{advent calendar}

Last year, when a friend of mine and her sister made the most adorable advent calendars, I knew it was the one I wanted. I LOVE it. It combines so many of my favorite things.

Once the calendar was made, I filled many of the boxes candy, but on the weekends I placed slips of paper with fun activities we can do as a family, i.e. watch a movie and eat popcorn, make homemade hot chocolate & doughnuts, drive around and see the Christmas lights, visit the Santa House, read a special Christmas story, etc. I really want my kids to feel the magic of Christmas, and experience all those wonderful things that this time of year brings, and this calendar helped to achieve that.

Magnet Board Advent Calendar


ITEMS YOU NEED:

• large frame, minimum 16x20 (I made mine 22x22). You can make your own, or buy one and remove the glass.

• sheet metal, cut to fit frame ( You can buy this in smaller sheets at Home Depot, but I actually ordered mine from a sheet metal company where I live. It was a lot sturdier, and they cut it to the exact size I needed.)
  

• E6000, or liquid nails to adhere sheet metal to back of frame

• paper mache boxes, your choice of shapes. I wouldn't go larger than 2-3 inches per box. I used 3x3 squares, 2.25x3 rectangles, and 3 inch circles. You can find them at Walmart for about .66 each, or at www.woodcrafter.com, which is where I ordered mine from.

• scrapbook paper and embellishments, including numbers 1-25 for each box. I used about 5 different papers, including the Making Memories Mistletoe line, and a few others that went with it. I used vinyl lettering in black and white for the numbers, and a few other miscellaneous lettering stickers.

• Mod Podge and foam brush

• strong magnets

• hot glue

• craft paint and foam brush

• distress ink

DIRECTIONS:

1. Adhere sheet metal to back of frame, let dry. I also added some tacks onto the back for extra security.

2. Paint boxes with craft paint, let dry. I needed 2 coats for adequate coverage, and only used 1 bottle of paint.

3. Cut your paper to size, then embellish as desired. Add numbers. Ink the edges of your paper.

4. Mod Podge paper to top of boxes, then brush on a top coat. Let dry.

5. Using the hot glue gun, glue the magnets to the bottoms of the boxes.

6. Fill boxes, and enjoy!!