12 Days of Christmas Countdown Advent Calendar

Hello!  Shanna here again with a fun and festive Christmas project!!  

In my house we have a tradition of a countdown advent calendar... Similar to the chocolate ones you see in stores, we like to give little treats and toys as part of the fun!  I have varied in the past with a full 25 days of fun, or a simpler 12 days of counting fun.  This year, for my 5 year old's first advent calendar I chose to run with the 12 days of Christmas countdown as it will be a little more simplistic for him to follow as he is autistic and the more simplified it is, the less stressed he gets.  

I adored making this fun banner-style calendar with with fun and simple flair!

Here is what I used:

SRM Stickers Treat Bags in Red and Green, multiple patterns

SRM Stickers BIG Numbers clear stamp set

SRM Stickers Live Life/Christmas Stickers

Red and Green Scallop circles

Green Jute Twine

Distress Oxide inks in Lucky Clover, and Candied Apple

Mini Clothespins

I started by stamping directly onto the scallop circles the numbers 1-12 using the BIG Numbers Stamp Set.  I actually ended up embossing them in clear, but it down played the oxide colors unfortunately.  Good news is my 5 year old won't be nearly as critical of them as I am!  

Next was made easy peasy by utilizing the treat bags as the wrapping/holder for the goodies.  We keep things small and affordable.  I picked up a multi pack of trains (his fave) and some figurines from the dollar store along with a couple pencils that are helping him learn to write.  Fun stuff!!  I put candy in my older kids calendars sometimes to mix it up, but for this one I stuck with small toys. 

I folded down the bags to close them and then sealed them using one of the awesome stickers in the SRM Stickers Live Life/Christmas Stickers set!!  Super easy!  I attached my numbers to the bags with some double sided tape and then strung them on the jute twine clothesline-style.  I love how it turned out and will fit on our mantle perfectly this coming December!

What is a fun tradition you like to do in preparation for Christmas??

Until next time!!

Shanna

Birthday Countdown Vinyl Sign by Samantha

Hello! Samantha with you today. We make a big deal of birthdays in our family, so I thought it would be fun to make a birthday countdown sign to celebrate the anticipation of an upcoming birthday. 

I wanted to make the sign durable so I could use it for both of my kids and use it year after year. However, that also means I need to be able to change out the photo and count down the days. 

To make the sign durable, I used plywood and painted it in a bright aqua blue. To make the photo easily changeable, I added a small clothespin to the board to hold the photo. I tackled the need to change the countdown number by cutting my star from SRM's chalkboard vinyl. Just write it on and wipe it off! 

I cut "days until my birthday!" from teal vinyl with my Silhouette Cameo. Then I overlayed "birthday!" with gold holographic vinly to really make it pop. To pull everything together, I added some gold holographic vinyl to the clothespin holding the photo. 

This birthday countdown sign is a piece of birthday decor that I'll be able to use for many years to come. My kids love that they can countdown the days, and I love that I can add my favorite photo of the birthday boy! How soon do your kids start counting down the days until their birthday? 

All vinyl used can be found HERE.

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Chalkboard Vinyl Countdown Board by Christine

Do you love adding vinyl projects to your house?  I do!  Christine Meyer joining you today with a very simple vinyl project that can be easily done in any home using SRM's Chalkboard Vinyl!  Pair it with one other type of vinyl and create your own Countdown Board!

My daughter is a planner and loves to know exactly how many days until .... So I thought this would be a perfect addition to our kitchen wall!  The nice thing about this project is that you don't need anything extra - just the vinyl and some chalk (or a chalk marker).  

I cut out the chalkboard shape and the words using an electronic die cutting machine.  Using Transfer Tape I added the Bubblegum Vinyl portion. Then I went to town decorating with my chalk marker.  Chalk marker is just a little more neat than regular chalk and comes off with water.  When I created this my husband was out of town so we started with that countdown!  Now we're counting down to vacation as seen in the first picture. Drawing and decorating is a little out of my normal comfort zone but it is fun to just doodle and see where things go!

I went with the Bubblegum Vinyl for a couple of reasons - I knew the lighter color would really pop against the black and I knew if I overshot on erasing it wouldn't mess with the pink too much!

Did you know we have an All Things SRM Vinyl facebook page???  If you haven't checked it out - you should!  Even better - share a project with us!