{DIY} Advent Pocket Calendar

It sure was nice having a whole week between Thanksgiving and Christmas this year. I was actually able to prep a little for advent and be ready to go December 1st. One of the projects that I wanted to add to this year's list was an advent calendar. We had been using mine that I grew up with and loved, but I wanted something bigger that would eventually include all our kids and be more interactive.

I had pinned a ton of ideas over the year for advent calendars: ones shaped like Christmas trees, made from felt, paper envelopes or brown paper bags, etc. Then I stumbled upon this image a few weeks ago and knew this was the one.

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Buuuuut it don't come with a tutorial. So I fished around and found a few more images with the same modge-podged, saggy-pocket, rustic look.

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 I bought a ten dollar 6 by 9 drop cloth {canvas tarp that painters use} from Walmart and got to work. {This is waaaay bigger than you'll ever need, but I want to make a tree skirt out of the same material.} All the "extras" I already had in my craft stash: buttons, ribbon trims, pom-poms, doilies, embroidery floss, fabric, felt, sewing machine, sharpie, and paint.

I cut and hemmed a piece of the drop cloth to measure about 36 inches long by 31 inches wide.

We have a little wall between our kitchen and eating are where our thankful tree was so I figured I'd hang this there too. So, I worked off the wall's size. I had several burlap squares leftover from my bubble burlap wreath project that I used for placement and pocket size. Then I just started switching some of them out for fabric and felt squares. And that's where the laborious, time-consuming part came in: decorating each pocket. Oh, the hours spent! And the mess that my kitchen table withstood!

I didn't plan ahead nor really tried to spend too much thought on any one pocket. I wanted it to look slightly messy and non-uniformed.

Once the pockets were decorated, I sewed each one in place. With the burlap ones, I went over them twice just to make sure wee lil' hands wouldn't tear them. I added three tab on top and stuck a wooden dowel through them. The last thing I did was tie some ribbon to each dowel end and hung it up!

Filling them was fun! I've been wanting to purchase a nativity set that the boys could role-play with for awhile. After some hunting, I decided on the Little People's set which has a bazillion pieces {make sure to get the one that has the shepherd!!}! I picked that up at Wally World along with the drop cloth.

I wrapped each nativity piece in some brown kraft paper and washi tape. I mingled the pieces with some chocolate and "activities tags". The tags are basically index cards that I added ribbon and tape to. I looked over this list and picked several that fit our family and the traditions we like to do during this time of year: Christmas lights drive, bake cookies, watch a Christmas movie, do a Christmas/winter related craft, have a picnic next to the Christmas tree, and make this year's ornament. I also tried to include a few "service"/acts of kindness type activities too. I was really inspired by this blogger's kindness project from a few years back. Hoping we can add more of these as the years go on and the kids are more capable!

I half-jokingly told W that this advent better end up as a heirloom after all the time I spent on it. It seriously took 3+ days to complete. Labor of love. But I love how it turned out and know it'll get many more years use out of it in the meantime. Our Christmas count-down has begun!

Wizard of Oz

Last year, the boys were MacGyver and his side-kick, the Swiss Army knife. This year I decided we should all be involved in the fun..you know, make it a family event. This may be the last time I really get away with "picking" since E is already shouting out opinions for next year...which all include a sword and shield.

So for one girl {albeit quite pregnant} and three boys, I went with the Wizard of Oz gang. I had originally planned to make/piece together all of the costumes in some form or fashion. But when my mom gave me a toddler lion costume that she bought from Costco, I didn't turn her away. Here's a bit of the break down for the rest of the gang...

The tin {toddler} man

 Much of his ensemble he already owned: shoes, hoodie {we went with a gray long sleeve for the actual day}, and pants. I made a heart out of red felt, embroidered "if i only had a..." on the front, stuffed it, and safety-pinned it to his top. I bought a huge funnel at a local hardware store along with some chrome spray paint. It originally was tied with jute string but kept falling off so I switched it out to thin elastic. That did the trick and he kept the hat on for the entire night. 

The axe is made from gray and brown felt and stuffed. I free-handed a pattern which worked great. The biggest problem came with making it stand up straight..that's where W came in. He added some cardboard and a skewer to reinforce the structure. Perfect...well, enough to hold up to a wild toddler hacking at air.

 I added a bit of silver face paint to boot.

{this was pre-elastic..he was pretty bummed that it kept falling off}

Knocked-up Dorothy

 I found a really simple and easy tutorial here {she's not the most UN-annoying person ever} which I just sewed instead of using the fabric glue she did. It's basically a skirt and a bib piece tucked into the skirt. I also used her glitter shoe tute in the video too. Since my gingham fabric was really see-through, I added a white lining. And I had zero petticoat luck at the thrift stores so I added some lace trim. 

I really wanted to add that red tulle underneath too and have it just peek out a little. But I didn't find a tutorial that was workable enough and simply ran out of time {and energy}.

I made an over-sized red bow with felt and leftover gingham since pigtails & pregnant felt way too wrong. ;) Threw on some of W's long socks, a red cardi and I was ready to roll.

The scarecrow

W already had everything but the hat and corn cob pipe. Both of which I picked up at the party store while getting face paint. My MIL had made the brown pants over ten years ago for a Renaissance fair and his shirt was thrifted for the same event. His was the easiest!

After pictures with my parents, we headed over to our friends' neighborhood for trick-or-treating. We did much better than the three houses from last year although we were up way past the boys' bedtime.
 

It really felt like E's first year this time. We practiced what to say each time and that kid said "Happy Halloween" or "Thank You" with so much gusto at every house. As he trotted back, he'd give me his candy and announce how many pieces he got. If he got more than two, he'd say, "It's because I'm a lucky, lucky, lucky little boy." A movie reference we use often with him. Love that boy so.

the whole gang!

until next year...

Gettin' Spooky! {decor}

A few weeks ago, the fall box came down and slowly but surely our house is turning a bit spooky! I've made a new front door wreath which I'm in absolute love with. Already scheming up Christmas ideas so I can keep it out!

{tutorial found here}

Our entryway inlet has a few added touches:

I got the print a few years back and added my mustache hoop art that wonders around downstairs without a permanent home. The beware sign was a dollar store score.

Our mantle:

At this point, just a hod-podge of what was already on it plus a few random additions. The candy corn garland I made out of felt and is hung on black ric rac. The witch print is found here. And the centerpiece pallet sign is incomplete {still need words} and will eventually go to another home. But it works there for now until I mail it off.  

The winning space thus far is our bat wall! It turned out so awesome. Amazing what 50 little card-stock bats can do! The flight of the bats:

{tutorial found here}

Happy harvest month! 

Whatever Craft Weekend Re-cap

So..back to my incredibly inspiring and FUN weekend in Kansas. At the Whatever Craft Weekend.

{the weekend's agenda}

Several months ago, I put my name on their waitlist all the while thinking I'd never get picked. But picked I was, so I bought my plane ticket. And my parents generously birthday-gifted the weekend's cost for me, so I was in!

My weekend started off bright and early {read: 4am} on Friday for my flight. I was able to connect with the three other California girls in Dallas and travel our last leg together. Even though it was an early morning, I simply basked in my freedom. Freedom to walk around or sit, freedom to eat whatever, freedom to nap, freedom to read, freedom not to talk or be spoken to...I'm sure you get the picture. FREEDOM.

{Arriving in Dallas. Baggage claim in Kansas.}

 Thanks to Instagram, I also connect with a local gal, Niki, who generous went along with my plan to get pedis before we got picked up. Leave it to the Californians to go rogue and stick in their own fun. ;) Those few hours were heavenly and much needed. Fifteen extra minutes of massage, anyone?! I may or may not have passed out while in my chair. 

{fresh toes.}

Then it was off to the craft house and meeting the rest of the ladies. We had a delicious "traditional style" Kansas meal. Settled into our adorable rooms. And got to crafting!! We made the signature ruffle aprons and talked late late into the night. The fabric choices were out-of-control happy and oh-so-girlie. My kind of heaven.

Ladies busily working late into the night. I'm convinced that if I had still kind of craft space and beautiful supplies, I'd be way more productive! At least, I need to get me a cutting mat, suction-cup handle ruler thingy & a rotatory cutter. It's about time for these investments!

 One of the great aspects of the weekend was not everyone was crafty. Some women had never even touched a sewing machine before. Meg did a great job teaching the newbies and all the ladies were willing to give an extra hand. Allison gave me a quick tute on fabric flowers and Judy {the one in the stripes, next to Allison}  provided an extra nudge with my ruffles. :)

Once my apron was completed, I hit the sack... hard.

The following day included more amazing homemade meals, thrifting/antiquing, and more crafting!

{lingering over coffee before a delish breakfast}

Then onto antiquing, thrifting and junking!

 Post shopping, we hit up Sonic's happy hour. I'm pretty sure this was my first Sonic experience. Then it was back home to compare loot.

Lots of fun stuff!! Way overwhelming too. There were a few things that caught my eye while I walked around, but I decided to look at them later. Mistake when you're with a big group!! Some of the ladies walked away with those pieces and I may have had some slight envy!  E LOVES his Wizard of Oz book and I'm afraid that Kansas is one of the first few states he knows. Ha!

 Lisa Leonard was an honored guest and educated us in the ways of hand-stamped jewelry as part of the evening of crafts. She and her twin sister, Chrissie, were some of my favorite people from the trip. I'm so happy we at least live in the same state and have a chance at hanging out again!If only Niki lived closer!

Sunday went quick with breakfast, pictures, and good-byes before I was back in the airport and heading home. The weekend was such a wonderful experience. A treasured memory I'll hold dear.

Some amazing and wonderful women! And such a delight to hear their stories and learn about what the Lord has done in their lives. I'm so thankful God worked everything out so I could go on this weekend adventure. I definitely walked away with way much more than I put in!

And funny, that even though I had this wonderful freedom and weekend away to myself, I thought about my boys almost every waking moment. I missed them. Wondered how they were surviving. Texting W pictures from my weekend while seeing some from theirs. FaceTime.

 The time away was so nice, but I was reminded and renewed in my role as "Mama in the trenches." When I  lose my way or forget who I am, I only have to look to them to remember. They make me me. They give me a rich context to this life. The Lord shows me my sin and His grace through W and these littles every stinkin' day. And that gets ugly a lot sometimes. I think I'm learning more about the beauty of His grace this season. And how He can actually turn the dark, messy, yucky parts of me into redemptive beauty.

 My only regret was not getting to cross off a bucket list item while in Kansas. Like our trip to Wisconsin a few years back, I got this close to milking a cow. Udder sadness! ;) Kerry, who picked us up from the airport, is married to a dairy farmer!! At least now I know someone who has a cow I can milk. I'm totally going to take her up on her invite! Guess that means I'll be back...

Host Your Own!

Over at NewlyWife today. Talking a bit about Whatever Craft Weekend and thoughts on how to host your own craft event! Come stop by!

Glitter And Gloss Craft Day

A few weeks ago, I got to leave the boys in good hands {W} and spend SEVEN hours crafting with some fabulous girls. Spoiled, I know! I pumped extra for T the days leading up to the event and was actually quite nervous since this was the first time he'd be taking a bottle. Thankfully, he was super chill and went with the new program. And I got to craft...for SEVEN hours!

Check out more of the great girl time event from Heather via Glitter and Gloss blog.

Circle Garland Tutorial

I became a circle garland fan with our dining area re-do. I'm finally getting around to that tutorial. For this garland, I used felt but the one hanging in my house is made of paper. Both are great mediums to use. Obviously, felt is much more durable and hardy than paper. But the steps and outcome are the same.

I started with tracing lots and lots of circles.

Cut, cut and more cutting.

Into stacks.

Next, I worked out my pattern...

 Then dumped them into bowls...

Almost good enough to eat, eh?

Seriously, love felt.

Time for assembly! Basically, I just fed the felt circles through the feed-dog and the foot; making sure to keep the foot down the entire time. Once it catches, it moves through on its own. Continue to feed the felt through and adding each new circle until it catches. Don't worry if a few stitches pass before the next circle catches, the spacing won't matter in the end.

I kept my bowls close so I could just grab a new circle fast and feed it through. The biggest pain is keeping up with the pattern and getting circles in fast enough.

And out comes the garland on the other side.

In no time at all, you'll have a super long garland...

Ready to hang up...

or wrap up for transfer!

Easy way to add some whimsy to a room or party!