Advent Calendar

As promised from several weeks ago, here is the finished blue Advent Calendar that I made for Jake's girlfriend Alex.

Again I have used Basic Grey papers but this time I used rub on snowmen for the decoration.

I made the holder in the same way but this time it was quicker to put together as I knew how to do it. I painted the blocks first then added the matts and the numbers.

 

 Here are the two calendars together, Alex now wants one for 100 days till Christmas!!!

I worked out for her that she could start using the blocks at 32 days till Christmas!!!

Advent Calendar

During the school summer holidays I have been thinking of Christmas, I have worked out a class for Tithe Barn on the 14th Sept which is a Christmas card and a mini box. But this is what I made for myself, a Christmas Countdown also known as a perpetual calendar when used throughout the year.

I found out which numbers go on which block from the internet.

I made the holder to fit the blocks, to find the size I measured both blocks then added 1/8 inch



 

I already had the blocks so I painted them cream, used distress inks on the edges then added the matts and numbers. I sprayed the numbers with spray and sparkle so they had a glittery effect.

I made the holder out of chipboard which I covered in my favourite Basic Grey paper and inked the edges. in fact the whole thing is made with Basic Grey papers, I am now feeling a bit lost as I have used them and cannot keep taking them out of the box to look at, I'm so sad!!

 The top is die cut using a Tim Holtz edger die. The words are rub ons I found stashed away and the baubles are from a Martha Stewart stamp and punch set with glitter added.

When I had finished this project I showed my son's girlfriend who love Christmas, she wants one made in blues so when I have finished it I will post the pics.  

Advent Calendar

 

I've made this Adent Calendar to take into the class where I work, my own children either do not want a calendar, Jake age 19 but I do want a Christmas stocking Mum, or they want a shop bought one, Lucy and Adam!!!

The instructions for this are on the internet, I googled Advent calendars, it is very cleverly put together using a card grid and a Stampin up punch. The number squares are also from Stampin up. 

 

 I used a mixture of distress inks and stampin up inks to stamp the images.

The box handles are made from cross stich threads.

The chocolates inside the the little boxes are Hershy Kisses, at the moment they cost £3.00 for two packets at Asda, there are 30 chocolates in each packet.

This project is really easy to put together, the hardest part is cutting the card to size.

Advent Calendar

While making the previous advent calendars I wondered what one would look like as a chest of drawers,so I finally found time to make one.

I have used my favourite papers again, Basic Grey, along with cream card and chipboard.

I started by making the matchboxes which I then attached together using pva glue, this meant I was able to line the boxes up a little bit easier as I had a small amount of time in which I could slide the boxes about. I made four columns of six boxes which I then attached together to form the chest of drawers affect.

Next I used chipboard to make a box to house the matchboxes in, this gives the whole advent calendar a sturdier finish, I also used  chipboard to make a top and base for the housing to sit on.

I covered all the chipboard pieces with patterned paper before attaching together. 

Finally I finished the advent calendar by adding the numbers, I chose to do a random pattern for this, I decorated every other box front with faux stitching and then added the brads and rick- rack as drawer openers.

I decided to add glitter to the patterened paper but this does not show in the picture. 

 Again as with the other advents I have made all it needs now is little gifts in each drawer.

Advent Calendar

These delicious Advent Boxes are the reason I have not blogged for a while. I was asked to make these two advent boxes for a friends' children, they look fantastic, even if I do say so myself, but take ages to make. I used Basic Grey papers, my absolute favourite, along with co-ordinating brads, bazzill card, rick rack, glossy accents and stickles.

Each tower has 24 match boxes, obviously, so as I was making two Advents I had to make 48 match boxes. I could score the boxes on my Martha Stewart score board but the wrapper had to be measured in cm, so it was not as straight forward as it might have been.

Once all the boxes were made I attached them together three high using wet glue, then glued them together the same as I made the Matchbox Box. 

I made a top and base  from covered chipboard and used copious amounts of glue to make sure they stayed in place.

To finish the Advents, I stamped numbers on co-ordinating paper and punched out with a mini circle punch. To make it easier for myself I pushed the brads through the rick rack pieces before adding it as handles, it was like having a production line in my craft area.

To complete each drawer I found the middle, put the brad through, then added faux stitching to every other drawer before attaching the numbered circle.

Finally to finish the Advent I used my glossy accents and stickles to highlight areas of the paper.

All they need now is a gift in each drawer.