A little cotton rabbits calendar

I've been keen on doing a calendar since last year but the thought of being stuck with boxes full of printed calendars that hadn't sold put me off a bit. Then I came across Lulu. They make it easy for you to create your own calendar - you just upload your images and completely customise the design from the templates provided (even down to memorable personal dates). It's a very nifty bit of software and well worth a look, as making a calendar with your own pictures could make great christmas pressies for relatives and you can make any number that you like - even just one. You could even do as I have and make them available for anyone to buy with your own little store front (though Lulu take a 20% commission on top of their manufacturing cost). With their set-up I'm able to offer a calendar for sale without the hassle and expense of large print runs so if only 3 people buy a copy it doesn't matter! 

I've published 2 versions of the same calendar design, a standard version or a premium version (they both have the same images but are just different sizes and paper stock - the premium one is larger with thicker paper). I've also done a standard pink version with the same images. You can preview all three here in my Lulu shop (please be patient as the previews take a while to load) and if you like what you see you can click to buy and pay via credit card or paypal. Lulu then print off a copy and send it out to you. They're based in the USA so if you're in the UK allow around 10 days for postage. Mine arrived yesterday very well protected in stong packaging and I'm really pleased with the quality. Mum, I hope you're not reading this as you'll be getting one for christmas!!

Edited on November 7th to add quick note about Lulu.

Hmm, maybe Lulu wasn't such a good idea? My order has come through fine and so did a couple of others that I've heard from but some people have experienced problems with postage. Also a week after I listed the calendars I noticed that the original price I had set was increased by around £4 each as Lulu had almost doubled their production costs overnight (my cut on the calendars is around £2.80 each). I wasn't sure whether to keep them in print but I will keep them live for now as I don't have any other available options at the moment. I will however scout around before doing something like this again.

Further edited, November 8th: I've decided to take my calendars off the market, the postage costs are now around £50 per item to the UK!! Lulu has really messed this up and I won't be using them again! It's a shame as I was really pleased with my copies and I'm sorry to everyone for the inconvenience!

Comments

[Sue]

What a great idea, thanks for sharing. Might be tempted to get one for xmas.

[Sinta]

What a great idea :) Hrm, I think I'm going to have a look at lulu for some of my prints. Thanks for sharing ^_^

[Alison]

Aaahhhh your calendars look so cute, and such a great idea.
love Alison x

[Fancy Elastic]

Gosh, what a good idea. Thanks for passing on the link... I could spend a fortune on things like this!

[trashalou]

I tried buying one but paypal didn't seem to like me :-(

[Sue]

I got mine last week, very well packaged and absolutly beautiful!!
I love this calendar!!
Thank you so much for making the calendar and for sharing the info about Lulu.
:0)

[Kathryn]

Hi Julie
wow what a fantastic calendar, i have placed my order straight away, i chose the first one, i can see why you used that website to do them too, and it'll save you having to send them out yourself.
Will blog about it to spread the word...i just know they'll be ever so popular, and whisper says to tell you she is chuffed to be featured as a June calendar girl!!!
love kathryn x

[karen smith]

wow how cute are they
well done on another fab project hunni I'm sure they'll be ever so popular

[Frk.Badegakk]

That´s beyond cute!!!!Love it!!!

[Kitty]

What a great idea - I'm off to check out Lulu! x

[Jo]

This is great! I was looking for a calendar at the weekend and was going to buy the 'sock dog' knitted calendar - but yours is much classier :@D

I especially love the way you have grouped the toys together - very pretty :@)

[Jenny]

Hello there. I am a long time lurker and first time commenter... I just wanted to say how nice I thought your calendar was. I was surprised at how well-chosen the images were for each month - not suspecting that your little creations could express so much seasonally! I am not really a fan of er knitted animals per se but I feel that your talents and creations go beyond that particular category. I enjoy reading your blog very much and admire you enormously for your skill as a crafter and of course, as a mother. Thank you for sharing both with us. Jenny

[Victoria]

Oh how adorable! May just need to place an order for one of those

[Beth]

The Calendar is wonderful!! So cheery. I liked how you grouped the pictures together too. Congrats!!

[carolyn]

What a lovely idea, off to have a good look around Lulu.

[marie]

Such a great idea Julie! I've never come across Lulu before, but intend to investigate further...

Marie x

[Emily]

You might also want to take a look at zazzle.com - You can make cards, calendars, mousepads, magnets even shoes... the list goes on! As with lulu they do all the making, shipping and payment stuff :)

[Gemma]

Hey Julie - these are great! Well done with these - they show off those knitted cuties a treat!

[Rae]

The calendar is a great idea they look cute I may have to snatch some up for X-Mas

[katie]

I think these are absolutely brilliant - and such a great idea - (shame about the 20% though - that's a bit steep??? or maybe not -i have no idea) you are a wonder Julie!

[debbie]

Hi Julie!,
just wanted to say that my calendars arrived yesterday too and they are brilliant!!, I got a premium one for me which is unbelievably gorgeous and definitely worth the little bit extra, and a standard pink one for Hannah which she will love and is going in her Christmas stocking so she will think that Father Christmas has been expecially clever this year!!! I can just hear it now --- "do you think that Father Christmas knows the rabbit lady Mummy??" - hope it doesn't turn out to be a 'tooth fairy' moment!! ha ha!
love Debbie xx
PS the calendars are brilliantly packaged - so perfect for posting as christmas presents, just so everyone knows!!

[Raynor Gellatly]

Beautiful calenders, i was so happy to see that my favourite LCR toy Missy the monkey was on my birth month (september).
Raynor x

[vivi]

julie: they are pretty!
lots of people will enjoy them all year long
big kisses

[debby wolff]

i would like to purchase your cupcake pattern that you said was available on etsy, but it doesn't seem to be there. is still available? i would really like to buy one!!!let me know, please,
debby wolff

[Janet]

Just want you to know how awful Lulu is! When I ordered the calendar they changed the postage to very expensive and then wouldn't change it. I was looking forward to your cute calendar but not now! Janet

[Holly]

I've heard such bad bad things about Lulu, such as recently they changed their shipping and it costs $100+ just to ship some simple things internationally and they won't answer customer inquiries as to why. How was your shipping? It seems like it'd be a shame for a good company to go this way! Your calendars came up so cutely too!

~Holly
Two Cheese Please

[Kitschen Pink]

hmm. Beastly of them. I think you should design a naughty little bunny called lulu! t.xxx

[PG]

There is a bit of a furore about the Lulu postal costs right now, I've read that they have whacked their international shipping up to silly prices, sounds like you might be experiencing that...

[beanz]

Oh what a shame - they are lovely calendars (and lovely rabbits)

[debbie]

oh my word what a great shame! I am thrilled with mine - but I did order them the day you put them up on your site so I didn't get the hassle about postage - they are so lovely too - good luck with finding another supplier
xx

[dottyspots]

Maybe if enough people are interested it would be worth getting some printed (but not by Lulu, try a local printing house)?

[gina]

Such a shame about the calendars. They looked great. Just an idea- how about getting some greetings cards printed? They would be just as lovely and wouldn't go out of date, so might be more viable.

I absolutely love your blog!

[Ellen]

Sorry to read that Lulu wasn't a reliable company. I do think that a calendar of your creations is an awesome idea! hugs, Ellen

[June]

I just tried to order a different calendar from Lulu, and the shipping rates came up reasonable.
Maybe they had a glitch!

Just a thought in case you want to check into the shipping prices again.

[Karen]

Hi Julie,
Such a shame that Lulu did that to you! I thought your calendar looked beautiful.
You might want to have a look at Redbubble (www.redbubble.com). You can make calendars with them (I did last year) and the quality is excellent, although I don't think you can personalise the dates with text. They ship worldwide and their costs are very reasonable, too.
Good luck!

[Gemma]

I've just scrolled down and re-read this post. What a nightmare - this had the potential to be so good. I'm sorry it didn't work out this time - I'm sure you'll find an alternative.

[Pink Sky]

Hi Julie,
I'm sorry you've gone through the wringer on this calendar. A shame, seeing that it was so pretty and little Rosalie made it on one of their pages (I call her my calendar girl now...) You are not the only one, I've noticed at least a few other blogs I visit have had bad experiences with Lulu the past couple of weeks. I found this article with a review of various on-demand printers that may be helpful.

http://whipup.net/2008/11/13/print-on-demand-publishers/

I hope you have a great weekend. :)

[Sally]

I was finally ready to order calendars for Christmas gifts and found the bad news instead. I'm so sorry you had such a bad experience with this. A calendar was a wonderful idea and I really, really liked the way you grouped your critters. Do hope it works out some other way - maybe another year. Don't stress over it.
Lulu has no idea about the power of "word of mouth" or more appropriately "word of blog" and the number of people who will never use her business.

[Lilja]

Sorry to hear that the whole thing got messed up by Lulu :-( I was one of the lucky guys for whom it worked out: Mine arrived a few days ago and it is looking really great :)
Thanks for all your effort!

[Kathryn]

oh my goodness £50 postage how did that happen. i put my order in quick after seeing your post on them, and paid £16 inclusive of shipping to UK.
wonder why on earth it went up to that!
k xx

[Catherine]

It is all trial and error. I think this is why I am a little hesitant ordering my business cards, postcards etc online with my images.

I have my trusty gocco to print out basic and rustic looking card stock.

Your calendars are so beautiful ... can't wait to see what you do next with them.

xCatherine