All of us have a calendar installed on our PCs, whether it be Windows, Rainlendar, or others. But what about calendars you can hang on your wall? I admit rainlendar has some pretty cool skins, but using Microsoft Word, and Paint.NET, I'm starting to create a new 2009 calendar set. It's silver & blue, and uses the power of Paint.NET to create custom effects, such as Drop Shadows, Glows, Reflections, and high-quality 32-bit PNG images instead of boring solid, gradient, or patterned backgrounds.

There are calendar templates online, but templates are so limited. Plus most calendars use those boring white squares with very tiny numbers. My calendar is completely different. I use Wordart, custom shapes with various transpaency levels, group multiple objects, and import PNG images. I also have a "Holdiays" sidebar listed on the left. However, my calendar only lists U.S. Holidays excluding religious holidays (besides Christmas).

I have created custom calendars in Word since 2004, but the 2009 set is the first to feature effects from Paint.NET. 2009 is also the first year that I will use stand-alone PNGs for each day of the month, instead of using pre-made MS Word objects. For 2008, I have about 5 failed prototypes before deciding on the official appearance. For 2009, I have only 2 failures by far. I hope that this is my final design.

My calendar design does look like a type of Windows Skin. You gotta see it to believe it. Unfortunately, January won't be complete for at least another week or so. Keep in mind that this is only a beta design, and may change anytime. I will upload my calendar under the "Graphics" category.