An easel calendar with character 

A friend approached me asking if I would make her son a desk calendar. She told me he likes the color blue and the Sonic character from the movies. I am always up for a challenge so I decided to give it a try!

Pulling off a well-known character likeness is tricky, especially with kids! It looked somewhat easy, and I had a lot more confidence knowing I would be using the CutCardStock papers.

I searched for Sonic in my electronic cut library, but he was not there. However, I found cartoon eyes that worked well! Cut this at approximately 3“ x 3“ in Lessebo Pitch Black.

Next, take the eyes and adhere them to Classic Solar White. Trim the eyes around the edge to leave a black border.

You will also cut a 4.25“ x 11“ panel of Blast Off Blue, along with another panel at 4 1/4“ x 5 1/2”. Fold the longest panel at 5 1/2″ and 2 3/4” to create an easel.

Cut a large oval in Basis Soft Pink. Glue the eyes slightly over the oval and glue this to the smaller Blast Off Blue panel.

To create ears, cut two squares of blue at 2″ and two squares of Basis Soft Pink at 1 1/4″. Cut them at the diagonal, then trim off the corner edges and glue them to the back of the face panel like ears.

When this is done, attach it to the folded easel piece.

Now it’s time to create the shoes. Cut two 2” circles in Red Wagon, then add a small strip of Classic Solar White down the middle. Trim off the excess. Cut out hand shapes from any machine or die cut you own, and remove the top cuff. This becomes the top of the sock.

Attach these pieces to each other and then add foam underneath to create a raised piece that will become the shoes. This elevated piece holds the calendar in place. 

I felt like something was missing, so I went back and attached two Blast Off Blue rectangles to each side of the panel to create hair. The picture shows how I cut it at the diagonal, then glued it to the back panel.

Sometimes you just need to play around with a design until it looks right! I also added some cartoon hands and a calendar to the middle which really brings the character to life. It looks like he’s holding the calendar!

Do you challenge yourself to create something unique and not from a pattern? I really enjoy this type of art. I hope you found this tutorial helpful for the next time you have a cartoon loving person in your life! And I hope you will turn to CutCardStock when you do!