DIY Burlap Sacks for Advent Calendar

Earlier this week I showed our advent calendar (with a free printable!) made out of burlap.  Today, I'll show you how I made all those teeny-tiny, numbered burlap sacks that are piled in the glass jar on my coffee table.

I pulled out a few old burlap bags that I had saved, along with my scissors (or you could purchase burlap at the fabric store, very cheap!).  I placed the print-out over the burlap and eye-ball measured the size sack I needed (that print-out is what will would be placed inside.  I cut around the paper.... and ended up with about a 3x2" size.  I cut out two pieces per sack....

... then held them together and sewed three sides together, leaving the top part open....

Once the three sides were stitched together, I evened out the edges with a pair of scissors (this made a little bit of a mess!).  But now the sack is even!

Then I wrote a number (1-25) on each sack for our advent calendar using a Sharpie maker....

Then I inserted the paper with the day's activity and sealed it with washi tape....

.... then piled them all into a glass jar on my coffee table....

We start using the calendar tomorrow.... December 1st!  How are you counting down the days until Christmas?

Free Printables: Advent Calendar

We have begun decorating the house (inside and out) as we prepare for Christmas.  One of the first things I put together was our advent calendar..... I asked the kids to tell me things they wanted to do this month so I could be sure to incorporate their ideas into the calendar.  Then I added a few of my own ideas and a few I've seen around the web.  Most importantly, this calendar serves as one way to help us keep the focus on our Savior's birth during the Christmas season.

For the advent calendar, I typed up an activity for each day (available for you below!), then printed the sheet, cut out each square...

.... rounded the corners....

.... then placed each paper into a numbered burlap sack that corresponds with the date we plan to do the activity.  The burlap is sealed with washi tape (note: the washi tape doesn't stick extremely well to the burlap, but it looks cute!).

All the burlap sacks, except #1 (the wrapped present), are piled in a glass jar on our coffee table....

Every morning, beginning December 1st, the kids will take turns opening a sack, pulling out the slip of paper and then we'll all participate in the activity.  This is the first year we're doing this and I'm a little excited (the kids can't wait to open the present).

Creating the calendar was extremely easy!  Later this week I'll show you how I made those teeny-tiny burlap sacks- they were easy too, just a little messy!  But today, I included a FREE printable advent calendar for you, if you'd like to incorporate a few fun things to do during the month of Christmas.....

1.  Read "The First Christmas", by Carol Heyer.
2.  String lights outside.  Read John 8:12, Jesus is the light of the world.
3.  Give handmade salt dough ornaments to friends.
4.  Have a Silent Night in the house.  Turn off electronics, light candles, sing "Silent Night", then go for a walk with a flashlight.
5.  Make Christmas cards for family & friends.  Read John 20:21, peace be with you.
6.  How can you share Joy with others?  Your family?  Your friends?
7.  Create a Christmas craft with friends, design a special Christmas plate.
8.  Read “My Merry Christmas and the Real Reason for Christmas Joy”, by Sally Lloyd-Jones.
9.  Bake and frost (and eat) cut-out cookies.
10.  Participate in a cookie swap party and delight friends with extra special homemade Christmas cookies.
11.  Walk through a live nativity scene.
12.  Make a craft of baby Jesus in the manger.  Read Luke 2:7.
13.  Drink hot cocoa & stir with candy canes.  Read I Peter 2:24 & Psalm 23:1.  Candy canes remind us of the Shepherds’ crook and the Savior, who is “The Good Shepherd”.  Read Psalm 66:1-2.
14.  Ring bells to make a joyful noise & sing "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day".  (Include silver bells.)
15.  Host a gingerbread party with friends.  Read John 6:34-35, Jesus is the bread of life.
16.  Have a family Christmas movie night.
17.  Cut down a Christmas tree, decorate the tree.  Discuss how evergreen trees remind us of Jesus' everlasting love.
18.  What is God’s gift to us at Christmas?  Sing “Away in a Manger”.
19.  Hang an angel ornament on the tree.  Read Luke 2:8-20, angels tell the shepherds of Jesus' birth. (Include angel ornament.)
20.  Package goodie bags for neighbors.  How can we show our love to others this Christmas and throughout the new year?
21.  Drive around town to see Christmas lights.
22.  Wrap Christmas presents. Read Matthew 2:11.  Why do we give each other
gifts at Christmas?
23.  Bake a cake for Jesus.
24.  CHRISTMAS EVE, Read Matthew 2:1-12, how did the Wise Men know that Jesus
had been born? (Include golden star stickers.)
25.  CHRISTMAS DAY, Read Luke 2, the birth of Jesus.  Celebrate!

As always, my printables are available for personal use from me to you, for FREE!  I left off the numbers in the printable to give more flexibility.  So, go ahead.... download, print, or just pass along the link... enjoy!!!

Advent Calendar Ideas

Click the link above to download the pdf file and print on 8.5/11" paper (preferably white/cream colored card-stock), then cut along the dotted lines so you'll eventually have 25 cut-outs.  Once printed, place in a fabric sack, box, stocking, jar.... there's so many ways to hang an advent calendar!  Have fun!

Primitive & Proper

Today I'm over at Cassie's blog, Primitive & Proper. 

It's Feature Friday and I'm sharing all the details of my girl's bedroom.... stop over and say hi :)

Thanksgiving Celebration

We celebrated a great Thanksgiving today with new friends and now I'm relaxing on the couch with a full tummy..... I think I need to run another "Turkey Dash"!  I was going through a few food and decorating pictures from today and thought I'd share, but what do you know..... I completely forgot to take pictures of the turkey.  Oh well, one more reason to enjoy another turkey dinner sooner than next year.  Here's a glimpse of our good eats (and an almost finished dining room)!

I saw this awesome napkin ring idea on Pinterest.... so, I kinda copied the look....

I added a new appetizer to the menu this year and it was a HUGE hit..... caramelized onion and apple tarts with gruyere and thyme.... DELICIOUS!  I think I'll be making them again for Christmas.

I hope you had a fantastic Thanksgiving!  Tomorrow, I pull out all the Christmas decorations.... I'm so excited (the kids are ecstatic)!

Linking up to Centsational Girl.

Happy Thanksgiving

Craftily Ever After

I wish you a joy-filled day with lots of fun and delicious food!  And, just for fun, here's a song the kids and I have been singing all week....

Turkey Dinner

Author Unknown
Sing to the tune of Frère Jacques

Turkey Dinner, turkey dinner,

Gather round, gather round,
Who will get the drumstick?

Yummy, yummy drumstick,
All sit down, all sit down.

Cornbread muffins, chestnut stuffing,
Puddin' pie, one foot high,
All of us were thinner
Until we came to dinner;
Me oh my! Me oh my!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Living Room Gallery Wall

Last month I posted a few art additions to my ever-growing gallery wall in the living room, here and here.  Today I thought I'd post a much better view of the wall and the decorating progress so far...

It's almost finished!!!  I'll share more details once I complete one (or two) more projects!

A Month of Thankfulness

This month has been crazy busy.... the crazy-super-fun-kinda-busy.  It's hard to believe we're half way through November and only 39 days until Christmas (and it's still in the 80s here)!  I have a few moments to share some of the small additions around the house just in time for Thanksgiving.  It's quiet here....the husband is out of town, the kids are in bed (sleeping, I hope) and I'm on the couch with a scoop of ice cream, a bag a chocolate chips and a glass of wine with the dog at my feet.  What more could a girl ask for on a Tuesday night, right?  So, here's to 30 minutes of blogging before I need to clean the kitchen....

Earlier this Fall, a sweet friend of mine gave me the book One Thousand Gifts.  The book is amazing.... it's so enticing that I wanted to read page after page, all in one night.  Ann Voskamp's writing style is very poetic, so beautifully written.... she speaks from the heart and her words truly made me think.  They challenged me.  They still challenge me.  The book is about the incredible power of gratitude, a life of gratitude.  It was a perfect read as Thanksgiving approaches and since reading the book I have tried to make an effort to take notice of the gifts He has blessed me with and say "Thank You" with a continuous voice of thanks.

Here's a few of our Thanksgiving decorations and reminders for me to sing of praise and thanksgiving...

Grateful Tree:  my daughter helped me make this tree (I was inspired here).... we pulled out a few colorful sheets of scrapbook paper, she punched out the circles while I trimmed the branches and wrapped washi tape around an old glass jar.  We've been adding circles to the branches every day this month and what makes the tree so special are the notes of thanksgiving written on each hanging, paper circle.

Thanksgiving Banner:  I created a banner out of scrapbook paper (can you tell I used to scrapbook?) to hang across the mantel using twine and clothes pins.  I used a mini scrapbook pad, cut different shapes and layered the papers, then placed a sticker on each card to spell "thankful".  These are the tools I used...

And here's the banner....

Chalkboard Thanks: ok, this one is totally copied from here (I've had it pinned for a while!).  I love the saying and it fits so incredibly well with this time of year.  So, I painted a scrap board with black chalkboard paint and created big, bold letters with white chalk, "Give Thanks, Be Joyful".  I love it!

It hangs in the hallway right around the corner from the living room... you could say it's a continuation of the gallery wall.

Oh, and I finally hung my daughters coloring of "I Am A Child of God".... can you see it?

And of course, there are pumpkins, mostly white, scattered around the house just like here in the entry way....

I hope you treasure this month as a time of true gratefulness for many blessings.  Happy early Thanksgiving!

Family (Hand) Portrait

It's November already..... can you believe it?  I love this time of year as we prepare for the holidays.... this month we'll celebrate Thanksgiving and beginning today, the kids and I will create a grateful tree.  Every day this month we plan to document reasons we're thankful.... my prayer is that this list becomes never-ending and that the kid's hearts will be full of an incredible amount of joy.  More info to come about our grateful tree, probably once it's a little fuller (and prettier). 

Since I'm talking with the kids so much about thankfulness, I thought I'd talk about it here a little too.  One of the things I'm most thankful for is my family and as a reminder of this season of life (including all the fun and all the challenges), I created our family portrait.  Not a traditional portrait, something a little different ....

I saw an amazing idea on Pinterest and altered it just a bit..... looks like my inspiration has stitched hand outlines, whereas mine was drawn in gold marker (same as my dining room walls).

Flickr

I traced each of our hands (the husband, me and our three kids) on black paper to fit my frame.  I alternated between left and rights hands and positioned each hand a little different, some angled to the right, some to the left. 

In the end, I think it almost resembles a coral reef, but looking closely it's all of our hands tied together.  For that, I'm grateful! 

If you look close, I signed and dated the portrait.... memories!

Oooh, and maybe this could be something done every year.... one day all these portraits could be made into a gallery wall throughout a long hallway!  I never tire of gallery walls!