Advent Calendar

In a burst of romanticism and creativity, I decided to make Kristofer his own advent calendar. After all, I’ve always loved them (though last year was the first time I ever had my own). So, I got out a bunch of leftovers (because the best projects are free) and got to work.

I took one of the bigger canvases I had – that I’d been saving for a different project, of course – and used left over paint from the room I was going to hang the calendar.

Honestly, a foam brush was pretty difficult to use. But with a little patience (and a double coat) it made a nice green. :)

I knew I needed something stronger than a layer of canvas, so I cut down a cardboard box just larger than the canvas frame. Taking care not to stretch said canvas, I packed it between the canvas and frame.

The last corner was the most challenging. Just be careful and it’ll be fine.

Next, I needed to make the project more complicated… it was just too straight forward so far! (Just kidding.) I wanted a way to hang a card for each day, so I used some paper clips laying around and twisted them into hooks. But, you know, a simple tack would work just as well – since we put that cardboard in the back!

I cut out scrapbook squares 3″ x 3″, used a rounded corner punch, and put some beautiful holes in the top.

Using the first sharp object I came across, an awl, I laid out the squares and used them to punch my holes. Next I took all of the 25 hooks and pushed them into each hole. To really secure each hook, I pushed them into the layers of cardboard – not in front or behind it.

And, just to finish it up, I added key tags to label each day!

Here’s a sneak peak. Don’t tell Kristofer though, I’m making him wait until each morning for the next. :p