Xavier's Advent Calendar
(with about half of the magnetic pieces shown)
Adie made some adorable Advent Calendars for Maddie & Henry last year, so I thought maybe I could find something I could make that I would like. I was on a quest to find something that had the boxes around the outside with a space in the middle to make some type of Christmas scene. To my surprise, I found exactly what I was looking for! So I ordered it...and waited...and waited...Then I contacted the company wondering why it hadn't arrived yet, only to find out they cancelled my order because they were out of stock. I found it from another company and ordered it. Then I got an email saying it was back ordered and wouldn't be shipped until mid-December, so they were wondering if I wanted them to cancel my order. I cancelled my order and ordered it from yet another company. Less than a week later I had two packages in the mail - TWO Advent Calendars-the one that had been back ordered shipped earlier than they expected so they didn't cancel my order...oh well, better to have two than none, right!? It was already December 8th though, so Advent had already been under way for a week, but I still wanted to make it to give to Easton for a Christmas present (I decided he would just have to share with his big brother this year).
I decided I wanted to do a Christmas living room scene in the space in the middle, and thus began "Opperation Advent Calendar" for Easton:
The unassembled kit:
At this point, I began to wonder if this was such a great idea. Maybe we should have just gone with the mediocre Christmas tree Advent Calendar we found online (even if I didn't really like it much at all). NO! I have an image in my head of what I want Easton's Advent Calendar to look like, and it's NOT that crappy little Christmas tree one! I CAN DO THIS!
The assembled Advent Calendar:
This is all the further you get with the kit. It's a total blank slate. The rest is up to each individual person to create whatever they want with it (including rounding up whatever you want to decorate the boxes and the center area with) - that's kind of half the appeal though...it can be whatever you want!
I decided to use wrapping paper and modge podge to decorate the boxes. For the center area, I printed a couple of pictures off the internet and did some shopping in a scrapbooking section. I also decided I wanted it to be magnetic like Xavier's so Deb helped me out by giving me a magnetic vent cover that worked perfectly for this project!
Finished decorating the little boxes and the frame!
(except putting the numbers on the boxes)
Done? Something seems to be missing though,
and I don't love the "wall color" - the white/gray looks like a cement wall :(
It's not the cozy living room that I was hoping for, so...back to work!
Officially DONE!
I painted the background tan (so it no longer
looks like a cement wall) and added a window.
Much cozier, just like I had pictured!
I was able to make all of the pieces (except the fireplace, window, and the green part of the tree) magnetic, so one piece can go in each of the little boxes to create the Christmas living room scene one day at a time throughout the Advent season.
A lot of time and love went into this project, and it was absolutely worth it!! Hopefully it will be something Easton enjoys for many years to come too!
Christmas is sights, especially the sights of Christmas reflected in the eyes of a child.
How cute is that!!! He'll treasure that even more because his mama made it for him!
ReplyDeleteTurned out great! I feel like I cheated when I made mine...it came blank but already assembled :) Nice Work!
ReplyDelete