It's getting so close! Christmas is less than a month away. It seems surreal...doesn't it? Well, now that the official countdown of 25 days is about to be upon us, I'm sharing how I made this year's Christmas countdown calendar. Yes...I say "this year's" because for some reason, I make a different countdown every year. I really don't know why. I have about 6 so far in my house...most of which are still in boxes. I do take out my faves and have them out every year. This one is for sure going to be one of them!
This year, I decided to make a pretty simple countdown made from stuff you can easily get from the craft store. I got this board from Hobby Lobby for about $11. It's pretty good size, 24" by 18". You can find it in their wood cutout aisle. They have lots of different signs like this just ready to go! Saves you time from not having to make it on your own :) Bonus!
I didn't like the darker color of the shiplap inset, so I used some white latex paint and dried brush over it.
Using my Silhouette, I then cut out the numbers 1-25 in a size I thought would work. I did this on scrap paper as to not waste my precious vinyl :) I only had scrap pieces of vinyl left so I needed every piece I could get! I cut these out at a little over 1". I then placed them on the sign. I played around with spacing and where I wanted each number to go until I got it perfect. I then took a picture to remember :)
If you are using just normal latex paint on a sign you built yourself, you can easily place painters tape right down the middle to the two edges to create a tree or triangle. This wood from the sign is so so soft that when I placed the tape right on it, and peeled it off, it took half the paint with it.... so, I had to figure that out. I ended up using a cereal box, and cutting out the shape I needed.
I then cut out a 1" strip of scrap paper to use as my spacer. I cut out all the numbers on black vinyl. Using the red numbers again, I figured out where the best placement was for them. The red spacer was used along the bottom groove of each "row". This helped with placing the numbers in the middle of each little shiplap section.
This is how it ended up looking with all the numbers down.
I then got tiny nails and hammered them into the groove above each number. To make this work easier, I placed the sign on top of a 2x4 cut at about 20". I then moved the 2x4 down each row, and hammered in the nail. If you do the project, you'll see why this makes such a difference.
I found these little wreaths at Hobby Lobby also. I think they are supposed to be used as napkins rings... I don't really know. But, they worked perfectly for this!
I then added a star at the top to finish off the tree. This star is a cutout from Michaels and painted red.
You can either start the countdown at the top, or use it to count the actual days.
I love the size of this and how easy it is for my kids to use. Plus, it came in under $15 to make the thing and less than an hour. Not too bad! I'm excited to start using it come December 1st!
As for my other favorites...I still have my favorite advent calendar clock that we use yearly that tells you things to do each day. Here's the tutorial on how to make it:
Here's another favorite Christmas Advent Countdown. This is fun because you just flip over the days and there's stuff to do on the other side. Tutorial here:
My kids look forward to doing these every year... new ones and old ones! Soon, we will have one for every room in our house, haha :) That might start to get a little much. What's your favorite way to countdown to Christmas? Until next time, Happy Thanksgiving!
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This post contains affiliate links Well, I've been saying that I was going to do it for years now...and guess what! I finally did it! I flocked my Christmas tree!!! We bought our 10 footer about 7 years ago, and I have loved everything about it besides the fact that it wasn't flocked... That's a big thing to hate! ha! Over the years I figured out how to make it look lighter using lots of frosted garland and sticks full of flocking. I decided that last year was going to be the last year of doing that, and I really needed to just flock the thing. The way I saw it, we had our good times and well, it was just about time to get a new one. So, why not try to revive it one last time? I would rather spend a fraction of what it cost to buy a flocked 10 foot tree than by the actual tree. So, the flocking happened. And it was totally worth it and so so easy!! Here's the final result:
The two flanking trees came from the store flocked, so you can see what an awesome job it did! Here's the before:
The flocking has some really good instructions, so be sure to use that as a guide. But, here's how I did mine...and I have a video below that shows my technique...with my head chopped off :) Sorry, compliments of my 6 year old taking the video.
So, here's how I did it. I filled the strainer almost full with the flocking. I misted the tree around the area I was ready to flock. I then shook the strainer and started spraying what was coming out of it towards the tree with the spray bottle. This looked good, but I wanted more. I wanted lots and lots of flocking. So....I kind of shook the strainer harder and noticed nice big poofs were going onto the tree in just a beautiful thick layer. So I started spraying all the stuff that was going over the rim of the strainer instead. Pic below also compliments of my 6 year old:
I swore I wore the mask through 75% of doing this, just not in the pics or video :)
My tree comes in three pieces, so to make this easier on me and not have to stand on a teetering ladder, I placed the pieces in their own stands.
Here's a good look at before the flocking and after.
and all flocked up! Ha! I loving saying that. I totally found a shirt on amazon a couple of years ago that said "let's get flocked up" and had a Christmas tree on it. I am so so sad I did not buy it. I can't find one now! I need to just start making them :)
Couple of words of advice. Don't wear shoes, they will get ruined. Also, don't go barefoot...you will literally be scraping the flocking off the bottom of your feet. So, wear socks you can throw away...or I guess shoes you don't care about and can probably throw away. Don't flock your dog. I did...on accident. He was just super curious and got in the way at the right time :) This stuff is apparently completely safe and natural so I didn't worry too much about getting him. It might also be smart to not wear things you care too much about. I didn't really get much on me, but that's not to say it can't happen. And lastly, wait to bring it inside. Make sure all the flocking has set. Spray it down again if you need to. Now for my review. I loved this stuff. Worked waaaay better than the aerosol kind I attempted to use last year. That being said...make sure you take your time and wet it down enough in between coats so it can completely adhere. I had spots that were super loose because of my over-kill clumping. This stuff doesn't stay on as well as actual flocked trees you will buy at the store, but it also didn't cost as much! So, there's that. I just put new lights on my tree once I got it in my house, and I was pleasantly surprised at how little flocking fell off when I put them on. I ended up just having a slight dusting on the floor. I'll definitely be saving the left over flocking for touch ups next year once it gets back out of the box! But all in all, it was totally worth it. Super easy and quick and gave me the look I wanted for years!
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Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
This post contains affiliate links. You guys! How is it already this far into November? We have a Christmas countdown already going in our house and we are so close to being in the 30's! My kids are freaking out just a little bit. I realized awhile ago about how fast this time of year flies by, and I have to mentally step back and not look forward to anything and just enjoy the now. When I put a day or event ahead and that's all I can think about, I realize I miss those special moments in between and lose them in all the hectic chaos that this season brings. That's why I like decorating my house early for the holidays. I just get it out of my way, and then I can sit back and enjoy those little moments...enjoy the "now". This week, I'm joining the lovely Carrie from Lovely, Etc and some other amazing blogging friends to share some early Christmas inspiration with the Very Merry Christmas Home Tours. You can see all of their tours at the bottom of my post :) But for now, I'm sharing my dining room Christmas tour! It's a little weird sharing this room as one of my first Christmas tours. It's usually one of the last rooms decorated for the holidays. There's just so much that goes into it, but this year, everything just fell into place perfectly. I would say effortlessly...but there was a little :)
I've been wanting to use my candlestick collection in here for the past few seasons, but I felt like it only worked well with Christmas. I also took down my gallery wall. I wanted to add my collection of cathedral windows, but it just looked too busy with all the candlesticks. Then I remembered my window frames. I put them up so this angle represented a Christmas tree...can you see it?
I went completely neutral in here with pops of frosted greenery. I then added these cute plush plaid pillows I got from Home Goods to the end chairs.
My dining table has multiple uses, and only used like 1% of the time as an actual table to eat on. That being said, place settings don't last long on here. They look pretty for a minute, then give me anxiety with the clutter...then add on all the papers, crayons, books, paint, playdoh, etc...you get my drift. One of these days when I host a super fancy dinner party, maybe I'll have these out for awhile :) To get this look, I used a charger from Kirklands, and placed a white plate on top I received as a hand-me-down from my mother in-law. I then placed a folded napkin on top of the plate, folded the top under the charger, and kept the bottom free. Placed a bowl on top of that, and finished it off with these cute place-tag holders I got from Hobby Lobby. For the names, I just cut out small pieces of linen and scrolled on names. I love the tattered look to them.
As for the tablescape....this is sadly only a fraction of all my candlesticks. You can't tell, but I did hold back on putting them all out :) Let's just say, I'll be ready for when the power goes out! These are all from Hobby Lobby. I then added a little garland through them to fill in the gaps and add some texture and frosted greenery.
As for my buffet, I kept it pretty light in color, and used my mainstays. I added a few pine cones in top of the tiered tray. I kept my faux aged terracotta pots on here...plus, I think they look great as little pots for tabletop Christmas trees which you'll see in my other room tours.
After my photo shoot from last years Christmas decorations for American Farmhouse Style magazine, I have a multitude of extra little Christmas trees, so I added a couple on here for a festive look. (PS. That issue is out right now! Go check it out :) )
To soften up the window frames, I swagged some frosted garland. I kept it interesting by just doing two and not all three. The bottom frames are from Home Goods. They were actually picture frames, and I just took out all the glass. The top one is from Kirklands.
I think this years decor in here is one of my faves so far. I didn't have to buy anything, just used what I had on hand (besides the pillows which I bought for fall). That's pretty much the best feeling when you realize you didn't have to spend much!
I can't wait to share with you the rest of my rooms! I had so much fun decorating this year..even though I drug my feet doing most of it...Once again, I'm glad that it's over! Now I get to enjoy the little moments with my kiddos. As promised, here are the links to all the other tours going on this week with the Very Merry Christmas Home Tours. Give them all some love :)
Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
I did it...and for once it wasn't because I wanted to. It was because my kids kept bugging me and asking why our Christmas decor wasn't up yet. They have been watching Christmas movies since July....yeah, I know. And they have been listening to Christmas music since the day after Halloween. You guys, even my husband turned on a Christmas movie for them willingly...and watched it last night! Serious. Something strange is going on in our house! ha! He's the one that always says that we killed another reindeer if we listen or watch anything Christmas before Thanksgiving. So, I put up our first Christmas tree and I'm still not sure how I feel about it. I have a few trees, one dedicated to the handmade ornaments or the yearly ones my littles pick up....like ballerinas, doughnuts, shopkins, etc...ones that I don't necessarily like to adorn our main trees. I know, I know. What's the fun in that, or where's the tradition? As I said, we do have a special tree just for that :) But, I did want to add a little family connection to our main trees this year. I decided to make some wood slice ornaments with our family pictures on it. They are definitely a more subtle way to add the family touch. Today I'm joining 6 other amazing bloggers on some DIY ornament inspiration in perfect time for the holidays hosted by Heidi from Honeybear Lane. You can see the full list of tutorials at the bottom of this post. But, for now....here's the tutorial on how I made mine :)
Supplies you'll need: Wood slices. I got a set of 4 from Michaels for about $2. Black and white family photos printed on normal print paper in size that will fit the wood disc. Decoupage(I used a kind from DecoArt) Sandpaper Jute Hot glue gun Here are the types of wood slices I found. The largest is about 3.5" wide.
Step 1: Pick a picture you want to use, and trace around the wood disc. Cut out.
Step 2: Brush on some decoupage onto the disc. Place the cut out picture on top of it. Smooth out any bubbles and wait to adhere completely.
Step 3: Brush the decoupage onto the top of the picture, just one layer will do it. Let harden and dry completely. I used a blow dryer on it to speed up the process.
Step 4: Using a fine grit sandpaper, gently rough up the edges of the picture.
Step 5: Cut a piece of just about 8" long. Tie a knot on each end. Hot glue the ends onto the edge of the wood disc.
And that's it. It's a pretty simple ornament to make and looks so good in the tree! ..Well, simple if you don't run out of ink and have to go to the nearest print store just to print one page! :) haha
Now for the other fun DIY Christmas ornament ideas. Be sure to check them out and give them some love :)
