Welcome to the 4th Annual Handmade Holidays Blog Hop! I'm excited to be joining over 100 creative blogger friends in the craft industry as well as some product manufacturers to bring you a plethora of inspiring gift ideas you can make now to give to your friends, family, and colleagues.
Be sure to pin and bookmark these ideas for this holiday season and to use throughout the year! Each day of the hop features approximately 30 gift projects and you can "hop" from one blog to another to check them all out.
The project I created for the hop is a photo-themed Advent Calendar/Pin board. Now that my parents have downsized and no longer put up a Christmas tree, I thought this countdown calendar would be something fun that they could display during the holidays as well as use during the rest of the year as a bulletin board.
Click on any photo to enlarge.
The calendar is made up of 25 pockets each containing a photo from prior holidays. Included are photos of all their grandkids as well as a few of my sisters and I when we were growing up.
When the holidays are over all they need to do is remove each of the Christmas pockets and they will have a pin board to use during the rest of the year.
There are three main parts to this project - the pin board, the pockets, and the inserts. For the pin board you will need an 18" x 24" frame, a roll of cork, and a piece of fabric a few inches larger than the interior of the frame.
Remove the glass from the frame and trim the insert about 1/8" on each side to accommodate the added thickness of the cork and fabric. Cut the cork to fit and adhere using Therm O Web's Sticky Lines.
Sticky Lines work like hot glue, but without the mess and possibility of burns. Place the Sticky Lines around the edges and press the cork into place. Cut the fabric a few inches wider than the frame insert and staple around the edges; trim excess fabric and place the insert into the frame.
The next component of the calendar are the pockets. This project is a great way to use up scraps! Double sided papers work best.
Die cut 25 pockets and adhere using Therm O Web's tape runner.
Inside each pocket is a photo and mini clothes pin that is used to clip the photo to the front of the pocket as the month progresses.
A cardstock backing gives the photos more stability. Die cut 25 photos and 25 pieces of cardstock. Sometimes it can be tricky to adhere photo paper so I used a double adhesive method to create the inserts.
The tape runner works well with most photo papers and the SuperStik glue stick is super strong on cardstock. Apply tape runner along the edges of the cardstock and cover the interior with glue stick. Then apply glue stick to the backside of the photo and wait about 10 seconds or so before attaching them together. This creates a really strong bond once dry.
Next comes the fun part - decorating the pockets and inserts. I keep a box of leftover Christmas embellishments and stickers and used those for this project. Some of the items in there are pretty old, but I don't think my parents will complain that I used something from 2010. :)
If you have any questions about the products or steps used to complete this, just write your question in the comment section and I'll do my best to get back to you asap.
I'm pretty sure that metal snowflake is at least 10 years old... it feels so great to be able to use up older supplies on a project like this!
Thank you so much for visiting my blog - hope to see you back again!
Are you ready for lots more creative handmade gift ideas and projects? Follow along on our blog hop! Simply click on each of the links below to be taken to that post with additional information and photos on how to create a handmade gift project. Have fun and pin away!
Cookies for Breakfast- Beth Pingry
Cupcakes and Crinoline - Mary Beth Sharkey
Elizabeth Craft Designs - Frances Byrne
Lazy Mom’s - Joanna Grzeszczak
Homemade Ginger - Megan Kapple
Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L - Asia King
Ellison Educational Equipment - Anna-Karin Evaldsson
Therm O Web - Alice Golden <----- YOU ARE HERE
The Buckle Boutique - Stephanie Nericcio
Modern Surrealist - Marisa Pawelko
A Little Craft In Your Day - Tanner Bell
Artsy Findings - Cheryl Waters
We'd like to give you a way to save and stock up on your favorite Therm O Web and HeatnBond® products! Take 20% off your order today through November 16th! Use coupon code: makeit
Offer may not combined with any other offers. Good through November, 16 2014.
Follow our Handmade Holidays Gift Ideas Pinterest board for even more inspiration!
A huge thank you to our sponsors for this hop - please visit their blogs & websites below and follow them. And be sure to come back tomorrow for another 30+ amazing Handmade Gift Ideas!
Clearsnap || Ellison Educational Equipment || Walnut Hollow || Graphic45 || Westcott || ICE Resin || Therm O Web || Rowland Industries || Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L || Pink and Main || Elizabeth Craft Designs || The Buckle Boutique || Neat and Tangled
Fantastic creation Alice. Also, beautiful pictures as well.
Posted by: Shavaughn | November 07, 2014 at 11:47 AM
Cute!
Posted by: Clare Gotpaintinmyhair | November 07, 2014 at 12:25 PM
Awesome project, Alice. I love the little envies and the tiny clothes pins!
Posted by: Gloria Stengel | November 07, 2014 at 12:34 PM
Wonderful creation! I really like the little bags.
Posted by: jpscraps | November 07, 2014 at 04:30 PM
Thanks Shavaughn! I made a smaller version of a photo advent calendar back in the day for the Braditude book - do you remember that one?!
Posted by: Alice Golden | November 07, 2014 at 07:29 PM
Thanks so much Gloria! Hope you are doing well!
Posted by: Alice Golden | November 07, 2014 at 07:29 PM
On my list to do next weekend. Great project. Can you tell me something about the die? Who the manufacture and where you purchased it. also the size of the finished envelope. [email protected]
Posted by: Debby L | November 08, 2014 at 07:24 AM
Thanks Debby! The finished size of the pocket is 2 1/2” x 4 1/2” and the dies are both from Papertrey Ink - Seed Packet Diehttps://www.papertreyink.com/pti-dies/papertrey-ink-seed-packet-die/ and the button card diehttps://www.papertreyink.com/pti-dies/papertrey-ink-button-card-die-collection-set-of-3/
I’d love to see a photo of your finished project! Good luck and let me know if you have any more questions.
Best,
Alice
Posted by: Alice Golden | November 08, 2014 at 11:57 AM
Very original idea. And your explanation is great. Colorful and very sweet design. I really liked it. Thank you.
Posted by: Nicole Mari | November 09, 2014 at 03:58 PM
Super cute calendar, and love how each little tag is so unique and different.
Posted by: Ann Custer | November 09, 2014 at 04:08 PM
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...Ho-Ho-Ho!!! I love a fun and festive holiday project that goes beyond the season! Thanks for sharing, Alice.
Posted by: Starqueen | November 10, 2014 at 01:30 AM