In our family, we still have kids who await Christmas day with absolute wonder and breathlessness. This year, instead of marking the days with (more) (unhealthy) candy, or (more) (unnecessary) trinkets, we are using a holiday countdown calendar to keep us on track!
You can make one of these in a few hours and then re-use it for years to come. I used some products that were left over from last year, and you can use what you have on hand to embellish. On the whole, you’ll need:
- Ready To Finish Memory Frame (mine was from ConsumerCrafts.com)
- Scrapbook Cardstock/ glittered cardstock
- Chipboard Letters and/or a
- Cricut
- Chalkboard Paint by FolkArt
- cereal box cardboard (recycle!)
- Snowflake Embellishments (Making Memories)
- Rick Rack
- Stick-on gems
- Sticky-Backed Foamie Sheets (Cut with a Scallop Circle Nestabilities)
To start, remove the picture back and glass from the frame. Then, use your favorite adhesive to glue cardstock onto the front of the picture frame. (I used “The Best Glue Ever” for this job.) When it’s all dry, use an X-Acto blade to cut the excess cardstock away from the edges of the frame and away from the picture opening. Use an emery board to smooth any rough places.
Cut a piece of cereal box cardboard the size of the picture opening. (You can use the glass as a template.) Following the directions on the container, paint a coat of FolkArt Chalkboard paint and let dry 1 hour. Then paint a second coat.
Next, I made the rosette and assemble the rosette by layering a glittered foamie scalloped circle, the folded rosette, and the glittered cardstock sheet on top. Make sure you weigh this down with a book while the glue sets up.
Layer a strip of cardstock across the bottom portion of the frame and use your 1 1/2 inch chipboard letters, stickers, or Cricut cut-outs to spell out “Days to” and glue on top of the strip as shown in the photo. Add your rosette on the right hand side, and add “Christmas”, “Hannukah” or “Birthday”. I used the “Designers Calendar” cart and my Cricut to cut the “Christmas” word. (Again, you could alternatively stamp a word, too.)
Glue some rick-rack around the picture opening, and cover any imperfections. I added some chipboard shapes, stick-on rhinestones, and metal snowflakes to jazz it up a bit.
After your chalkboard paint has dried 24 hours, prime it with chalk and insert it into the frame. You are ready to count down the days!
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LOVE this! Love chalkboard paint! This countdown idea would be great for any countdown. Countdown to the last/first day of school, a vacation, baby due date, graduation…
This is a really cute idea. I think I will be making some for grandkids next year!