Guys...I have been dying to share my advent calendar with you.
It debuted at Me Making Do for her Crafty Creative Christmas series last week but I just couldn't wait any longer to share it here with you :)
I'm seriously in love with this project- it's my favorite Christmas project I've done so far!!
So without further ado...
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I wanted to show you a project that has been twirling around in my head since September and that I finally brought to life.
I've always adored advent calendars ever since I was a little kid and I love them even more now that I have my own little one to countdown with!
Little man loves watching the numbers countdown to Christmas and having something interactive is a fun memory to make each day during December.
I've been having fun playing with this old fence wood I got from a friend and decided it would be perfect to make a large advent calendar that would be fun for all of us.
(You can see how I used the same wood for some projects here and here)
Isn't it purty?
Love the natural grain it has!!
I also took some plain wooden discs that I got from Hobby Lobby and picked out all the larger circles.
At this point,
I just started playing with them, trying to find a design I liked.
I settled on a simple Christmas tree shape that worked perfectly with 25 circles.
And I love that December 25th would land at the tip-top of the tree :)
I decided to soften the wood a bit by white-washing it.
Just mix a little white paint with water until you have the consistency you want and then brush it on.
Keep brushing it on to get it as dark (or light) as you want.
I wanted to see the wood grain still so I did just a few coats.
While that dried, I got to work covering my little circles.
I wanted the numbers for the countdown on one side of them so
I printed out 1-25 on cardstock, alternating numbers with two different colors.
The picture below doesn't show them alternated but I did evens on red and odds on blue.
I used my new little circle punch to punch 'em out and it was the perfect size to fit the larger circles from the bag.
Score!
I just held the punch upside down so I could see where I was punching :)
Then I did the same with my patterned scrapbook paper for the other side.
This is where you can have lots of fun!
Grab whatever scraps or new paper you have and have fun mixing and matching them.
I used all kinds of scrap pieces I had on hand and loved all the colors together.
Just use Mod Podge to adhere them to the circles.
The scary part was drilling little holes at the tops of each one so they could hang.
I was worried they'd split but as long as you go slow and not too close to the outsides, they do fine.
See?
Little, perfect circles!
And just because I have to stay true to my name,
I had to ink them up a bit.
I just rubbed my black inkpad along the edges to give them the finishing touch :)
It makes them pop, huh?
I had to add some bling to the space underneath the tree so I added the words 'days til Christmas' in scrapbook paper, using Mod Podge.
I also took two of the smaller circles and covered them in cherry Glitterblast spraypaint for some holiday sparkle!
Are you dying to see it all put together??
Really? Are you?
Hm. Alrighty then.
Check it out...
What do you think??
I was so excited when I saw it all go together!!
The little circles are hanging on tiny white nails I had on hand.
I just laid the circles down to determine where they'd go, and hammered the nails in one by one.
You can totally tell my lack of OCD-ness by some of the stubborn, crooked ones :)
But check out the pretty burlap ribbon I wrapped around the top...
I love, love, love all the colors together.
Makes me so excited for Christmas to hurry up and get here...
...well at least for December, so we can start counting down!!
And as much as I love all the numbers showing, all ready to help us keep our days straight...
With the flip of the wrist the circle flips over...
...and you start making a gorgeous design on your tree!!
And you end up with something like this....
Isn't it fun?
Here's a quick supply list run-down in case you decide to make your own:
*Scrap wood for the main base
*White Paint for white-washing
*Wooden circles
*Assortment of paper to cover circles
*Mod Podge
*Small finishing nails
*Ribbon (optional)
Little man keeps asking how many days until d'member so we can pull 'the board' out.
So I'm glad we'll have something to keep him occupied while he's looking forward to Christmas :)
I hope you guys like my little DIY advent calendar because I sure had fun putting it all together!!
I'm so excited to finally share it with you guys!
It's been in the works for a while and was one of those projects I just kept thinking about until I finally had the time to do it :)
I hope you guys have a fantastic Thanksgiving tomorrow with all your loved ones.
And just in case you didn't know... I am SO thankful for all of you!!!
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