crate paper advent calendar

here we go again!  honestly, where is the time going?!  the good thing is that my class is ending tonight so that will free up a little time.  oh, well, like i said in my last post, as long as i'm enjoying the season, things will be just fine.

i have an actual craft project to share with you today--can you believe it?!  i had a Crate Paper post last week in which i made a very sparkly Christmas countdown calendar.  you can read the post here and i'll share the pictures and a few tidbits in my post today, as well.

i've never made an Advent Calendar but i remember being intrigued by them as a child...mostly because there was supposed to be a treat behind each little door, i'm sure!  instead of little doors, i made mine with glassine envelopes--because now i'm intrigued by those more than the candy inside!

i went with a red, white, and silver palette, using only the Sleigh Ride collection.  i knew i would eventually be hanging each envelope on a board of some kind so i wanted a bit of unity for the project.  that's why i kept the colors simple and why each envelope has a white tag and a vellum number.  in addition, i clipped the tiny packages to the ribbon with a silver mini clothespin.  i painted each of the clothespins with a silver leaf pen--yes, those paint pens have definitely been one of my obsessions this year!

i embellished with a lot of stickers--border stickers, label stickers, chipboard stickers--along with fabric brads and chipboard shapes.  from my own stash, i added extra small touches like the sequins and gems, plus a couple of plain chipboard stars that i painted with the silver pen.

  

inside, i kept the design very simple, using just a small piece of coordinating paper for each one.  i didn't want to add a lot of bulk and i didn't want to spend a ton of extra time also decorating the inside.  not to mention, the envelopes are see-through and anything i did to the inside would be visible on the outside.  i didn't want there to be all kinds of things competing for attention.

my other reason for keeping the inside simple was because i wanted to write on the back of each small paper something that made us happy.  Christmastime is (*supposed to be) the season of cheer and sometimes that gets overlooked during the hustle and bustle of shopping and baking and decorating.  all of that stuff is wonderful to do but it can become stressful to try to fit everything in and after awhile, it stops being so cheery.  that really is the main thing i want to achieve this season--happiness!  so i gave myself the task of being sure to write down the things i (we as a family) am happy about.



and of course, there is the treat inside.  for Hoss and me, it's dark chocolates from Ghirardelli!  yum!  and for Mr. Bagubian, it's a set of Cars Micro Drifters.  he receives one per week.  i also put a Starbucks gift card in one of the envelopes, so Hoss and i can get those peppermint mochas during an evening shopping trip:)

i chose not to put anything in the Christmas day envelope, simply because we'll already be getting so many other gifts and surprises that we really don't need anything else.

to display my calendar, i used a bulletin board that i already had on hand.  i covered it in red glitter wrapping paper and strung silver ribbons across the front, clipping my envelopes to them with the tiny clothespins.  with the candy in them, they were kind of heavy and pulled on the ribbon a bit, but i anticipated that and i don't think it looks too bad.

i'd like to keep up this tradition--it may not be as fancy as this year's was--but i think that having a Christmas Countdown calendar would be a good tradition to start.  when Gooby and his little brother or sister get older, especially, i'd like to help them recognize what they are happy and thankful for at this time of year.  it's not all about presents and treats--it's about giving and being kind and grateful and recognizing your blessings.  something like this will help them remember those things in a fun (and tasty) way!

thanks for stopping in today...