How about making your own advent calendar this year, that you can use again and again. This was a project that I created for Take A Break magazine last year alongside a Santa Stop Here sign and Stocking holder all from the same pallet.
Materials Needed:
- A pallet
- Paint of your choice
- Wooden clothes pegs
- Money envelopes or gift bags
- Hooks and nail to hang it
Equipment Needed:
- A saw
- Paint brush
- Pencil and spirit level/ruler
- Wood glue
- Sand paper or sander
- Dust mask and safety glasses
- Drill and screws
- Printer and paper
- Scissors
- Glue stick
- Masking tape
Step 1: Draw out a triangle shape on the pallet making sure that a rear central beam is in the centre of the shape. Draw out a trunk too. My tree has two wooden panels for the trunk and 5 panels for the tree section.
Step 2: Using the saw, carefully cut out the shape. Wear a dust mask for this part and safety glasses too.
Step 3: Turn the tree over and cut off the underside panels if there are any. I kept the underside panel behind the top spike as this can be used to hang it to a wall later.
Step 4: Sand all edges and panels to a smooth finish.
Step 5: Cover any parts that you don’t want to be painted with the masking tape. Lightly paint the panels in the colour of your choice and leave to dry.
Step 6: When it is dry, sand the painted panels to give a distressed feel to it.
Step 7: Using the wood glue, attach 24 wooden pegs to the tree. You could also use bull dog clips if you’d prefer.
Step 8 (optional) – using an off cut of wood, cut a star shape with the saw. This can then be painted and glued to the top part of the tree.
Step 9: Add envelopes or gift bags to the pegs to complete the calendar.
Step 10: I also created some numbers on my pc, using PowerPoint or Canva. These are then printed off and glued onto the envelopes. You could of course simply write the numbers.
Step 11: If you want to hang the advent tree to the wall, attach metal hooks to the back of the tree using a screwdriver drill and screws. You could however simply prop it up against a wall!
If you like this idea, why not pin it to your Christmas Pinterest boards?
