Pinspired Project: Index Card Calendar Journal

There are a couple of calendar journals floating around Pinterest right now.  The first I saw was made out of vintage postcards (as the dividers), index cards, and a fruit box to hold it all in and featured on Design*Sponge.  While I didn't pin this particular one because it wasn't really my style I found one pinned from Wit & Whistle that used a recipe card box filled with index cards and chipboard(?) dividers.  I pinned this one with the note "diy calendar journal. maybe for the new baby?"  Since Melodi's birthday was coming up I decided to get the supplies and start one for her to see how it goes.

I had seen the project but hadn't decided to do it when Hobby Lobby had stamps on sale and I came across a "Months Of The Year" set by Stampabilities that had each of the months and numbers 0-9 in a tin, so I picked it up thinking I would use it for something, someday.  We were out one evening so I popped into the Office Max and picked up a pack of 500 white index cards, 100(?) colored index cards (you know, the pastel ones), and a plastic blue index card holder.  I got 4x6 cards because I knew I would end up writing a lot.  So, I had everything I needed for under $20 (even less if you take out the stamps since those will be used for other stuff) and a week before Melodi's birthday.

I took one evening to get February done (speaking of which I need to think about March sooner than later).  First I sorted out the colored cards for dividers (blue for January, pink for February, green for March... you get the idea) and folded February's to "contain" the date cards for the month.

Then I counted out the cards for February (29 to account for leap years!) and stamped the numbers 1-29 with a pale pink chalk ink in the upper right corner. 

 

Finally, into the box it all the cards (400 white, 12 colored, folded divider template) went to wait for Melodi's birthday.

So, Melodi's birthday was about a week ago and I have written on the index cards each day since.  I am glad I chose the larger index cards because I am writing two lines a day.  It was time consuming to find the card I needed to write on so I put a little post-it note on the date card that needed to be written on next.  Eventually I will get around to getting and decorating a Paper Mache Recipe Box for each kid, maybe in "their" assigned color.

Between a couple days in the hospital in May to have the new baby and a month visit back home late this summer I have to come up with a plan to keep up with this calendar journal without hauling it all with me.  Currently my idea is to put the needed index cards in a ziploc bag, but as I write this I am thinking that an envelope for each child with all the envelopes in a ziploc might be better.

Eventually I hope to journal a line that the kids give me for their journal and when they get old enough they can write out their own sentences each day.  Unless of course I decide to be greedy with the project and do it all myself.