Finished Advent Calendar

Remember THIS crazy project I worked on FOREVER. Well I wanted to show you all how the finished product turned out. December flew by in a hurry. And I guess January has too, since it's almost February.

It actually seems like another lifetime that I worked on this advent calendar and finished it. I have to be honest that by the time I actually finished, I was really annoyed with everything about it. It took all of my will power just to get it done. But, it's done now and I can look at it, folded neatly in my storage closet with my Christmas decorations, and enjoy the results of my labors.

Here's a picture of the top. Everything was hand stitched on so it took a long time. It was definitely worth it in the end. It looks beautiful!

And here is the finished project hanging on the wall. I need to re-do the star next year and also hang it differently because it is all wrinkly at the bottom. But, I put it away for now and will tackle those tiny details next Christmas.

I am so excited to have this advent calendar for my family to enjoy for years to come. It was a lot of work so if you want to do one then I would seriously start RIGHT NOW. That way you can do a little at a time and not be so annoyed with it in the end.

The Last Half - Advent Calendar

Well I certainly got off track with my posting when I left town for Thanksgiving. I thought I would have all the time in the world to post while I was on vacation, but of course spending time with family always soaks up every minute and ounce of energy I have. So I will post the rest of the advent squares all together.

I have to admit that my advent calendar is still not finished. Yes I know that it is the 8th of December, but in my defense I have had many other things to take care of that are higher on my priority list than crafting - such as being a wife, mother, and homemaker. Normal everyday responsibilities sometimes add up for me, probably because I am not always good at using my time efficiently.

For a while I felt pretty bad about my failure to produce this beautiful advent calendar on December 1st, especially since everywhere you look on the internet people are accomplishing their crafting goals. In an effort to make this blog realistic I would like to say I am not always one of those people. I love to craft and most of the time I get things done by my "deadline," but sometimes it is okay to be a bit behind. After all this is definitely not life or death. And you know what, my son isn't even old enough to understand Christmas, let alone presents and advent calendars. Next year will really be the year that counts. So if I'm a bit behind schedule this year then I say it's okay!

Enough with the confessions. Here are the last 13 squares. I love how they all turned out.


All 25 pockets are now sewn to my tree backing. I just have to finish stitching the numbers - which is very fast to do so far - and then sew the layers together. I hope to have it all complete and hanging on the wall this weekend. I am pretty confident it will happen too, because I'm finally sick of seeing it sitting on my craft table.

Group #3 - Advent Calendar

Four more pockets stitched! These four sure turned out fun. My favorite of the bunch is definitely the Christmas lights. They are so cute!


Can you tell that the last one is a wise man? I think he needs a beard? Or something...he just feels like he is missing something. I can't really figure it out though so it may just stay the way it is. If you have any ideas on how to make him appear more "wise" then please let me know!

Now I have 12 down and 13 more to go! Almost halfway!

Group #2 - Advent Calendar

Here's the second batch of advent calendar pockets...

I have to admit that the milk and cookies is so far my least favorite one. The idea is so fun, but I think I just didn't quite execute it correctly. I think it would have turned out better if I had made the window cover the entire top portion of the square (maybe with 2 windows & 1 set of curtains?). I don't know. It might bug me enough to add some "wall paper" to the background. We'll see.

All of the other ones turned out great! I think the reindeer is adorable and I love the bell with music notes and the presents.

So far I am still going strong. I have been working constantly on this project, but I think that it will be slowing down soon for the Holiday travels. Hopefully I can still get it all done before December 1st!

Group #1 - Advent Calendar

My first 4 squares are ALL done! I am so, so, so excited about how they turned out. And seeing them done is getting me more and more excited to continue stitching my heart out.


I absolutely LOVE my little snowman! And the gingerbread house turned out so cute as well. The stocking is fun too! And you just can't go wrong with a beautiful snowflake right? It is so nice to begin seeing a finished product!

I have more pockets in the works and will be sharing more batches over the next week and a half or so. I must admit that each pocket takes a good 2-3 hours. Except for ones like the snowflake. That one only took about 45 minutes at most. The gingerbread house definitely took a good 3 hours. All of the little french knots just take time because you have to cut and re-knot and cut and re-knot quite a few times. It was all worth the time though.

And I must confess that I have been listening to Christmas music while working on this advent calendar. I am ashamed to admit it, but how can you work on something so festive and not enjoy some good tunes? Hopefully next year I will come to my senses and enjoy Thanksgiving fully before moving on to Christmas.

PS: If I find the time then I might come up with some Thanksgiving decorations for our home. However, I am guessing that next year will be the year for Thanksgiving decorations since we are headed out of town this weekend and won't really be able to enjoy any decorations that I make. We will see though. Happy Monday to you all!

Christmas Advent Calendar {My Life During November}

In honor of this fun date - 11/11/11 - I thought I would share my November project. It has pretty much taken over my entire life this month. I have been working on it every spare moment I can find. The initial idea for this project came from A Feathered Nest. She created a Christmas advent calendar two years ago that I LOVED. I didn't find it until last year at the end of November so I did not have the time to create my own version for Christmas. This year will be our first Christmas not visiting family so I thought it would be the perfect year to start a tradition of an advent calendar.

If you can believe it, I started this project way back in March. I gathered supplies and began cutting out the felt squares for the pockets (just the bases). Then a few months went by and I didn't do any work on it. In August I started cutting out some of the shapes for the images on each pocket. When I planned out my pockets I wanted to have a Christmas themed image on each one. Abby's version HERE had quite a few pockets that were darling, but they were just simple patterns/designs and I just didn't want to go that route. I wanted each square to be unique and I also wanted to bring in the religious aspect of Christmas more - since Christ is was Christmas is all about. I have been working just a little here and there ever since August on the cutting phase.

At the end of October I decided that I really wanted to finish it in time for Christmas this year. So I set out a schedule to finish it in one month. So far I am still on schedule to finish by November 30th. I hope I can make it!

Here are my squares at the first stage - just cut outs! This project will be entirely hand sewn. That is why it will be my life this month. I have been stitching, stiching, and stiching everyday for the past week and a half. I am so excited to see the finished project at the end of the month.

All 25 advent pockets. Remember, these are just the cutouts so they really don't look that great yet. The stitching is where the magic happens. Which is funny because I have NO experience with embroidery or hand stitching. Hopefully it all turns out good!

Snowman, Gingerbread House (I added this one), Bell (to symbolize music), Presents!

Stocking, Snowflake (my addition), Christmas Lights (inspired by the pictures of Abby's friend), and Mittens.

Milk and Cookies, Rudolph, Holly Leaves & Berries, Wiseman (all of these are Meagan originals except for the Holly Leaves).

Santa's Sleigh, Mary, and Christmas Tree (the sleigh and Mary are my additions).

Sheep, Gingerbread Man, and Angel.

Ornament, Birthday Cake (to celebrate Jesus' birth - I think this will help my son get more excited about celebrating Jesus' birthday), and Candy Canes.

Wreath, Cup of Hot Cocoa (another addition of mine), and Santa Clause.

And last, but not least, Baby Jesus in a Manger.

I am so excited to see these done with the stiching. Some of them are close so I will start sharing them next week. There's still time for you to make your own as well. So go gather your supplies and start sewing with me!