calendar // old suns for a new june (and a look back at may)

When the calendar page turns over to the next month, it's nice to look back on the things that the previous month held. I find this to be especially true when a lot of what I'm making and sharing online is all over the place. But I think it's helpful with an average calendar too. Sort of like a month-long version of my You Did It! lists.

Looking back often tells you why you might be feeling tired. Or it may point you toward what you need to focus on next month. Or it could just give you something to celebrate, and I know I need that in my life. How about you?

So anyway, let's look at some things I made this month! The butterfly is a felt board activity for Hello Bee. There are a bunch of shapes to work with, and when you add in a bunch of colors, the butterfly design possibilities are endless!



Also for Hello Bee, I used colored cellophane to make this rainbow garland. The colors overlap to show how primary colors blend to make new colors!



At About.com I'm usually a lot more busy. So these are just a couple of the posts I wrote over there.

I used a few of my patterns to make some felt patches. They're an easy way to personalize your clothing or a tote bag. Plus you can stitch them on with minimal stitches so you can remove them with little trouble.



I mentioned making You Did It! lists, but you can also embroider that message of congratulations. It's great for a grad or anyone who did something special.



Keep lost needles to a minimum with a needle minder! They're quick to make, and they're wonderful little gifts too. I made this one with a button covered in vintage embroidery. Even though the embroidery was falling apart, it was still hard for me to cut into!



I've always loved marionettes and flamingoes, and it was so much fun to put those two together in a printable project for Handmade Charlotte. Jump over there to download and make your own funny flamingo puppet!



And then I also shared some laughing leaves that you can use to build letters, sculptures, and mini houses for fairies. All you need is card stock and straws!

So, when I'm feeling like I'm barely making it through all I have to do, it's good to see what I've done. And this isn't even all of the creating, because you can see the posts here at Wild Olive that are separate from this. AND I contributed a project to a book for Lark Crafts and I designed a set of 35 patterns for a magazine.

After I finish writing this I'm gonna take a nap. Just kidding. There's more to do...



...because it's June! Time for making more fun things! Time to get out in the sun!

It might also be time for me to change calendars over on computer and my iPad. (There's a chance that I haven't changed my iPad calendar since March.)

This sun goes back to 2012, and it's one of my favorite sets of calendar designs because of its simplicity. I think the fact that I still like something I drew after four years is a good thing.

Anyway, you can grab a calendar for your computer or handheld device, or download the printable version below.

Download the 2560x1440 Wallpaper.
Download the 1920x1280 Wallpaper.
Download the 1280x800 Wallpaper.
Download the iPhone Wallpaper.
Download the iPad Wallpaper.

For your home screen, these have the suns, but no calendar:
Download the iPhone Suns Wallpaper.
Download the iPad Suns Wallpaper.

For iPhone 6+, choose the iPad version. To use the iPhone and iPad versions, click the link for the wallpaper you want. When it opens, touch and hold the image until it pops up with the option to save. After you've saved the image, go to your settings, choose wallpaper, then find the image you've just saved.

You can also download and print a June calendar PDF. I recommend printing this on card stock, and then trimming it. Suns might not be as exciting to color, but I'd like to see someone color this in a gradient of yellows and oranges across the page.

In fact, if you use any of the calendars, share a photo on Twitter or Instagram and tag me! I'm @molliejohanson