The Advent Calendar - Finally

(24/03/2011)
 Greetings friends
I have finally got a few spare minutes on my hand and instead of starting a new craft I decided that I should let you all see my advent calendar :)

So here it is :)

This is what the calendar looked like when I bought it! It is made of super wood and i had big ideas for the middle section!

It took a while for me to get started on the decorating because i had to find the perfect colour and design.  I had a picture in my mind of what I wanted and wasn't really prepared to budge even a little.

I started by painting the front area and borders white and the sides a nice dark green.

 Long ago I found this stunning cottagey type Christmas paper at Mr Price home and fell in love with it so in my true hoarder nature I bought 10 rolls - just in case - well I wrapped many gifts that Christmas and made lots of beautiful cards and still  had a few rolls left over thank goodness, because it was exactly what I was looking for so . . . the draws got decoupaged in this cottage Christmas themed paper. The sides of the drawers I painted a bright Christmas red.

On a visit to my moms shop I was browsing her scrapbook paper and she asked if I was planning to scrap a page LOL what a joke - I explained that I was looking for "wall paper" for my advent calendar - she laughed :) I explained that it had to have a classic olde look, be pretty, have reds and not be too busy, that once my furniture was in it would take all the attention, she found the PERFECT piece for me it was as if she had seen the image in my head, so yay we now had wall paper!!!

Now it was time for the absolute fun part, the furnishing of the little room!!! I had been shopping for this for AGES and would now finally get to use all the goodies that Jess and I had made, bought, found and collected! First the chairs, I got these cut for me by laser and then I just had to assemble them, I did this and then took votes on whether I should paint them or not - the not won hands down! 

At the miniature and Christmas market we bought the little metal nativity scene, and the baking tray, the tree, the advent wreath on the table, and the Christmas cards.  

The cushions on the chairs as well as the advent wreath on the table will look familiar to Erna as the fantastic creator of these little treasures. I made the cake (as I do) and the little stockings hanging on the table are buttons :) the coke was donated by Jess from her collection of "little things" and all I needed was a plate for the cake and a table to put all these treasures on!! It didn't take too long as I found the perfect little plate while looking on the internet for a ceiling light.  At the last miniature fair for the year in Parkhurst Jess and I found this little table it was a dining room table or a side table but I took a little off the bottom of each leg and turned it into a coffee table.

The match box is just there to show the size relation it didn't end up becoming a permanent feature :) BTW!

Next came the lights which I got from The Miniature House - online shop and they just suited so well! The only sad bit is that these lights guzzle batteries like I have never seen before - stealing the (lime) light from the tree and the other fairy lights.  Here you see the hanging ceiling lights and the red satin curtains.

The hanging garland type decor in the back I made as I had nowhere left on the table to put my Christmas cards, but that needed lights too :) I finally tracked down the creator of the beautiful Christmas tree I bought and managed to get somemore little lights which I twisted around the green, hung on some cards and put it up!  What you see poking out the bottom is a framed Christmas picture I printed :)

 (27/08/2011)
A couple more spare minutes - well not acctually but I want to tell my GREAT news and made a deal with myself that I would not post again until this one was finished!!

Above are all the specially hand chasen and handmade little gifts under the tree, A paint set for our artist Tori, A frog statue for our frog collecter jess (and in the box underneath the frog is a set of icing tools), a wooden toy hammer bench for Ben, A smart work shirt for Al, and a cupcake tray for me :)  Gifts for everyone and so perfectly chosen!

And here is the completed scene ->

The little teddy on the chair on the left is from our tray of "little things" and the calendar on the wall I printed, it says December 2010 on it, and I have been asked if I am going to change it each year but I have decided to keep it as 2010 as a reminder of when it was created.

i had a very thin piece of glass cut to fit in front of the scene to protect it and keep little fingers out, it will also hopefully preserve the little scene for many years to come.  On a visit to Annmarie to find more lights for the Christmas tree she had a little gift bag decoration that when wound up, played Christmas music, so I bought this and took the mechanism out of the little paper bag and attached it at the back of the calendar.  So now with the pretty lights on and festive music playing on a wind up box, it gives goose bumps to all who have seen it :)

Here is a photo of the completed project.

I would be happy to assist you if you would like to mak a calendar similar to this, for more info please email me.

Till next time (which i hope will be ALOT sooner)