Advent Calendar

Ummmmmm, what was I thinking? LOL This thing took me FORVER to complete. It's a little overwhelming with all the steps, plus I added a few. LOL Oh ya, I remember what I was thinking... these things are SO DARN adorable! :) I wanted a cute calendar for my kids to use in the coming years. Unfortunately, I didn't finish it until 10 days til Christmas so next year I will have some very cute ideas for the insides of the tins. This year, I opted for simple candy in each one. I had already gotten my daughters a Littlest Pet Shop advent calendar anyway, so I don't feel *as* guilty for not getting it done in a timely manner. LOL

I followed the directions that the fabulous Beate posted here: http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/resources/tutorials/advent_calendar/

I used the same patterned paper and basic idea that she did. I added a couple details:

• I sewed each of the 24 squares together


• I sewed the panel at the top together


• I used Cuttlebug Red Tag Sale alphabet for my letters and numbers


• I used Prima flowers with a clear button center for the sides of the title


• I used silver brads in the corner of each square and the title

Other than that, everything is exactly the same. It does take quite a few man hours. :) There are lots of steps involved. None of them are *hard*, but I had stampers ADD and would work a little and them move on to something else. LOL

Hint: to make my red tape more sticky, I heated it prior to sticking my finished pieces on the canvas. They didn't seem to stick well without doing that first.

If I had to do it over again, I would make it again though. I really like it. If you haven't made one yet it's not too late! Just work on it now for next year. :)

I'm off to watch the Dallas Cowboys football game and work on some more Christmas gifties. :) I have a table set up in front of the big screen TV, so I should be able to get a lot done in the 3 hours that the game will be on. :)

Have a great rest of the weekend.

One more thing: have any of you been getting your feedblitz updates from my blog. I am not sure, but I don't think they have been going out. Thanks for letting me know.

One more, one more thing: LOL I would like to make a click-able link that does not look like a link KWIM? Can any of you give me directions for that? I want it to say something instead of being the long link. I can do it on SCS, but here on my blog, I am finding it more difficult. LOL Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.