Advent Calendar | The Maui Stamper

Hello there, friends! I’ve missed chatting with you – it’s been a busy month stamping and sharing and being a wife, friend and mother! I’m happy to be back at the keyboard.

Almost a month ago I shared my first version of an Advent Calendar made with the 25 and Counting stamp set in the Holiday Mini catalog. I was inspired at convention back in July when I saw the version the creative team at Stampin’ Up! made, and Cheryl and I spent a couple of hours on the plane home trying to figure out all the products that were used and how much it would cost to re-create the project. The answer, to be precise, is 1) a lot and 2) a lot!!

Still, I was committed to the project and put together my version of the calendar. I even offered it as a class and the brave women who came assured me that they loved it, even though we spent over 5 hours and didn’t quite finish! Talk about the class that never ends! It was a lot of work, but I confess I’m really happy with the end result.

In addition to the Advent Calendar done as little envelopes, I created one using boxes put into a frame with velcro:

Do you like it? These are the boxes from the Bitty Boxes and Envelopes Bigz die, and they were the perfect size for the little date cards I designed. The challenge was that when you put 5 boxes in a row, they added up to 12 1/2 inches wide. AARGH!! I couldn’t find ANYTHING ready-made that would accomodate them, and I didn’t want to pay for a custom frame.

I was rummaging around my local craft store and stumbled upon canvas stretcher bars. They’re not designed to be frames, but in a pinch – well, they were the perfect solution! I used four 16 inch bars and it gave me just the right dimension. A piece of poster board attached to the back with Sticky Strip gave me a place to put my velcro dots. At the moment, the boxes are a little catty-wompus since we were taking them out and playing with them at a couple of recent classes. They’re plenty large enough for a treat or a message.

It was a lot of work, but well worth the effort.

It’s not that long until the first week of Advent. When my children were small, we always bought an Advent Calendar with the little windows that opened to reveal an image. Each night, one of them would open that little window at dinnertime and Christmas would move one day closer.

They’re big kids now, but I still look forward to counting down the days until Christmas. This year we’ll be celebrating it in Perth with my oldest daughter and her fiance – YES, they are officially engaged!! We are thrilled, and can’t wait to have the whole family together in Australia. My poor Sara will be flying from Boston – that’s 31 hours of travel time. But it’s WORTH IT to all be together – right, Sara?

Back to Advent Calendars…on the plane home from Convention, Cheryl and I carefully studied the brand new Holiday Mini catalogs we were given. We both loved the Advent Calendar on page 36 made with the 25 and Counting stamp set, but we wanted it to have a place to put stuff – notes, or Scripture verses, or treats, or whatever. Making each date a window would make it too big, and we tried to figure out a way to make it work. I promised to keep at it, and to offer it as a class if I came up with a workable idea.

It took a lot of fiddling and a few unsatisfactory attempts before I created what we were looking for:

Imagine this hanging on your wall with a GINORMOUS red ribbon!

My version of the Advent Calendar uses the new 25 and Counting Stamp set, the Peekaboo Frames Bigz die, and more paper, stamps, and embellishments than you can shake a stick at! It’s mounted on a painted Artist Board – much cheaper than canvas, and available in many sizes. There are pairs of Antique Brads attached to the board (that Crop-a-dile really does cut through ANYTHING) and the little envelopes from the Bitty Boxes and Envelope Bigz die are attached to a hemp twine line with our tiny clothespins.

If you would like to make one, I’m offering a class – yes, here on Maui – on Sunday, November 13. I only have room for 10 people, and details are on my events calendar at my Online Store. I’d love to have you join us!