advent calendar project

I went to Target yesterday. And like most times, I left with more than what was on my list. :)

They had LOTS of Christmas stuff at 90% off, so I dug through the bins and found these velvet ornaments and ribbon. And then the light bulb went off.

I've been wanting to make a non-traditional advent calendar for our family, and this would be perfect. Yes, I realize that Christmas is now over, but it will be so much fun to pull it out next year and use it! Here's what I ended up with:

I know, I misspelled Micah. I corrected it after I saw this picture. 

The ornaments rang up at .19 each and the ribbon was .50- so project total was 1.26!

I thought I'd share with you how I made it. Here's what you'll need:

Ribbon

Ornaments

White Cardstock

Wire

Glue Gun

Scissors

Tags PDF (below)

I started by making the bows. This ribbon is only one sided and of the cheap variety so it was important to make sure the reverse orange-y side didn't show. Cut 5 12-inch ribbons at an angle and lay them out like this:

Have a piece of wire ready to tie it. Gather the middle of the ribbon together in your hand. Make sure you like how the front of the bow is appearing- it's easiest to make small folds in the ribbon and then squish them together. You can adjust the loops later. 

Then tie it with a wire. Take a 3 inch strip of new ribbon and cut it in half length wise. You'll have 2 1.5x3 inch ribbons. This is what you'll cover the wire with. Bust out the hot glue gun and glue the strip of ribbon over the wire, sealing it in the back, and trimming off excess ribbon.

Before and after.

Then print out this PDF onto some cardstock. Just right-click on the image and download it. (This will be the ONLY time you hear me advising that on my website :). It will not be cut-off when you save it.

Cut the tags out. I decided to leave off the scolloped edge- for huge bows was enough for me. :) 

I attached the number tags with the hot glue gun at the bottom of each ornament. Then I cut some thinner red ribbon to string the scripture tags with. I glued them under the right loop of each bow. 

To attach the bow to the ornament, simply put the excess wire on each bow through the top of the ornament and twist together.

After I had each ornament assembled, I laid them all out to get a feel for how long I wanted it to hang. I cut the red ribbon to size, then found some gray (hark!) that I had left over from another project. I just glued the gray to the red, dotting hot glue in areas that would be covered by the ornaments.

Lastly, I glued the ornaments to the ribbon. Since they are a flat surface, it was more sturdy to attach the ornament than the ribbon.

I hope you enjoyed my little project! There are LOTS of variations you can do with this one- so get to those clearance aisles and have fun! And because I can, here's a random photo of Willy enjoying his new dog bed. 

 

Comments

[Katlyn]

Lissa, I love the way it turned out! Maybe Carson and I will make one next year. I miss you so much. I teared up today after Marcus and I explored a little more of the city. The section we saw today was so beautiful and I just know you would love it. I was telling Marcus how I wished you were here taking in all in with me, taking pictures together of all the buildings, angles, people, wishing you with at the coffee shop with me--- and I got all teared up and all I could say was, "I miss Lissa so much." Know you are missed and that your friendship is highly treasured! Can't wait to see you soon.

Katlyn