Monday, November 29, 2010

CRAFTASTIC: The Lazy Mom's DIY Advent Calendar

I had all of the great ideas for Advent calendars this year.  I saved a bunch of Gabrielle & Alaina's baby socks to create this Stocking version from Martha Stewart.


But their footwear wasn't nearly as cute as the ones Martha used so that idea went out the window.  I thought about trying to make this felt ornament calendar from Shannon Makes Stuff:


I love how when you flip each ornament, there's something fun on the back!


But my sewing machine skills are still pretty pathetic so I crossed that one off my list.

The how-to for this Shoe Organizer Countdown from eighteen25 is super simple and includes a downloadable file for the numbers:

But all of my closet doors are actually already housing shoe organizers - full of shoes! - so I considered another eighteen25 creation - the Snowflake Countdown.


Each flake has a fun Christmas-themed activity on the back to complete.


But just the thought of cutting them all out made me tired. 

Then I saw this easy peasy Paper Tree Advent Calendar at Ikat Bag.


But I figured those would be more fun to do with the kiddos and by the time I get Gabrielle and Alaina to decorate 24 trees, Christmas would already be here!

So what was a lazy mom like me to do?  Come up with the world's simplest DIY Advent Calendar ever!


Isn't it cute?  It honestly took me 15 minutes to put together and chances are you already have everything you'll need to make it on hand. 



SUPPPLIES:
*One mini muffin tin with 24 spots (you could spray paint it white or red if you want but in case you didn't guess, I was way too lazy for that!)
*Double stick tape (or a glue stick)
*Ribbon
*Numbers for the countdown (I downloaded these freebies from Oh My Gluestick and printed them on plain paper)
*A paper punch or scissors
*Treats for each day


INSTRUCTIONS:
1.  First punch or cut out all of your numbers.  You'll see my scalloped 2 inch punch in the picture above but I actually ended up using my 2.5 inch round punch because the sizing was better.  If you don't have a paper punch, you can cut them out in square shapes or trace a cup or can and cut out the circles.  Here's what mine looked like after the punching:


2.  Fill your muffin spots with a daily treat.  I used ornament stickers and a Hershey's kiss every fourth day but you can put whatever you want in.  I like the idea of the Christmas activities you can do together from eighten25 - download their list HERE.


3.  Next, put small pieces of double stick tape around the back of the countdown numbers.  You could also use glue dots or a glue stick to do this but I figured double stick tape would be the easiest to pull off. 


4.  Stick each countdown number to the appropriate muffin spot.  I also added sign at the top that I created on Picnik.  You can download it HERE.


5.  Flip your muffin tin over and secure a length of ribbon to the back for hanging.  I used glue dots because I had them handy but you could also hot glue it or if you're REALLY lazy, use some packing tape.


6.  Hang your Lazy Mom's Advent Calendar on the wall!  I used a Command Strip hook because it's so simple and taking it off is a breeze if you don't get the spot exactly right the first time.


Voila!  And the best part is that after Christmas rolls around, you can pull everything off your muffin tin and go back to using it for its actual purpose.

If my lazy booty can craft this sucker up, then you can too!  If you make your own version, send us pictures so we can feature it here on AFOMFT!

Linking up to these great parties:

The DIY Show Off

Making
The Girl Creative




handmade projects






UndertheTableandDreaming



Images: AFOMFT, Martha Stewart, Shannon Makes Stuff, eighten25 & Ikat Bag
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18 comments:

  1. Love it! I actually made the stocking one last year and am excited to use it this year now that my oldest is old enough to understand what is going on (he's 2). Here's how it turned out - all socks were from the Target $1 bin - http://rediscoveringdomesticity.com/2009/11/30/decorations-are-going-up/

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  2. I have to say that is pretty genius. I'm all about easy, inexpensive, and cute and this one fits the bill.

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  3. This is fantastic! My sister made me one similar to this last year, but she used magnets to stick the numbers to the pan. So cute! I love that there is a perfect little cubby to stick little treats in for each day:)

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  4. I wanted to sew and embroider little burlap stockings. Guess what: I didn't get it done on time. So I simply packed 24 little packages and hung them on a string. But your idea is much better. Wish I had seen it before!

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  5. Thank you so much for using OMG's freebies! I am absolutely thrilled to have "won" the challenge here. =)

    Sincerely,
    Tommie
    ohmygluestick.com

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  6. Gah! You always have the BEST ideas!

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  7. This is fantastic! We need a new advent calendar in a bad way! Would love for you to visit me and link up to Made with Love Monday at Sew Chatty! http://sewchatty.blogspot.com

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  8. A. DOR. A. BLE.

    LOVE THIS! I'm giving you a SHOUT OUT for it at www.imalazymom.com

    Thanks for telling me about it!

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  9. I just posted on advent calendars yesterday! I looove these ideas!!

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  10. this is great!!! i still have to sew mine together, am hoping to do that tomorrow tho LOL. Should have done something like this, much less time consuming ;)

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  11. I was so, so close to buying one, but this just looks way too easy.

    {Stopping by from Tip Junkie's Facebook page}

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  12. This is great ! Just found your blog and LOVE it!!

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  13. I did this muffin tin calendar this year and we did squares with rounded corners and then used magnets on two of the corners to stick to the cookie sheet so we can use it over and over again. heres a link to see mine http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1656255217100&set=a.1201982780573.2031618.1558680008

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  14. I LOVE THIS IDEA!!! Your post made me laugh!

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  15. So cute!

    I am your newest follower! I loved this idea!!

    Hope you will stop by and follow Simple as 1-2-3 soon!!

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  16. What a great advent calendar! and so cute and so easy to do :D

    Thank you for linking up to the first ever "Amaze Me Monday" blog party.

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  17. Thank you for featuring my advent calendar! I love YOUR muffin tin one - now every time I see something with 24 holes/pockets/containers I'll be thinking of advent calendar possibilities!

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  18. Very cute idea! It is nice not to buy anything either. I just made a simple advent calendar from circular boxes. Check it out if you get a chance. http://www.oursevendwarfs.com/2010/12/christmas-advent-board-tutorial.html

    I love your many sites and resources! Thanks for sharing all you do!

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Thanks for the love!