Oh what a day

Can you believe Christmas is less than a week away?! I'm so happy to see Mary and Joseph on the last row of houses going up to the manger.




This day is also special for me because today marks the day of my first official date with Estevan 7 years ago. He drove 4 hours up from MSU to take me out to see a movie during our winter break from school... sure it was only Alpena, MI at the Royal Knight theater, but it was better than eating in the cafeteria at Langdon Hall or going to house parties in East Lansing.

December 19th was also the date that he proposed to me 5 years ago. We had spent a wonderful day together Christmas shopping, going out to dinner, and driving around our neighborhood looking at all the Christmas lights. He proposed to me on one knee in front of our own Christmas tree. So sweet and simple.

I love you honey! Pin It Now!

Away in a manger

I think I may have a compulsive disorder. I simply HAD to finish these today!

Closer picture of the Three Wise Men.


Yeah, their crowns aren't even dry yet. I just had to take a picture to show you!

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Done!

In all honesty, I thought this advent calendar was going to take much longer to complete. But since it only took a few days to complete I suppose I will just have to hang it up on my mantel (quiet little squeals of joy). I'm now patiently (not really) waiting for Joseph and Mary to start their journey on December 1st.

Here's what I used:

• Wooden gift tags (sets of 4 found at Michael's)
• Thin Popsicle sticks
• Wooden disks
• Wooden star (glitter optional)
  
• Stiff felt (found in kid's craft aisle)
• Wood glue
• Black spray paint (matte finish)
• Oil pastels (could also use paint, I just had these on hand)
• Self-adhesive magnet strips
• White puffy paint
  
• Twine
  

Here's how I made it:

I lined up the wooden gift tags with their holes at the top (the wooden disks will hide them) and then glued Popsicle sticks on the back to hold them all together. I glued about 4 sticks on the back of each row (see inset picture). I let it dry completely before flipping the rows over and gluing the wooden disks over each tag hole. Then I spray painted it all black. I then penciled all the numbers in because I know I make mistakes. After making sure my numbers were correct I went over the pencil with white puffy paint. Next, I drew in windows and doors with the oil pastels and stuck on pieces of the magnets for each house. Then, on the top row of houses, I glued on a piece of twine with 2 loops; these loops are used to hang it. I then glued all the houses onto a piece of felt, making sure that the 2 twine loops were peeking out the top. I attached a Popsicle stick manger to the top row using 2 more Popsicle stick braces which I wrapped twine around to appear more rustic. Finally, another piece of twine was tied between the two loops so that I can hang it on my mantel.





To make Joseph, Mary, and Donkey:

This was tricky because of how small they are. I used two layers of felt for each figure, this makes them more sturdy. The bottom layer of felt for each figure was light tan. I simply cut out a hole for their faces which let the light tan show through. I used webbing to stick them together (something I had left over from my wreath craft).









Here's a closeup of the village. I drew cozy little windows and doors using oil pastels.















Mary and Joseph makin' their way up!











I can't wait till they are sitting up there in the manger. I'm probably going to make a different set for this scene, though... I'm thinking a whole manger scene including baby Jesus and the three wise men. Going to need more magnets! Pin It Now!