Advent Calendar 2012

Every year after Christmas I carefully take down and store our advent calendar because I always plan on using it the following year.

And at the beginning of the next Christmas season I make a new advent calendar.

I can help it.  I'm a compulsive crafter.  

(You can see our 2010 calendar here and our 2011 calendar here.)

This year I wanted to use the silhouette.  

And chicken wire.

And old fencing.  

This is what we celebrated with this year.

Each tag is actually a pocket which held our daily activity.   

The pockets have a front piece and a back piece that were sewn together.  (Did I mention that I also wanted to use my sewing machine?)  

 We used ribbon and twine to tie the tags to the chicken wire.

 I made the frame with some old fencing and staples.

Definitely my favorite yet.  This may actually be fantastic enough to ward off my craft addiction and need to reinvent the advent calendar next December.  Perhaps I could pour the effort into homemade stockings... or a tree skirt... or ... hmm...

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P.S. I have already uncovered my Valentine's Countdown Calendar already.  Come on February!

DIY: Chalkboard Wall Calendar

It has been a long time coming and seeing this project completed is a dream.

One huge blank wall.

Two hours and two rolls of painters tape.

Three coats of chalkboard paint.

A think it is a great way to start the new year.  Organized.

Here are a few more pictures of the process...

Just took the tape off.

Priming.

Deck of Cards - Christmas Advent Calendar 2011

I'm not a big fan of leftovers (unless of course it involves the take out kind and even then it usually doesn't make it to the morning).  So even though I meticulously saved my advent calendar from last year, I knew deep down I couldn't use it.  Again with literally hours before December was to begin I gathered some supplies and headed my little studio in search of some inspiration.  Want to see what I came up with?  No fancy tools or punches, with the most ordinary of supplies... just a glue gun, stickers and a deck of cards.

The stickers were free (the kind that come in mailings) and I stuck them to card stock and cut them out.  I added a bit of dimension with wood circles so the stickers seem to pop out.   Add random bits of twine, ribbon and buttons and they were finished.  Then I glued clothes pins to a old piece of fence (yet another purpose for that fence) and clipped on the cards.  On the back of each of the cards is the activity for the day.  We tried to remember all of our activities from last year but couldn't of course.  That is one reason a blog is wonderful.  I used all the ideas from last year plus a few new ones.

• pack and eat a red and green lunch
• make a paper prayer chain
• make gingerbread houses out of graham crackers and frosting
• go for a chilly walk outside and warm up with cocoa after
• purchase toys to donate
• camp out under the Christmas tree
• send a package to a friend 

The cards are not even hung yet, (I was excited and hung them just for these few shots) awaiting a planning and scheduling session for the parents, but the kids are already asking if they can turn today's card.  I love to see that kind of excitement.  To spend time with each other, to unplug from all the technology around us.  To choose quality time over empty minutes.  To get this family back on track, away from the consumerism and the wants.  To fill this Christmas season with sweet little moments that cause us to pause and to hope to never forget.

p.s. I think these would make adorable mini Christmas cards to hand out this year!  What do you think?

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Valentine's Countdown Calendar

I was so delighted how my advent calendar kept my December calm yet eventful that I started thinking, why not again? Why not another holiday? Finding creative and meaningful things to do forced me to be mentally present in the physical moment. So often, when times get tough or busy, we tend to check out or put our happiness in the future. We have thoughts like, "is it bedtime yet?" or "when do I get a moment." I'm realizing this life is not about me. Nope. Not even a bit. It's about the people I love. Making sure I give them the best of me all the time. Now, I'm not suggesting to become a slave or doormat, but give wholeheartedly. Why not? Everyone knows that you reap what you sow... The love comes back.

Enough with the mush... here is my Valentine's Calendar.

Since the idea is to countdown the days until Valentine's, you will need to brainstorm 14 activities. I tried unsuccessfully to copy lists other people had already put together but discovered most of the stuff out there was composed of mass amounts of money and/or sugar. So... Here is my list.

• Make and hang hearts (and strings of white lights-- how can you ever go wrong with those)
• Watch a LOVE movie as a family.
• Bake something SWEET... and share it.
• You are SPECIAL! Let's eat dinner by CANDLELIGHT.
• Make VALENTINE'S cards to pass out to friends.
• Share the LOVE...Camp out in Mom and Dad's room.
• Learn how to say "I LOVE YOU" in other languages.
• Wear lots of RED and WHITE (or PINK) today.
• Give someone a call and tell them they are LOVED.
• Enjoy some family time reading all of our LOVE books.
• Send a package to someone we LOVE who lives far away.
• Sow seeds of LOVE -- start our garden seedlings indoors.
• Share hot cocoa with heart shaped marshmallows (cookie cutter)
• Happy Valentines Day -- small gift or treat

-- Upon review, some of mine are not so cool either, but hey, do what works for you.

(And just like my advent calendar, I am going to spend a couple minutes in front of our family's February schedule to see what days can afford some of the more involved activities and what

days deserve an easy one.)

I printed out the fun stuff on graph paper (just because) and cut them out. Since I never do anything the easy way, they were all different sizes. Then I took the graph paper that was all different sizes and glued them to red card stock. Then I cut the card stock into all different sizes. Did I mention that I like to do everything the hard way... If I were you I'd make them all the same size in the first place. But didn't they turn out pretty...

To finish them off, I punched a hole and thread some black ribbon.

I could have stopped here and simply numbered them, but I always look for the path of most resistance... and I really wanted an excuse to sew with paper.

A while back, I inherited hundreds of postcard envelopes. Those plus clearance Christmas ribbon, pages from an old hymnal and cardstock scraps equals...

Love.

This was by far the most intimidating part of the project. But the lack of both pattern and expectation was kind of nice for a change.

Then I needed an equally lovely way to hang the envelopes...

Just clothespins with ribbon and paper and glue.

Simple and beautiful.

And here they are.

The kids are going to go nuts in the morning when they see this at breakfast.

I still have to print the numbers and actually coordinate the "do's" with the days, but that is waiting for another evening...

P.S. I loved dandee's posts about her thirty days of kindness... and kindness after all is all about love. Check her out for some more lovely ideas of how to keep the love going even after Valentine's day.