DEMO: Matchbox Advent Calendar

Just barely in time for the lovely month of December, I'd love to share an advent calendar project idea . . . For those of you growing up in Christian households, the advent calendar is used to count down the days until Christmas.


In this version, each of the days 'til Christmas is a little matchbox drawer opening up to reveal a scene taken from a recycled holiday card. You could also hide candies or tiny gifts in the drawers - or even adapt this idea to create a countdown to some other special event, like a birthday or other holiday.

Materials:
review the directions before buying any new supplies - substitutions are always possible

25 matchboxes
A lightweight board 2" wide and 36"-37.5" long
Scraps of foam core
Xacto or craft knife
Gesso
Acrylic paint
Heavy white craft glue
Diamond Glaze or other sealant
Mod Podge
Number stickers for dates
Recycled greeting cards, other decorative stickers and holiday doo-dads
Paper clip
Glue gun

Directions:

1. Start with 25 matchboxes and a lightweight board at least 36" long and 2" wide.
(I used two pieces of 36" bass wood that I got at the hobby store. For strength,
I glued the two pieces on top of each other with wood glue, and clamped them together
as they dried.) You might choose to use foam core as your base, but it's likely that
the foam core will warp.

2. Take all the little drawers out of the matchboxes. Otherwise, they might
accidentally get glued in place.

3. Using a thick craft glue like Tacky Glue or Ultimate Craft Glue, glue the
matchbox cases to the board. (I like to use a toothpick to apply the glue, and then I
clamped the little cases to the board with mini plastic clamps so they'd attach
firmly to the board as they dried.) Clean up any glue that oozes out from under the boxes
as this may keep the boxes from sliding in and out smoothly.

With any luck it should look like this when you're done. My bottom
matchbox hung off the edge just a little bit because my board was a bit shorter than
all of the matchboxes added together.

4. I chose to add a special accent to the top using foam core. I traced around the
top and drew a star shape on the foam core.

5. And then I cut the shape out with an Xacto knife. You might decide to create a different shape, or add a shape to the bottom as well.

6. Then I used a toothpick to apply glue to the interior edge . . .

. . . and fit it around the top of the board, pressed flush to the back of the board. I was using 1/4" foam core, and my bass wood boards were each 1/8" thick, so my topper fit perfectly without blocking access to the top matchbox.

7. I glued a bit of paper to the back to strengthen the topper.

8. Now, once all your glue is dry, gesso the whole contraption in preparation for painting.

9. Now, coat with the color of your choice. I used two coats of red acrylic paint.
I didn't paint the inside of the matchbox cases because the paint can build up and make it
difficult to slide the drawers in and out. I left the insides of the cases
and the matchboxes themselves unpainted for this project.

10. I happen to have a crazy big collection of letter and number stickers that
I got on sale, so I used those to apply dates to my advent calendar - one date for each box.
If you don't have stickers, you can try painting the numbers on, or even cutting numbers out from an old calendar and gluing them on.

And then I used some cool metallic star stickers I found
to add a little pizazz!


11. Next, coat the calendar with Diamond Glaze or another easily
controlled acrylic for durability.

12. While it dries, start working on each of the individual drawers. I created a
template by trial and error, using an old holiday card that I wasn't super crazy about.
I created a form that would fit roughly inside the boxes.
After you've made a template, try laying it over cards, wrapping paper, or images you like
and start cutting them out.

13. After cutting an image out, fold up the corners so it will fit
inside the boxes like a liner. Test it out and trim as needed.

14. Next, coat the inside of the box with Mod Podge.

15. Press the liner into the box. And let it dry. You can also cut individual characters
out of the cards and use a bit of foam core to lift them up and give them some dimension in
the box. Use your heavy craft glue to attach the card stock to the foam core
and the foam core to the inside of the box.

16. Bend open a paperclip to create a hanging hook for the back. I used hot glue to attach
the hook to the back, but Goop or E6000 or even duct tape could probably be
used to attach a hook of some kind to the back.

Each little drawer can be completely different, or they can come together to tell a story
as the month goes on and the drawers are opened one by one. Note: As you are preparing your drawers, consider that having them all open on one side will probably cause the calendar to tilt. Also remember that you won't be able to leave the drawers open completely and have them stay in the calendar. The entire image inside the box probably won't be visible all the time, so adjust your compositions accordingly. Try having the drawers alternate which side they slide open on.

Here, you can see it hanging in my entry way - with the little drawers closed, and then with
several of them open!

If you try making one of these for the holidays or for some other ocassion, I'd love to see it!

DEMO! Matchbox Ornament

If the Portland Saturday Market can have a Festival of the Last Minute, so can I! So here goes the first Ornament Demo of this year's Festival, for all my fellow decorating procrastinators and snowbound crafters!


For the big Cake and Pie Ornament Swap, I turned matchboxes into little birdhouses . . . and here's the Demo to prove it . . .

1. Start with matchboxes - and open up the outer part. Punch a 7/8" hole in the front, and gesso those babies! My 7/8" punch was so big that I had to open them up to punch them - but you may not have to open them up with a smaller punch . . .

2. Put two layers of gesso on . . .

3. Now glue the outsides back together - I used Crafter's Pick Ultimate Glue, but Aleene's Tacky Glue would also work well. I used paper clips to hold the parts together while they were drying.

Ok, I love this paperclip shot,so you get a little extra.

4. Get some green acrylic paint, and paint the outside.

5. I gessoed the interior boxes, but you don't really need to. I do, however, recommend taking your 1/16" hole punch and punching holes in one end . . .

6. This will make it easier to poke the brads through, making a little drawer pull for the box.

7. Because I was doing multiples, I made one collage with some hand drawn birds and photocopied it. I starting by making a little template based on the inside of the matchbox. Then, I blew it up 200%, made my drawing/collage (I used shredded paper to make the nest), and then photocopied it again at 49%!

8. I used the template to trim the image to the perfect size, and folded it so it would fit.

9. I coated the inside of the box with matte medium . . .

10. And pressed the paper in. I used extra matte medium where the brad was so that the paper would adhere properly.

11. Next, it was time for the little surprise! I had also photocopied little gifts. I cut out tiny bits of foam core . . .

12. . . . And glued it down. I used Beacon's 3-in-1 just because it was handy, and it comes out of the bottle easily. You could use any craft glue.

13. Then, another dab of glue, and the little present is right there in 3D!

14. I made a little roof template and traced it out on some red posterboard I had.

Action shot!

15. Here you can see how it folds to make a little roof!

16. Where the roof tab overlaps, I slipped in a bit of ribbon to create a hanger. I used Ultimate Glue to secure it . . .

17. . . . And a paperclip to hold it while it dried.


18. I applied glue to the back of the roof piece . . .

19. I slipped it inside the exterior cover and held it in place while it set.

20. Poof! It's a little birdhouse, with a birds and nest inside! I also painted the top of the interior box red to match the roof, cause I was just being, well, you know, like that.

21. And still, it seemed like it needed a little more . . . so I added some Elmer's . . .

22. And some antique style mica glitter. You can also add a little on the roof for an extra accent.

And you're done!

Hope you're having a great holiday season.

Ornament Swap: Why I Love the Mail

After seeing the lovely ornament that Claudia made last year for the Cake and Pie holiday ornament swap, I felt inspired to participate this year . . . I've never done a swap before, so I was a little nervous, but I'm loving it so far!

Why?

Because people are sending me cool things in the mail!! I love the mail. I love to go and check my PO Box. I get movies by mail. I get books by mail. My sweetie's Dad has a good job working for the Post Office, and that just makes me love the mail even more. I love getting things in the mail, and my family, with a few notable exceptions, are not big on sending holiday cards or gifts. Sadly, most of my holiday mail can be divided into two categories: catalogs and requests for charitable donations. This is the first year in a long time that my mailbox has been full of holiday goodness and surprises!

These are the first three ornaments I got . . . I am particularly fond of the gingerbread cat! And I'm amazed at the sturdiness of the glimmery glass ball - it made the trip in a padded envelope and survived intact! See? The mail is good.

Today, there were more wonderful surprises! A sweet owl ornament in a mushroom-decorated envelope from the UK, and an amazing mushroom ornament with a snowy forest card from Washington State! It's like fate! It's a woodland fairytale match made in heaven! And, crazily enough, the card from the UK made it here without a stamp . . . perhaps it was elves? Or, just more evidence that the mail is good.

(You'll have to wait to see the ornament I made, 'cause I'm working on a tutorial for next week's Last Minute Holiday Madness Event.)

Speaking of great mail, Sister Diane and Brother K. sent me one of their Holiday Zines!! As far as I am concerned, this means I must be on Santa's list of good girls this year.


And if you want one, I think there are still a few on sale over at their shop . . . my favorite part is the strangely fruitcake-free holiday disaster calendar centerfold.