Christmas Advent 2025

 Hello and almost Happy New Year!  When my family gets together for Christmas, we always bring a gift and play the game Dirty Santa.  For the past three or four years I have created a gift to give for the game.  I love for someone to pick and open a gift that I have made.  This year I decided to make an Advent to give out of a wooden Advent calendar that I bought five years ago... LOL.  I actually had it in my donate pile, like a silly girl, because it's just been sitting in it's box in my craft room since I ordered it.  I guess I was just waiting for the right time to make it.  And the right idea.  Pardon the photo dump incoming. 

This is the original that I bought from Amazon.  

You can find it HERE

First, I sanded and painted all of the little drawers and wound up lining the inside bottoms with a soft flannel.  Mainly because the inside of the drawers needed sanding but were difficult to smooth out. 

I also painted the outside of the calendar in a maroon shade and painted Christmas flowers and such around the outside and on the borders of the drawer squares.  I wanted a sort of "Old World" painting theme.  Don't know if I achieved that or not but I really liked it.  I also sprayed the whole thing with a semi-gloss clear coat.

I knew I wanted a 3-d type scene of winter time, with trees and birds.  Here I've started the background.  I cut out trees from chipboard and also some snow banks.

I doubled the thickness of the trees, painted them and added snow.

I painted a couple trees on the background.

I made little ornaments for each day.  I made pinecones, birds and snowflakes from THIS air-dry paper clay that I LOVE using.  I also made a hole in the top of each one and added a little hook.

To give the trees depth I glued pieces of chipboard in triangles (standing of their side and painted) behind the trees.  I also used trimmed sewing pins for everything to hang on.  I used E6000 glue for each.  Hopefully they will stay in place!

And as always, sign your projects!

I had a lot of fun making this Advent!  And one of my nieces got to take it home with her!  I hope her family has lots of fun for many years putting ornaments on all through December!  

I also hope that you had a wonderful Christmas and wish tons of blessings for you in the New Year!

Let's create some stuff in 2026!

XOXO ~Laurie

image inspiration

One of my Mom's friends always asks her how her daughter (me) who lives the simple life is doing.  I really didn't feel that I lived a simple life until a recent step out of my life.  I realize that I am satisfied with simpler things and truly don't have the desire for bigger and better.  Repurposing a card board box, as seen in this post, just tickles me.  While the finer things are fantastic for some folks it is just not my style.  I do admit that I wish I made more money.  This little day care doesn't exactly make you a millionaire or even a thousandaire, but when I walk into this door on Monday morning it's like walking in to my second home.  Everything is just the way I like it.  Speaking of tickling... here are a few images that have inspired me just by looking at them. 

 

 

 

Light Up Houses

How simple and fun.  Of course I want to make them today but it may be fun to save this project for another month when Christmas and lights and Santa villages are upon us.  I think the kids will love them!  I can already see a few set up on my mantle underneath alpine trees.

 

 

Found on mothersmessymadness.blogspot.com

 

 

 

Whipped Bronzing Body Butter

 

I recently made a QVC purchase of body butter with argon oil that I am so excited about getting.  Had I not made that purchase I would be all over making this all natural body butter asap.  I am sure I will get around to it because I already have eighty percent of the ingredients so why not!

 

Found on blog.freepeople.com

Advent Calendar

At my Mom's growing up we always enjoying our advent calendar.  Our was made of felt and the ornaments had ting pieces of Velcro and we loved getting up in the morning an plucking the ornament of the day and placing it on the Christmas tree.  At least I did.  I was usually the first one up.  Since then I have wanted a similar advent calendar but have never purchased one.  I won't be buying this one either because they are sold out already but it does give me some inspiration on possibly making my own.  I have some drop cloth for the backing and lighter fabrics for the ornaments and goodness knows I've got buttons I could use.  I am slowly talking myself into this project.  You can see more pictures by following the link in the title.  This one is my Rachel Ashwell and I found it on her blog. Did I mention it was $329??  Good Lord!