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.