March 17, 2020
We’re excited to have Sarah Moore of @newleafwriter back on the blog to share a little bit about how she likes to repurpose her Social Print Studio prints and Daily Calendar pages in her home office to create a fresh vibe throughout the year. Take it away, Sarah!
I don’t know about you, but I get very enthusiastic about home updates ... especially if those updates involve anything from Social Print Studio.
I also don’t know about you, but as an environmental writer, I also get very enthusiastic about reusing old items in a cute, new way.
I’d be all for grabbing a desk calendar any time of year, enjoying whatever months are left, and using those that have already passed as home decor.
Yep. Read on to learn more about how I gave my home a quick makeover using nothing more than old calendar prints. (And a bit of string. And some pushpins. And, I won’t lie, some ingenuity. But obviously no modesty.)
Here we go!
If you don’t have any photos yet, then that’s obviously your first step. SPS has the most adorable little desk calendars with tear away pages, each day of the year featuring a different pic. And they have five different styles!
I’d be all for grabbing a desk calendar any time of year, enjoying whatever months are left, and using those that have already passed as home decor. If you prefer to wait on a calendar, their mini squares will work just as well for this DIY.
You can order all of these products from Social Print Studio’s Print Studio app or if you’re on your desktop or laptop, here’s a quick overview of the ordering process for anyone who hasn’t yet visited the Social Print Studio site:
First, click the “Gifts” dropdown and select “Calendars,” then choose “Daily Calendar.”
Next, if you want the same style I used in my recent update, choose the middle style, “Block Date.” But honestly, they’re all freaking adorable.
Once you have your prints in hand, here are some ideas for what to do with them! I promise any or all will add a big dose of cheer to your home stat, so don’t wait to get started.
I love my bulletin board, but it gets out of control real quick. Every time it does, I clean it up with some SPS-inspired magic. Here you can see I had some mini prints going, but they were getting overrun with post-its and cards I’d pinned up. I took everything down, switched it out with some fresh calendar photos, and love it all the more now!
Pro Tip: Those bigger photos up above are the postcards from Social Print. Highly recommended.
I’ve had these little photo holders for forever, and I love switching up what I put in them every 6 months or so. I’ve held regular sized photos, mini prints and squares, art and more. Here I had watercolors a friend made me, but I was ready to frame these, so I subbed them out with some old calendar photos from last year.
In all fairness, to do a photo string makeover, you have to have a photo string. Luckily, this is easier than you think! Measure out three lines stacked above one another using a measuring tape and a level. (Or you can do as I do, not as I say, and eyeball it.) Then use pins to secure three pieces of string or twine along each line, and hang small wooden clothespins from it. I use decorative ones for these strings, but with the others I have in the house, I just use plain wood. Here’s a good starter set.
As you can see, I was rocking the mini squares for a long time, along with the photo strip and some regular sized squares. I liked the overall look still, so I just took out the mini squares and subbed in calendar photos. It’s a small change, but it’s more family-oriented now and I love it.
I spend hooooours at my desk every day since I work from home, and I like to be inspired. I was doing pretty well, but I wanted a wall that was more thoroughly covered with inspo. Ta da! All I had to do was tape up some more calendar pages! Be sure to use painter’s tape or washi, something that will come off easily without pulling up paint.
Again, if you don’t yet have these photo strings, follow the instructions above. I’ve got a little setup tucked into a corner of the office that used to be mine, but which belongs to my hubs now. He complained about the artsy travel ones, so I culled through my old calendar pages to find pics of the fam. He’s much happier!
Need I say more? Who wouldn’t rather have a neat and tidy fridge covered with themed prints and magnets than a junk-bedecked surface where half the [redacted] falls down whenever you open the door??
If that’s still not enough for you, feel free to check out these simple DIY home projects for more inspiration. And don’t forget to come say hi @newleafwriter for more home-and-book-inspired decor ideas.
