{Advent Calendar}

I love this advent calendar idea that Beate Johns created last year and showed us on Splitcoast. You can find the tutorial here. I made one last year and wanted to make one this year as a gift. I had a terrible time photographing it---I tried it numerous times. Finally I decided that perfectionism never got anything posted, so I'd just deal with the pictures I had and post them anyway!!!

I started out with a canvas from AC Moore and painted it red. I used Ripe Avocado cardstock and Holiday Vintage Prints patterned paper from Papertrey Ink. (I had originally intended to show this for the PTI October Blog Hop, but I got messed up on the days and missed it---oh well! But, the polka dots would have been perfect!!!)
I used my square nestabilities dies and scallop squares to cut the paper uniformly. The tins are covered with a different pattern from the same paper pack....and the background piece for the words on top is yet another piece.
I stamped the wreath with Rustic Branches and added crystal effects to the berries for some texture. The brads are some medium cherry brads from American Crafts. The letters are from Tall Tales Alphabet. I stamped them in Versamark ink on Ripe Avocado cardstock and embossed them with clear embossing powder from Ranger.The numbers and border are from Just Rite stampers--again I stamped them using Versamark and then embossed them with Filigree Detail Gold Embossing Powder. I added a piece of Ripe Avocado Saddle Stitch ribbon to each side of the canvas and tied it in a ribbon at the top as a hanger.

The project is actually an easy one. I like the size of the tins because the gifts inside have to be small to fit! Last year, I typed a list of some of the items for the month--like tickets to the Nutcracker for the whole family, or Christmas Movie night to make it possible to present things that were a little bigger than the tin. It really helped my 7 year old get through some of those LONG, LONG days until Christmas. If you don't have a calendar---you should try this one--if I can do it, anyone can!

Have a great day!
Kathleen

Calendar stuff:
Stamps: Tall Tales Alphabet (SU!), Rustic Branches (PTI), Just Rite Medium/Large Number set
Paper: Ripe Avocado, Pure Poppy, Holiday Vintage Paper (PTI)
Ink: Ripe Avocado, Pure Poppy (PTI), Versamark
Tools: Cuttlebug (Provocraft), Circle, Scallop Circle, Square, Scallop Square Nestabilities dies (Spellbinders), Heat Tool (Marvy),
Accessories: Medium Cherry Brads (American Craft) Favor Tins (Wilton), Crystal Effects (SU!), Velcro Dots, Zots 3-D adhesive dots