cute advent calendar tute

i thought you might like to see something a little different from me today, so i figured out a way of making a very sweet advent calendar for the boys...welcome to my first tute!

you will need:
24 little buckets (i bought mine from a florist's shop)
length of rough string (diy store)
24 tiny pegs (craft shop)
24 little tags (office supply shop)
computer printout of the numbers 1-24 (i used 'arial' font in a size 36, you can be more fancy, i just wanted frank to be able to read it clearly...i also printed mine on to graph paper for an interesting texture)
24 five inch (12 cm) pieces of pretty ribbon
you will also need:
scissors
ruler
marker pen
paper glue
pva glue (optional)

1) firstly, take the string and measure around 12" (30cm) and mark using a felt-tip or marker. then measure every 4" (10cm) 24 times. these marks are where the buckets will be tied. leave another 12" at the other end and cut the string. these long ends can be used for tying up the buckets however you decide to display them.

2) tie each bucket at each mark using a small length of the rough string. do this VERY tightly so when the buckets hang they don't slip. tie a double knot then trim the ends. if you like you can dab a bit of pva glue on the knot. leave to dry. (just thought, so you don't have to wait for the pva to dry, you could use a hot glue gun)

3) hide the string knots by tying the pretty ribbon around them. i just double knotted it and left the ends hanging, but you can tie a bow if you wish.

4) take your sheet of printed numbers and cut them out. glue them onto your paper tags. if you haven't any tags, just regular card stock cut into rectangles is fine.
5) use the pegs to attach the numbered tags onto the buckets. you can do this in order, or randomly for the children to hunt for :) fill each bucket with a handful of treats, and hang over a stair banister, mantle, or like me over a dresser.
6) stand back and admire your brilliance, and wait for many, many compliments on your fabulous display!


i do hope this all makes sense, and if you decide to make one, let me know how it turns out! enjoy!
UPDATE: if you can't be bothered with all this faff but like the look of the calendar, the same idea can be bought from www.decorativecountryliving.co.uk (sorry that's not a posh link, for some reason i can't get those to work at all today, either on here or on flickr, grrr) although when i went on the website i couldn't actually find it, which is helpful. not.

looky here

waaaaaay back in may, i was asked by the editor of 'quilting arts magazine' to come up with a 'how-to' project for a special issue of the magazine to be called 'quilting arts gifts'. it had to be 'inspired by winter and the holiday season'. so i put on my thinking cap and created four sketchbook/journal covers all with a wintery theme, some more obvious than others. anyway, the deadline was early summer (when i was printing some of the fabric with holly leaves, i was thinking to myself, 'what the hell am i doing?' ;) so i sent off the journals and promptly forgot about them until i received a UPS parcel this morning with the returned journals and 3 complimentary issues. the photographs are beautiful...and the magazine in general is full of really gorgeous items. i'm thrilled to be a part of it all, and seeing my work in print is such a rush!