Crafting for Advent

So I am maybe the latest sucker to be pulled into Pinterest! Last week with more time on my hands then work, I started to search for ideas to make an advent calendar for my parents. I came across this idea pinned by someone from the Better Homes and Garden website. The thing is, no directions came along with it. I thought it was simple enough to figure out on my own, but probably took about 5 hours to construct. So here for you my friends, I will break it down in case you want to jump in on the craft store sales and get busy before December 1st to make this treat for yourself this year!

Supplies needed:

• Board (I used a 12x16 precut rectangle from Michaels)
• Scrapbook Paper for background and photo backings (Photo backings/date cards were cut out to 1 and 3/4" by 2"- this allowed space up top for the hole punch)
• 25 photos sized and cut to 1 and 3/4" squared (I just printed these on paper from color printer)
• Sticker Letters (or you could paint, cut from scrap paper, etc) (I found the FAMILY wood cutout for $1 at Michael's)
• Photo Corners- clear (I want to update the pics annually for my parents so this will make it easier to put new photos in and out rather than recreating the whole date card, you could just paste your photo directly on the date cards)
• Hole punch- I used a rectangle slit because of my sizing as I went along, it fit easier. You could always use what you have, including one post from a 3-hole punch. Just account for that in your starting board and picture sizes.
• Silver Pen- for writing the date on the back of the photo cards.
• Nails- retrospect I would have used shorter nails or asked my husband to be more careful in not hammering them in all the way, just enough to hold.
• Hanger- this could be a photo hanger you add to the back of the board, or you could add ribbon to hang it with a bow on top.
• Mod Podge and brush- I thought it would add a nice touch to add mod podge to the top of the scrapbook paper, and I like the way it turned out. I put it over the sticker letters and green top too. The hanging photo date cards were not mod podged.

If you are not a crafter and need to purchase most all of these things like I did, this project will run you about $30 assuming you can print the photos on a home printer. But with the Black Friday sales and coupons this could cost more around $15-20. After seeing it come to life this year, I think this is a great project to share with others as an advent gift in the future. So I'll be watching the sales and coupons!

The best part of this project is that my parents will have such fun each day of advent turning over a date card and seeing what new family photo lies behind it! Here is a sneak peek! I grabbed photos off facebook to include my brother and my family's so they can see both their grandchildren in rotation as the month goes along.

Happy Advent!

Feel free to ask questions if anything needs clarifying. =)