12 August 2008

Class project: Countdown to Christmas

Here's a project I finished up recently for an upcoming class at the store where I teach. It's an Advent calendar, and it was a lot of fun to make. The box itself is a new Karen Foster product, just released at CHA this summer. It comes with a set of sticker numbers. I used some of them and made a few of my own to mix it up.

(click on the picture to bigify)

You may recall that last year I altered an Advent calendar I bought on clearance at Starbucks (see pics here), so when I saw that Karen Foster was coming out with this product, I immediately snagged it for a class! I chose the new Reminisce Frosty line (also just released) to decorate the calendar. If you didn't want to use this product as an Advent calendar, you could use it for any "countdown" situation or holiday.

Oh, here's a tip based on something I learned last year: If you decide to fill the little boxes with candy, pick a type of candy you do not like. Otherwise you may be tempted to eat the entire month's worth of candy before Christmas! And that is completely counter-productive! :-)

13 comments:

Benita said...

That is so cool! I love how you decorated it & now you're putting me in the mood for Christmas :) Thanks for sharing!

Sarah Coggins said...

Gorgeous! I love the colors. :) And, thanks for reminding me - I picked up a 2nd Starbucks calendar on sale last year and still need to decorate it. Oh. And I think that one still has candy in it. Ick. Tossing those! LOL

Linda said...

That is beautiful! There's another item added to my shopping list. :)

Ryzmomplus2 said...

That is just beautiful! and I did pick up one after they were on clearance too! Love your reminder about the candy - I think I better follow your advice!

Noelia said...

I saw this product and I thought it would be something I would love to alter! Thanks for showing yours, it turned out so beautiful!

Anonymous said...

This is just wonderful! The colours are perfect - if you don't mind me asking . . . what size are each of the little drawers?

Janet said...

Thank you, guys! This was a really fun project. It would be easy to do using leftover bits of this and that. It really doesn't take a lot of product to alter the calendar.

Shirley-Thanks! The calendar itself is smaller than I had envisioned. Each of the little drawers measures 1.50 x 1.50 inches. I found that I had to cut the squares just a bit shy of that so that they open/close smoothly. I used a 1/2" circle punch to notch the top edge of each paper square before adhering. HTH!!

Thanks so much, guys! I'm excited about this class! :-)

Lily said...

how stinkin' adorable

mborrero said...

totally like it. namaste
melina
living creating & appreciating
my blog

Cheri said...

Gorgeous!!:) Hard to top your Starbucks calendar, but I think you pulled it off! Hm, how many Advent calendars do I (or my family members) need?! LOL!

I am AGHAST that Sarah wasted perfectly good Starbucks candy! For shame;) Didn't she know we could have helped her out with that?!

toners said...

This is AWESOME! I remember the Starbucks project last year :) LOL at your comment about the candy - I'd definitely empty that thing in a moment of weakness one night in front of the TV... :)

Anonymous said...

Thanks , for sharing, it is just beautiful !! I love the Starbucks calendar too !! Do you know if they are still available ?

Bonnie

Janet said...

Thank you, Bonnie! I do not know if Starbucks will be selling the calendars this year. I've seen them in stores for the past 2 holiday seasons. I would start checking right after Thanksgiving, or ask at Starbucks. Thx for stopping by!