Last Minute DIY Advent Calendar Tree

This is last minute, but this project is easy enough to do in just one day!

I found this Stocking Tree Advent Calendar at Pottery Barn. I loved the look of it, but I did not like the $199 price tag. I knew I could make my own version for much cheaper. 

  

Here is the version that I made. I made this for under $20. Depending upon what you use, you could possibly make it cheaper!

Here are the steps to take to make one.

Needed materials:

• 1” x 2” at 8’
• 1” x 3” at 4’
• Saw
• Kreg Jig
• 1 1/4" pocket hole screws
• Sander or sandpaper
• Wood Glue 
• Paint
• 6” Wood star or 1/4” Plywood 6” x 6”
• 25 small hooks or clips
• 25 small bags or stockings
• Fabric Marker
• D-hooks to hang the tree
• Jig or Scroll Saw (if making your own star)

Step 1: Cut Your Boards.

Needed cuts:

2 - 1” x 2” at 2 ½” one end cut at 45 degree angle.

2 - 1” x 2” at 5 ½” one end cut at 45 degree angle.

2 - 1” x 2” at 8 ½” one end cut at 45 degree angle.

2 - 1” x 2” at 11 ½” one end cut at 45 degree angle.

2 - 1” x 2” at 13 ¾” one end cut at 45 degree angle.

1 – 1” x 3” at 38 ½”

I found a 3 pack of these 6” wood stars on clearance for $2. But if you are making your own star, draw a star on your plywood and cut it out using a jig saw or scroll saw.

Step 2. Using a Kreg jig set at the 3/4" setting, drill pocket holes in the non-mitered end of the 1” x 2” pieces.

Step 3. Using the pocket hole screws and glue, attach the 1” x 2” pieces to the 1” x 3”. The longest pieces flush to the bottom of the 1" x 3" and gradually moving up to the smaller pieces. I attached all one side and then all the other. I left a 5 ½” space between each.

Step 4: Sand all surfaces.

Step 5: Paint the tree and star. 

I decided to also write the last name of the family that I was making this for on the star.

Step 6: Using the wood glue, glue the star to the top and attach the clips. If you are using hooks, you probably will need to screw in those.

I decided to use the small craft clothespins. I put some washi tape on the clothespins to make them look a little cuter.

Step 7: Attach hooks to the back so you can hang it. I used D hooks. I had originally planned on using only one D hook. These particular hooks can hold up to 20 pounds. That really should be sufficient, but just in case the gifts in the bags happen to be heavy, I decided to use two of the D hooks.

Step 8: Hang your bags or stockings. I found these little bags. I took a fabric marker and wrote the numbers on each bag.

Step 9: Hang your Advent Calendar on the wall and enjoy your holiday countdown!

DIY Polar Express Inspired Shadow Box

If you have someone in your family that loves The Polar Express movie, then this could be the perfect gift for them! It is easy and inexpensive to make. I actually used scrap wood to make mine. The only thing I needed to purchase was the bell.

Here are the steps to take to make one.

Needed materials:

• 1/8" Plywood scrap
• 1" x 4" Board
• Wood Glue 
• Finishing nails
• Bell
• Ribbon
• Twine or String
• Paint for the background
• Paint Marker
• Paint or Stain for the frame

Step 1: Cut your plywood. I used a piece of scrap that was about 8" x 10". 

You could use any size that you have on hand.

Step 2: Cut your 1" x 4" boards to fit the size of your plywood. Bevel the ends at 45 degrees. Optionally, you could just cut the ends square.

Step 3: Paint your plywood. I used Black for my background.

Step 4: Using a paint marker, write your message.

Step 5: Glue and clamp your frame. You could also use finishing nails.

Step 6: Sand the frame.

Step 7: Paint or stain the frame. I wanted to give mine a weathered wood look. So, I first painted it a Nutmeg color.

Then, I painted over the Nutmeg with an Antique White.

After the paint dried, I sanded off some of the white paint to create the weathered look.

Step 8: Tie the twine to the bell and make a small bow. I secured the bow with a dab of hot glue.

Step 9: Put the wood glue around the border of the background. At the same time, decide where you want to place the bell.

Step 10: With the bell in place, nail the background to the frame. You may want to also secure the bell to the back to ensure it stays put.

Step 11: Enjoy your shadow box!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas! I hope that you are able to spend some time with your family and friends!

There are many projects to come on the blog for the upcoming year!

Happy Holidays!

Happy Holidays from my home to yours. I hope your holiday season is full of cheer, whether you are spending it with family and friends or are just having a quiet evening in.

Thank you for following my blog this year. I hope to post even more projects next year. If you ever have any suggestions or want to see something, just let me know!

I will be posting the presents that I made for this year's Christmas, soon. My family is having our holiday celebration a little after Christmas, so I have to wait until after they receive the presents to post it.

Have a wonderful holiday!

DIY Wooden Snowmen

Christmas is just over a week away. If you are still looking for ideas for a quick gift to make, these wooden snowmen may be the perfect thing!

I am a Big Sister in the Big Brothers Big Sisters program. My 12 year old Little Sister wanted to make gifts for her family. She loves woodworking and wanted to build something for everyone. She has a large family, so the project needed to be fairly simple. We needed to be able to get multiple done in a short period of time. She decided to make wooden snowmen.

I am sure you have seen wooden snowmen all over the place, but here is our take on how to "build" a snowman.

Needed Materials:
Wood for the body
Wood for the hats (optional)
Paint
Wood Glue
Sander or sanding block
Craft Supplies

Step 1: Cut your wood.

You can make your snowmen any size that you want.

• Bodies - We used 2"x3"s, 2"x4"s, and 2"x6"s cut at different lengths for the bodies.
• Brim - We used 1"x3"s cut slightly longer than the width of the body for the brim of the hat. For example, if you are using a 2"x3" for the body, the actual width of the body is 2 1/2". If you want a 1/2" overhang on each side for the brim, cut your 1"x3" at 3 1/2".
• Hat Top - We used 1"x2"s cut at the same width of the body for the top of the hat. If you are using a 2"x3" for the body, cut your 1"x2" at 2 1/2" to match the width of the body.

Step 2: Fill in any holes with wood putty, if necessary. Sand the boards. Check out this awesome new random orbital sander we won from a giveaway over on Home Repair Tutor. Using that worked so much better than using the sanding blocks!

Step 3: Paint your boards

Step 4: Using wood glue, attach your hat rim and top to your snowmen.

Step 5: Decorate your snowmen. We used paint, ribbon, yarn, buttons, pipe cleaners, and pom poms. You can use whatever craft supplies that you have on hand.

These snowmen are easy to make and can be decorated any way that you want. My Little Sister made these to represent everyone in her family and they are very personalized based on each person. I think her family is going to love them!

This is a good project for kids to do. Just provide them with the pieces already sanded and painted white and a variety of craft supplies. Then let their creative sides show! They would make a great gift for kids to give their family members, teachers, family friends, or neighbors. This would also make a great classroom project.

Rudolph the Reindeer Crochet Baby Hat Pattern

Christmas is just around the corner. If you are looking for a quick hat to make for the holiday cards, this crocheted Rudolph the Reindeer hat pattern is perfect!

My little model is my 6 month old nephew. He does have a larger than average head size for his age, but this pattern should fit the average 6-12 month old. 

The pattern will result in a hat that has a circumference of 17 1/2” and a hat height from brim to crown of about 7”. This should fit most 6-12 month old babies. Since not all baby heads are the same size, check the size of your baby's head prior to making it. There is some stretch to this hat, so it will stretch a little bit, if necessary. You can also easily adjust the size by changing the size of your crochet hook. If you need to change the height of the hat, just increase or decrease the number of rounds following row 6.

Any bulky-weight yarn can be used for this pattern. The materials listed below are what I used for this pattern, but any bulky-weight yarn will work.

Needed Materials:

2 oz. Lion Brand Homespun (Sierra) – hat and ears color (MC)

2 oz. Lion Brand Jiffy (Caffe) – antler color (AC)

Small amount Bernat Softee Chunky (Black) – small eye color (BC)

Small amount Bernat Softee Chunky (White) – large eye color (CC)

Small amount Lion Brand Jiffy (True Red) – nose color (DC)

Size K (6.5 mm) Crochet Hook

Tapestry Needle

Small amount of polyfill stuffing

Gauge:

After you have completed round 3, you should have a diameter of about 3 ½”. Please check the gauge, as I do crochet tightly, so you may need to adjust your hook size.

Finished Size:

6-12 months

Hat

Round 1: Using MC, make an adjustable loop, ch 3, 7 dc in the loop, join and pull the loop tight. (8 dc)

Round 2: Ch 3, dc in the joining space, (2 dc in each dc) around, join. (16 dc)

Round 3: Ch 3, 2 dc in the next dc, (dc in the next dc, 2 dc in the next dc) around, join (24 dc)

Round 4: Ch 3, dc in the next dc, (2 dc in the next dc, dc in the next 2 dc) around to last dc, 2 dc in the last dc, join. (32 dc)

Round 5: Ch 3, dc in the next 2 dc, (2 dc in the next dc, dc in the next 3 dc) to last dc, 2 dc in the last dc, join. (40 dc)

Rounds 6-10: Ch 3, dc in each dc around, join. (40 dc) You may increase or decrease the number of rounds to change the height of your hat.

Fasten off and weave in ends.

Ears (Make 2)

Round 1: Using MC, make an adjustable loop, ch 1, 6 sc in the loop, do not join, pull the loop tight. You may want to place a marker at the beginning of the round and move it up as you go. (6 sc)

Round 2: (Sc in the next 2 sc, 2 sc in the next sc) 2 times. (8 sc)

Round 3: (Sc in the next 3 sc, 2 sc in the next sc) 2 times. (10 sc)

Round 4: (Sc in the next 4 sc, 2 sc in the next sc) 2 times. (12 sc)

Round 5: (Sc in the next sc, 2 sc in the next sc) 6 times. (18 sc)

Round 6-9: (Sc in the next sc) around. (18 sc)

Round 10: (Sc in the next sc, sc2tog) 6 times. (12 sc)

Fasten off leaving a long tail to sew the ears to the hat.

Long Antlers (Make 2)

Round 1: Using AC, make an adjustable loop, ch 1, 9 sc in the loop, do not join, pull the loop tight. You may want to place a marker at the begging on the round and move it up as you go. (9 sc)

Rounds 2-17: (Sc in the next sc) around. You can increase or decrease the number of rounds to adjust the length of the antlers. (9 sc)

Fasten off leaving a long tail to sew the antlers to the hat.

Short Antlers (Make 2)

Round 1: Using AC, make an adjustable loop, ch 1, 9 sc in the loop, do not join, pull the loop tight. You may want to place a marker at the beginning of the round and move it up as you go. (9 sc)

Rounds 2-8: (Sc in the next sc) around. You can increase or decrease the number of rounds to adjust the length of the antlers. (9 sc)

Fasten off leaving a long tail to sew the short antlers to the long antlers.

Inner Eyes (Make 2)

Round 1: Using BC, make an adjustable loop, ch 1, 4 sc in the loop, join, pull the loop tight. (4 sc)

Fasten off leaving a long tail to sew the inner part of the eye to the outer part of the eye.

Outer Eyes (Make 2)

Round 1: Using CC, make an adjustable loop, ch 1, 6 sc in the loop, join, pull the loop tight. (6 sc)

Fasten off leaving a long tail to sew the eye to the hat.

Nose

Round 1: Using DC, make an adjustable loop, ch 1, 6 sc in the loop, do not join, pull the loop tight. You may want to place a marker at the beginning of the round and move it up as you go. (6 sc)

Round 2: (2 Sc in the next sc) around. (12 sc)

Round 3: (Sc in the next sc) around. (12 sc)

Round 4: (Sc in the next sc, sc2tog in the next sc) around. (8 sc)

Fasten off leaving a long tail to sew the nose to the hat.

Finishing

Sew the ears to the hat. Sew the small antlers to the large antlers. Sew the large antlers to the hat. Lightly stuff the nose. Sew the nose to the hat. Sew the inner part of the eye to the outer part of the eye. Sew the eyes to the hat. Weave in all ends.

Abbreviations

Ch = Chain

Dc = Double Crochet

Sc = Single Crochet

Sc2tog = Single Crochet Two Together

You can see more details and can download a pdf of the pattern or from the Ravelry pattern page. While you are over on Ravelry, be sure to check out some of my other projects on my project page!

DIY Christmas Window Decorations

If you are looking for a cute, easy, and inexpensive way to decorate your windows for Christmas, this is the perfect project. I purchased all the materials to make mine from the Dollar Store, so the cost of this was only $7!

Here are the steps to take to make a Christmas window decoration of your own.

Step 1: Gather your materials.

• Christmas Ornaments - I used about 50, but you may want more or less depending on the size of your window and the size of the ornaments.
• Curtain rod to fit your window.
• Garland
• Bow
• String or yarn

Step 2: Tie the string to the ornaments. 

Step 3: Tie the other end of the string to the curtain rod.

Step 4: Continue to add more ornaments at various lengths. 

Step 5: Add the garland to the curtain rod to cover up the string.

Step 6: Add the bow.

Step 7: Enjoy your holiday decorations!

Helpful hints:

• Tie the strings to the curtain rod after the rod is in place. I originally was tying them before I hung it and I ended up with a tangled mess.
• Cut the garland into smaller pieces to wrap around the rod. I tried to do it in one piece and again ended up in a tangled mess.
• I used yarn but something like fishing line or thin thread would probably look nicer. The reason I used yarn was because I have cats that I know will be batting these around. If one gets wrapped around their paw, I don't want them to get hurt.
• If you have animals or small children, ensure that the ornaments that you use are not breakable. This has become the new favorite toy in my house.