DIY Christmas Countdown

(Note: this tutorial was created before I had this blog. So the text instructions will not be as in-depth for any posts created before September 30, 2018.)

Can you believe how quickly December is approaching?! You know what that means? The holiDIY season! Yes, I’m talking my favorite part of the year, Christmas crafting!

This DIY Advent Calendar is perfect to countdown the days until Christmas one ornament at a time. BONUS it’s super easy and cheap to make (it only cost me $10) and a cute way to add some holiday cheer to your room!

Here’s how to make it:

Supplies:

8×10” frame
Garland
Scrapbook paper for the trunk (I used brown glittery paper)
Scrapbook paper for the background (I used pearlescent white)
23 Mini ornaments
Mini tree topper
Silver paint pen
Glue stick
Scissors
Pencil
Ruler
Hot glue
Wire cutters
Ornament hooks

Wow that looks like a lot of stuff! But most of the stuff at the bottom you should already have on hand. As for the rest, I found most of the supplies at Dollar Tree, Target (that’s THE place for the mini ornaments!), and the craft store.

Instructions:

1) First remove the backing and glass from the frame and set it aside.

2) Use the glass to trace the size of the frame onto your background paper and cut it out.

3) Take the background paper and place into the frame. Then put the glass behind it before putting on the back to make sure the frame closes tightly.

4) Next, take your garland and bend it back and forth into the shape of a tree. Then use wire cutters to cut off any extra garland.

5) Then, using hot glue, glue down the corners of the tree, holding it in place until it cools. The reason you don’t want to glue the whole thing down is because you’ll need to be able to hang the ornaments.

6) After that, you’ll need to cut out the tree trunk. I made mine 2×2 inches. Then use the glue stick to glue that down under the tree on the frame.

7) Next, set your frame aside and bring out your ornaments. If they’re multicolored, figure out the order you want them in. Then, starting with the tree topper, begin numbering them 1 through 24 using the silver paint pen.

8) Now if your ornaments came with strings to hang them, toss those out and grab some ornament hooks instead and attach them to the ornaments and place them in order in a glass or container. Also, since I found the hooks to be too big, I cut them a little shorter using wire cutters.