Hello, Crafters.
We had the hottest Bank Holiday Sunday yesterday since records began! Here in Coulsdon it went upto 31°, and in West London it was 33.3°! When I first saw the new Christmas catalogue I knew I was going to get the advent calendar, and I incuded it in my pre-order at the beginning of the month.
The box frame and the twenty-five advent gift boxes. The individual boxes measure 2 1/8″ x 2 1/8″ x 2 1/16″ (5.4cm x 5.4cm x 5.2cm). I put a bottle of Tombow by the boxes to give you an idea of perspective.
Apart from the gold and silver ink I used for yesterday’s video, I haven’t played with any of my new goodies. Seeing the box that was holding my calendar everyday became too much for me yesterday and I just had to get it decorated! It really is as gorgeous as it is in the catalogue. To view this product, please have a look at page 38 in the new catalogue, and the stamp set you need is at the top of the page.
This is what my calendar looked like when I had finished decorating each box except for adding the numbers. True to form, not all my stamped lines are straight!
The Christmas Countdown Project Kit costs €36/£28, and for this you receive the main box which holds twenty-five boxes. You also receive stickers, numbers for the drawers and an instruction booklet. The stamp set is €25/£20, and will be a great Christmas stamp set on it’s own. I learned several things that make putting this kit together a relaxing, and satisfying, walk in the park.
The crooked lines aren’t quite so obvious now! How many boxes can you see that I decorated with Rhinestones?
The box frame and the gift boxes are very sturdy and will last for years, especially if they are stored in the cardboard they arrive in. When I was ready to start decorating the boxes, I read all the instructions first because I didn’t want to make any mistakes and spoil this project. The advice is to decorate all the drawer fronts first. I messed up one because I allowed my inked stamp to touch one of the covers before I had positioned my stamp correctly! There were a total of twenty-eight covers, which meant there’d be three left over, so spoiling one wasn’t a big deal!
In the UK we make Advent Calendars for twenty-four days, and Stampin’ Up! have designed this kit to suit either twenty-four or twenty-five days. Included with the numbers there is a number 24 in Early Espresso and there is one in Gold as well, so we have the choice. There are stars in the kit to put on the last box if you do twenty-four days. My top tip for making it easy to position the stickers is to take one of the disks with a star on it. When you are ready to add stickers to your drawer front, place the disk where it will be going, and this will help you put the stickers in the right place.
Leftovers that will come in useful for making Christmas cards!
I missed that there are two different stamps used on drawer no. 2 in the instruction leaflet. I used the branch and berries stamp for all four of mine, but I should have done two (see boxes 2 and 16 in the catalogue) and the cardinal for the other two (see boxes 9 and 23 in the catalogue). It hasn’t spoiled my box for me, but I’m letting you know in case you miss it, too! As always with their kits, Stampin’ Up! give more stickers, drawer fronts and number disks you need for this project.
I hope you’ve enjoyed my review on this product! I think it’s brilliant, and I can’t wait until 4th September 2019 when the catalogue goes live so I can order another one! That’s it from me today. It’s still the weekend for us in the UK as it’s Bank Holiday Monday! I look forward to be back with you tomorrow, and in the meantime, happy crafting.
JanB. xx
Products used for this project: please note that the first two products will be available from the new Christmas (Autumn/Winter) Catalogue which goes live on 4th September 2019.
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Oh Jan, you say your stamped lines are not straight. Let me tell you that most stampers lines are not straight but you admit it. And, I looked at your pictures and I am sorry to say, your stamped lines ARE straight. LOL. Warm Hugs: Mal
Bless you, Mal. I won’t argue with you! xxx
Hi Jan,
When the new Christmas catalog came out, this was one of my favorites!
I really appreciated all your comments and tips about making the calendar,
it’s helpful to read where you felt you had challenges while making it.
Also great to know to save the box it arrives in to keep for future storage!
Thank you for sharing your completed calendar. It’s both pretty and colorful,
and liked you idea of putting rhinestones on it too!! I love bling!!
Time to place an order!! Thank you for sharing all your ideas for cards,
they are always so pretty and inspiring! <3
JaniceLynn Jones
Battle Creek, MI USA
Many thanks, JaniceLynn. I think the Advent Calendar will be one of the most popular prodyucts in the new catalogue! xx