Countdown to Christmas Calendar

This holiday season I’m all about getting projects done in a day. This year, I can’t afford the take a week to complete a project, you all know I’m very capable of creating a mole hill kinda project into a mountain kinda project. So I thought and thought of how I could create a “Countdown to Christmas Calendar” without it taking me days to complete. I love counting down to Christmas just as much as a kid and thought I would share with you what and how I made mine. This project should take 3  hours tops from start to finish including drying time for the paints.

Products Used: Maya Road Countdown Shadowbox, Adirondack Acrylic Paint Dabber Juniper & Metallic Gold, Coffee Archival Ink, Glue Stick, My Mind’s Eye ~ Joyous 6” x 6” Designer Pack, Diamond Stickles, 25 ~ 1.5” Sisal Trees (Hobby Lobby), Ranger Multi Medium Matte, Clorox Bleach

Tools Needed: Paintbrush, Craft Mat, Scissors, Sanding Block, Blending Tool & Foam

Paint the shadow box using Juniper acrylic paint, let dry. Randomly ink ares of the shadow box using Coffee Archival Ink, Accent areas of the shadow box using Metallic Gold acrylic paint, let dry.

Cover chipboard squares using My Mind’s Eye ~ Joyous patterned paper, sand edges, ink edges using Coffee Archival Ink, accent edges with metallic gold paint, let dry. Using Diamond Stickles accent the images on each chipboard square, let dry.

Bleach 25 – 1.5″ sisal trees in your sink with a water and Clorox bleach mixture. I fill my sink with water just deep enough so my trees are completely covered with water then pour in the Clorox while counting 1,001, 1,002, 1,003 and stop. Place your trees into the mixture for 30 minutes or until bleached. Make sure you are super careful and you are in a well ventilated area.

Once the trees are bleached, rinse with cold water and pat dry.

To create the numbers for each tree I used Microsoft Word ~ Times New Roman Font ~ Font Size 12. I printed the numbers using my laser printer, cut out each one and attached each number to the base of a bleached sisal tree using Ranger Multi Medium Matte and let dry.

Using a strong liquid adhesive glue the inner shadow box divider into the shadow box, press firmly for good adhesion. Place a strong liquid adhesive in the center of each square and attach your altered chipboard squares. Now you just need to wait for December 1st to add your sisal trees. I can hardly wait to start my countdown.

I think the milk glass bowl is perfect for holding all my sisal trees and goes well with the vintage themed patterned papers. If you want to add a little treat for kids each day I think rolling up a holiday task and tying a tree to each one with baker’s twine would look really cute. Here are a few of the fun things I did with my kids when they were little…

Make Christmas Cards for Your Friends

Bake & Decorate Christmas Cookies

Make Reindeer Food & Sprinkle in the Yard

Make Hot Chocolate & Don’t Forget the Marshmallows

Make Spiced Cider

Eat Candy Canes

Decorate a Gingerbread House

Make S’Mores

Drive Around Town Looking at Christmas Lights In Your PJ’s

It’s Snowman Pancakes for Dinner Night

Visit Santa

Watch the Movie “A Christmas Story”

Write a Letter to Santa

Random Act of Kindness

Donate To the Food Bank

Make Christmas Tree Cupcakes

Sleep Under the Christmas Tree

Watch the Movie “The Grinch”

Have a Red & Green Dinner

Roast Marshmallows

Pick a Name from the Angel Tree

Deliver Christmas Treats to the Neighbors

Watch the Movie “It’s A Wonderful Life”

Make Your Own Wrapping Paper

Enjoy Christmas Day with Family and Friends

If you create a Countdown to Christmas Calendar please share it with me via my Facebook page. I’d love to see it.

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