Progression of the Advent

So previously I mentioned recreating a favorite Christmas memory of mine for Lorelai (and future children). Well I am here to update you all on my progress before December 1.

There are several steps to making the calendar.

This is the original. My grandmother made it for my mother and her brothers in 1976. They did not grow up with it like my siblings and I did. This is the memory I would like to make for my family as well.

The board is large, and is solid wood. The tree is a separate cut out of wood with craft texturing. The ornaments are all handmade, sculpted out of sculpey, then handpainted. Every piece is sprayed with a varnish spray for preservation. Small nails are nailed into the board to hold the ornaments. In this particular picture not all the pieces are there, and they are not in the right order...but you get the idea.

So far I found a large piece of wood I can use for the main board. My grandmother special ordered hers...mine is an over-sized cutting board. ;) She also special ordered the tree cut out...I got some craft wood for the tree. Cutting it out was the hard part. Bought a keyhole saw and did it all by hand. That was a work out. But I cut it out successfully! I then put the craft putty on it for that "piney" look.

It needs a second coat and then I will paint once it dries

A week or so ago I started on the ornaments. 25 of them, of course. I used many of the same ideas my grandmother made but I also made a few different to match our family style. I created a few each day out of sculpey and made them all in a week. Once baked, I spent the next several days painting each piece to my high expectations. They are not all exactly what I envisioned, but I am happy with them all.

Which is your favorite?

I sprayed them this morning, front and back, and they are all good to go. Now I will wait for the tree to dry, then I will paint the tree, glue it to my board, paint the board, add some trim to the board, spray the board, hammer in the nails, and install hanging hardware on the back. A lot done so far, but a lot to do. This is my progress thus far! I am getting excited to see it come together more. :) 25 more days until December 1st. (24 until LEL's 1st BIRTHDAY! ♥)

M.LEWIS