Take your baking tin outside and spray paint – cover the surrounding area with newspaper or other protectant. I used a paint with rust protection in it just in case the baking tin tries to perish and break through. Allow to dry completely.

Measure a grid 7 columns by 6 rows to fit on your chosen baking tin, mark your grid on patterned paper with a thick marker/pen.

Measure a topper paper to form a background above the grid – your month titles will be placed on this area.

Adhere grid and topper to the base of the baking tin.

Adhere letters representing the days of the week to the top row of the calendar grid.

Make month titles using assorted papers and materials –

February – Cut background paper from Asian Elements kit and adhere to black cardstock. Adhere letter stickers. Tie charm to title block with ribbon included in kit. Mount title block on magnet strips.
March – Use pigment ink direct-to-chipboard, being careful to let the carved design show through uninked. Apply Versamark ink to edges and heat Eucalyptus Opals in 3 layers, apply Versamark ink to edge and apply a single layer of Banksia Opals, allowing the Eucalyptus to show through. Apply metallic Rub-ons to center of disk (Emerald and Gold). Stamp ‘Div’s Round’ on green cardstock with green ink and use circle punch to cut it out. Mount patterned paper to cardstock, ink around edges of the patterned paper, then mount letter stickers, chipboard disk and stamped disk. Mount title block on magnet strips.

Thread sturdy ribbon through the hole(s) in the baking tin rim to hang your calendar. Place the extra month titles inside the baking tin for rotation throughout the year.

Display your calendar and enjoy it all year long!

Are you a paper hoarder? Who isn’t? Take your favourite hoarded papers and make a calendar for your own home – you will be able to see all those wonderful papers each and every day of the year!

Do you rotate chores in your home? Make a baking tin chore calendar, and use the photo magnets to show whose job it is to feed the pets this week, or make chore magnets and move them to the ‘done’ column after the chore is completed. (brushed teeth, made bed, cleaned up, etc.)

Make special magnets with photos and glass pebbles (or dome stickers) – use the individual pictures to replace the numbered date on the birthday month (for an August 5 birthday, take the ‘5’ off the calendar and replace with a photo pebble of the birthday person). Use the photo pebbles to hold reminders at the base of the calendar for that person (appointments, lists, etc).

Make themed numbers for special months – a heart for February 14, a poppy for November 11 (Rememberance Day), etc. I have a pretty holiday 25p postage stamp with a robin on it for December 25.

Use large silk/paper flowers or stamped flowers for month titles in spring/summer months.

Be Brutal (and wear safety glasses) – that cute little die from the old ‘Trouble’ game isn’t nearly as easy to extract as you might think. Kudos to the manufacturer for making it truly child safe and tamper proof, but my kiddos have long since outgrown the game and the little pieces are gone – I just want that numbered cube! Be prepared to get out some tools (in this case a hammer) and don’t forget the safety glasses for any kind of heavy duty art tasks that might throw out debris. You could also put the game in a plastic bag before taking the hammer to it – debris will be restricted to the bag so cleanup is a snap. Other safety or clean tools you might want to keep handy are heavy duty gloves, aprons, old t-shirts for painting in, etc.

Ordinary dice only go up to ‘6’, but there are lots of other types of dice available at game stores (or in your toy storage area); playing cards up to 11, dominoes will take you up to ‘12’. Some game pieces that go further: loteria and bingo.

Laminate paper items to protect them for extended exposure and use.

Use the indented baking side, the back of the cookie baking sheet, to store the month titles when not in use.