Advent Calendar - Christmas Countdown

Christmas is just around the corner! So this year I really wanted to make my boys an Advent Calendar to countdown how many days we have left until Christmas. This was a really great project to work on, and I’m excited to make it one of our new family traditions.

I’ve seen advent calendars all over Pinterest and there are a TON of great and unique ideas out there. I really wanted to keep it simple and incorporate my corkboard I have on the kids art wall in my front room.

I’m loving how it turned out!!

Getting Started

My whole inspiration for this advent calendar was inspired by these wooden tags I found at JoAnn’s. There was 8 in a package for $1.00, total bargain! I grabbed my mini clothespins and some Mod Podge I already had.

Plus I have a TON of washi tape to choose from (I’m kinda obsessed with washi tape). Once I had all my materials together I was ready to get started!!

Side Note: This was one of those crafts I didn’t completely know how I was going to finished. I kind of made it up as I went along so in my getting started picture I’m missing a couple items. Basically all the stuff I used for the Silhouette.

Step 1 – Add Your Washi Tape

I picked out my festive looking washi tape and added a little strip to each clothespin. I pulled out my “Trusty” X-Acto knife and cut off all the excess washi tape.

I added a thin layer on Mod Podge to keep the washi tape from lifting up off my clothespins.

Quick Tip: Make sure you spray paint your clothespins white before adding your washi tape. I had clothespins leftover from a previous project so they were already spray painted.

Step 2 – Add Your Thumbtacks

I pulled out my “Handy Dandy” hot glue gun and dabbed a little glue on the back of each clothespin and firmly pressed it down. Voila!! It went on the corkboard perfectly!

Step 3 – Paint Your Tags

I painted two costs of white paint front and back on my tags. At the last minute I decided I wanted to incorporate one of my favorite blue colors to the tags.

I recently painted my Tiffany inspired Fall pumpkins the same color and LOVED it! Such and beautiful color and really looks great with the red.

Step 4 – Add Your Numbers

I printed off my numbers using my Silhouette. I wanted to go with a basic and legible font. Then I firmly pressed it on my tag using my scoring tool (or credit card will work).

If you don’t have a Silhouette then a stencil or even number stickers would work great!

Step 5 – Print Off Your Snowflakes

I saw these awesome snowflakes on Lil’ Luna and had to download them so I could use for the other side. I printed them off on white vinyl.

I love that there’s 26 different styles, it really gives you a lot of options!

Step 6 – Add Your Snowflakes

Once I had my snowflakes printed off on my vinyl I decided I wanted to add a little “Sparkle“. If you know me then you know I love “Sparkle“! I pulled out some spray adhesive and “lightly” sprayed each snowflake with the glue. Then sprinkled some fine glitter over top.

I immediately pulled my snowflake up and placed it on my tag.

Quick Tip: I made sure I did each snowflake one at a time. I made the mistake of doing 6 at one time and the glue and glitter started to build up and it was hard taking the snowflake off. So one at a time worked best for me!

Step 7 – Finishing Touches

After I had all my tags finished I added them onto the corkboard making sure they were all lined up perfectly (or as perfect as I could get them). I wanted to add a little ribbon to the sides of my corkboard making it look like a present.

I am so excited to have my little bears turn over the tags each morning and getting excited to see how many days we have left till Christmas. That’s why I wanted to make it a Christmas countdown and not just show the day it is. I might have another project brewing for that!

I hope you enjoyed my tutorial. I had A LOT of fun making it with A LOT of help from my sweet and supportive hubby!