Advent Calendar #3

Our trend setting designers have shown us two great advent calendars, and last but not least is the fantastic Gina Luker of the Shabby Creek Cottage.  Her blue, white and silver color combination is refreshing during the sea of red and green in December!



She's used her PSA Essentials Vanilla Peel & Stick stamps on various pieces of die cut papers.  She's stamped directly onto some scalloped dies or framed into other papers.   She's layered papers, fabrics, baker's twine, and bags to create a lot of texture and visual interest in this project.  In each bag lies a treat, something different each day - a surprise for the kids!



Share your ideas for advent calendars on our Facebook page or here on the blog.  I am loving the DIY trend and can't wait to do one of my own.

Advent Calendar #2

I like Ashley's spin on an advent calendar.  Rather than go for a 24 day countdown, she's chosen 12 days (for various reasons, but the one I like most is so that her husband can be a part of the tradition with her family and he's super busy right now!)  I love the bright green and cheery red, and the polka dot paper she's chosen.   I love that it's an activity, too!  

Want more reasons I love it?  When you pull them out, each becomes an ornament!  When they're all pulled off, it's a decorative Christmas tree!  It's one project with so many uses. 

To recreate, you will need the following supplies: 

12 Mason Jar Lids (with the band)

Scrapbook Paper

16×20 canvas (I used the really thin one)

Fabric for the background

Thread

PSA STAMPS - PSA Vanilla Peel & Stick stet

Paper punch or scissors

A way to glue the paper to the lids

First, Ashley used her paper punch to cut out circles to fit on the mason jar lids.  Then she stamped on the numbers using her PSA Essential Stamps Vanilla Peel & Stick stamps. 

 Then she glued the “pretty side” on the under part of the lid.

Next she punched out some plain white circles to write down her activity for that day and glued them onto the other side.  Check out these activities, I am totally doing this!  "Watch Charlie Brown", "Make Apple Cider,"  "Build a snowman" (Okay, I can't do that one with our warm weather...) 

Then she glued some ribbon on the back side (with the white circles) to make them ornaments.  Now, set those aside and work on the Christmas tree part!

Lay out the mason jar lids in the shape of a Christmas tree and then tie them together with some string. Ashley used crochet thread. 

Ashley then took fabric covered canvas and put a thumb tack in to hold up the mason jar bands.

You'll want to hang the mason jar bands with the top “right” side against the canvas so you can stick the lids in there. 

Then Ashley added a paper banner on the top and some paper presents with washi tape decorations on the bottom. 

Here's what you are left with when all the ornaments are removed! 

What do you think of this?  I am loving it! 

Advent Calendar #1

Advent Calendars are back.  Big time.  They're by far the biggest trend I am seeing this season in the crafting world.  Just hop on Pinterest, huge blogs like Tip Junkie, Tatertots and Jello or Eighteen25.  Everyone's doing them.  Over the next three days, I am sharing three great ideas by three different PSA Essentials Design Team Members who prove that just because everyone else is doing them, doesn't mean they can't be unique.  In fact, I am pretty sure they're the trend setters.

Up first is our talented Mae Armstrong whose retro red advent calendar uses our PSA Essentials Archive Peel & Stick stamps, plywood, and tin pails.

Mae used 25 miniature buckets and spray painted them in red.  She picked the gloss to make the red pop like red lipstick - it's a Christmas red, don't you think?  Air dry for 24 hours and set aside.

Using her Silhouette SD, Mae prepared 25 decorative labels and stamped the numbers using PSA Essentials Peel & Stick Stamp Archive stamp set.

 

She glued the stamped labels on the painted buckets.

 

Mae then used a 1/2 x 2 x 2 Birch Plywood and glued the decorated buckets. 

And in those short steps, she's created a super cute advent calendar.  Mae is going to put this project to good use with her twin boys!