If it’s January, it must be time for a new calendar. With smartphones, tablets and computers, you may not even use a monthly paper calendar, but there is nothing quite like the ease of glancing across a room to check the date, much like you might check the time on a wall clock.
Turns out it’s easy to make a perennial calendar out of a set of four to six cubes, labeled with the month, the day and the date. And once all six sides of the cubes are labeled, you never have to make them again. Simply arrange the cubes each day to indicate the correct date and you’re good to go.
The cubes can be made of wood (available at craft stores in multiple sizes) or paper, and they need to be labeled. One cube is devoted to the days of the week. Two cubes are numbered to represent the date and one or two cubes are labeled with the months of the year. Either make two cubes to represent all 12 months and store the extra cube when not in use, or double up the months with two months on each side, one facing up and the other facing down.
If you want to add six favorite photos and seasonal embellishments to an additional cube or two, it’s easy to create extra cubes as well, for a completely custom calendar.
If you have young children, they will love helping you make the cubes and can certainly begin learning the days of the week and months of year with this clever calendar. And if you have a parent or grandparent suffering from memory loss, they will find this dated device equally helpful.
When all of the cubes have been labeled, simply stack them in a pyramid or line them up in a row and display them on a shelf, a table or a mantle, so that a quick glance in their direction can keep you completely up to date.
By Sandi Genovese, Tribune News Service (TNS)
Contact Sandi and find free video demonstrations of more photo projects at www.sandigenovese.com.
