like to do is make personalised presents using some of the many photos I take throughout the year!  This is especially good for those people who we don't get to see very often, giving them thoughtful gifts with a personal touch.

Bonusprint is a household name in photography who proudly claim to have been "Printing your smiles since 1979."  They offer a comprehensive range of photographic gifts, photo books, wall art, cards, canvas prints and digital prints.  The online shop has a no quibble 100% satisfaction guarantee so you can order with complete confidence.

I was given the opportunity by Bonusprint to try out their service and make something using their online software.  I chose to make calendars using 13 of my own photographs to personalise them.  It was so easy to make the calendar, simply choosing the pictures I wanted from the files on my computer, positioning them into the calendar template and then uploading my finished creation when I was happy with it.  Photos could be rotated in situ, but no other editing could be done to the photos.  There is a choice of layouts, backgrounds and designs to chose from so your calendar will look exactly how you want it.

Whereas it was very simple to make a calendar, the photobook software is much more sophisticated using the Bonusprint photobook creator tool, which allows you to create beautiful photobooks with ease.  There is scope to edit your pictures and add text and play with layouts, so your photobook suits your personal requirements.

I have to admit that I couldn't work out how to add different gifts to the basket to check out together, so ended up just ordering multiple copies of one product using my voucher code.  It would have been nice to try out a few of the different products which included fabulous lunch boxes and rucksacks.   I'm sure my inability to get them all in the same basket at once was just me being  a bit dense and only posed a problem as I needed to check out everything together.

A few days later my calendars arrived well packaged to my door.  They are well printed and a good quality.  The paper is really thick and glossy.  The ones I made are quite small (approx 21cm x 28cm) so they are perfect for sending on to loved ones, who will hopefully appreciate seeing my kids' faces every month for the whole of 2012! For £9.99 they make a great gift idea.

Bonusprint's prices are very competitive and the range of products are really impressive.  The service was good and I received emails to keep track of my order and know when it had been despatched.

It is wonderful to liberate virtual images from their homes on hard drives or memory sticks, turning them into presents for family and friends!  What grandparent would not want to have their grandchildren's faces smiling back at them from a mug, a coaster, a calendar or a shopping bag?  If you are stuck for ideas for presents check out Bonusprint and turn your digital photos into something special!