Original, digital photography artwork by mollymortphotography

This calendar focuses on the mortuary sciences. I found, as a funeral director, there was nothing like this on the market. So, using my personal collection of antique and vintage embalming equipment, I made one. There's everything here from the scalpel to an embalmer's hand pump. This is a truly unique gift for a funeral director, mortician, embalmer – it's the perfect gift for anyone in the funeral industry! It's also the perfect gift for anyone living on the macabre side of life!

All of the backgrounds in this calendar are set to black. I thought it went nice with all of the photos and I didn't want parts of any photo outside the bleed line. You can change and customize the style of this calendar, but I find it works best on the design it's on.

2013 ~ Welcome to a new year with an antique scalpel! The background is beige and I added a sepia tone and scratches to the photo, making it look aged.

January ~ One of my favorite items, a bottle of Lip Lock! Lip Lock is lip adhesive meant for securing mouths and keeping them closed. It might be hard to tell, but it's bright red. In today's funeral world we use adhesives that are clear and made available in tubes. As for the photo, I used an acid frame and added an aged photo frame to it.

February ~ Derma Wax Creams. Derma being Greek for skin, these creams would be used anywhere something needed covering up; a blemish, a wound, or an abrasion. In today's funeral world the makeup used for correcting skin faults is similar to stage makeup in that it's very thick and heavy. As for the photo, I love the warm brown color of the box and the gold writing. I set the background of this picture to black and faded the color out.

March ~ A collection of beauty items: a gold tube of lipstick; deep red, liquid rouge; a glass jar of face powder; eye caps; suture string; a man's shaving razor and shaving lotion brush; an old, black plastic comb; and a glass jar of lip moisturizer. I put Tiger Lilies in this photo for some added depth and color. I also gave the photo an aged tone and added a black frame.

April ~ Here we have a collection of embalming tools. At the top of the photo is a trocar button applicator, used to insert a trocar button in the belly button. From left to right: an aneurysm needle, a groove director used for vein expansion, two more aneurysm needles, a nail file, three scalpels, and a bistoury knife used for tissue excision. The photo was taken in a mortician's toolbox, hence the built in straps for holding tools.

May ~ A collection of makeup; face covering, lip tint, and liquid foundations. I love the glass jars these items come in and the labels are very art deco.

June ~ I love the historical irony of this photo. Flowers at a funeral evolved out of a desire to cover the smell of decay. Viewings could last for days, and in some cases they lasted much longer. As embalming came into vogue, companies who supplied the chemicals came up with liquid scents for masking any bad smells. Today, it's very common for families to bring in perfumes and colognes of their loved ones. So here we have green, liquid incense in a clear glass bottle and pink tea roses. I gave the photo a gaussian blur, a bit of a glow, and a hassel frame is what is giving the corners that blue and black color.

July ~ Phantom Cosmetic Cream. I love these milk glass jars! And just like they say, the cream was used to cover blemishes. They come in all different colors: pink, flesh, dark flesh, light flesh. I shot this photo with a wooden background, added a warm tone and a black frame.

August ~ One of my favorite pieces in my collection, an embalmer's hand pump used for aspiration and injection. The smaller round item is a stopper and the two strips are rubber tubing. Before electric embalming machines, embalmer's used these two items to drain materials and deliver embalming fluid. I shot the picture in my bathtub so that I could best recreate a ceramic embalming table. Then I added a framing filter and a black frame.

September ~ Needles and trocars that I photographed in a silver, filagree pin cushion. Needles are used for suturing and trocars are used for suction. These particular trocars are very tiny. The original photo was taken on a white background. I added a very light teal, decorative background and an old fashioned photograph frame with taped corners.

October ~ Embalming fluid! I love that these two bottles of embalming fluid are in glass – you wouldn't believe how heavy they are! Also, on the sides of the bottles, the units are measured out for you in ounces. They are fabulous! For this photo I put the bottles in front of an old print and processed with a warming filter and a black frame. Today's bottles come in plastic and just don't have that old world glamor. Not that cavity or arterial fluid is glamorous…

November ~ Another hand pump used for embalming and the case it's stored in. My second favorite item in my collection. I photographed this picture to have a dirty and stained background, but I thought it looked nicest with a white frame.

December ~ An antique doctor's bag, or in this case, a mortician's. Aged brown leather, a handle to grasp – it's in lovely condition. Along with it, there's a hand pump, a jar of chemical sealant, cavity fluid, arterial fluid, a trocar, and aspirators. A grainy frame finishes the photo off.

I hope people enjoy my collection and this calendar I've made with it. I tried to be unique and not repetitious in my photos. In creating it, I aimed for a combination of creepy and beautiful. I hope I have succeeded. Here's to 2013!