Advent Calendar Ornament

Holly Lefevre
by Holly Lefevre
My daughter loves to decorate our Christmas tree...every day. So a few years ago I made these advent calendar ornaments so she CAN add to the tree every day! These are my that will be a part of our family tradition every Christmas.
I used 3" x 24" basswood boards from the craft store and cut them into 3" pieces (yielding a 3x3 square). If you prefer not to cut, most craft stores have precut shapes and you can use those. Also each board yields 8 squares. You need three boards to make 24.
Supplies


24 (or 25) 3"x3" wood squares; Black paint I happened to use chalkboard paint, but any craft paint will work; paint brush; 24 (or 25) 10" pieces or ribbon/twine; white paint pen, number stencils or number printouts and a pencil; drill; sandpaper. OPTIONAL: you can add glitter paint to the top of the ornament for a little sparkle or you can also decoupage vintage Christmas images on the opposite side (so you have just regular ornaments).
After cutting the squares, sand the edges. Paint each square black; let dry. Stencil your numbers on or use the number printouts and a pencil to transfer the numbers to the squares. Go over the numbers with white paint pen. OPTIONAL, with a transparent glitter paint, paint the entire square for a little sparkle. Sand the edges again to give the squares a "nice" slightly vintage/tattered edge.
Optional: use a decoupage medium and brush along with vintage images and also decorate the back of the ornament. I did this so we would always have these special ornaments (just flip them over for a regular ornament).
Drill 2 small holes in each top corner , about 1/2" in and down. You may need to sand the holes again. Thread your ribbon through and knot on both sides.
Holly Lefevre
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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 2 comments
  • Christine Suddarth Christine Suddarth on Nov 25, 2014
    This is great! How do you display them before you hang them on the tree? Thank you for this idea.
    • Holly Lefevre Holly Lefevre on Nov 25, 2014
      I leave mine in a small crate. By the tree. But you can also put them in a pretty box or bowl.
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