Almost every Christmas I make some kind of banner or Advent Calendar for my home or as a gift for somebody elses home. This year I got tricky and combined the two to make an Advent Calendar for my stair case.
This is the concept. 25 envelopes. 25 little note-cards tucked inside. Each day, your child opens the envelope that coordinates with that day. They open an envelope every day until Christmas and they count down along the way.
Each note card will be a coupon for something that you will give to them. This is not just physical things that you will be giving. It can be activities and time also.
It may be an activity or it may be for a piece of candy.
One coupon might say "Good for one game of your choice"....
or it could say, "Good for a piece of Christmas Candy"..........
or it might just say, "Good for one homework night of Mom reading your reading out loud for you tonight" etc.....
The sky is the limit.
You might even want to put an occasional gift card ($5 to Starbucks goes a long way on the kids $1 drink menu)
or a movie ticket in there.
These were really hard pictures to take and don't do the project justice.
I was originally going to make this into ONE very long banner. But as I started stringing the envelopes onto the wire, it got so long that it was hard to control. So, I decided to make it into 5 mini banners with 5 envelopes each. The envelopes fold over the wire. My girls are 8 and 10 and have no problem opening these envelopes.
The 5 mini banners were
much easier to hang and manage. You can hang them anywhere. They are so light that a tiny nail into the wall will hold them up also. There is always spackle after Christmas, just put it on your "Honey Do List".
Supplies needed-
Maya Road Envelopes- 2 1/2 packs mix of both styles
Kraft Envelopes Square
Kraft Envelopes Rectangular
Paint (I used white, light pink and aqua)
Paint brush
black wire (from the Hardware store)
Fabri-Tac by Beacon Adhesives (fabric Glue)
Lots of numbers (This was great because I used up a TON of my stash)
Christmas paper
Christmas embellishments
Maya Road Red Gingham Ribbon
Ribbon
Tulle
Bakers Twine
Scissors
Paper Trimmer
I did not do a tutorial on this, I already have a ton of pictures to post...and didn't want to load you up with too much! However, here is a quick rundown of what I did.
I painted the edge of the envelopes with one of my 3 colored paints.
Covered it with paper.
Put a number 1-25 on it and then added Christmas embellishments on it. Then I filled the envelope with the daily coupon/card and tied the envelope to the wire. You can also just tie the envelope and then thread the wire underneath the lip of the envelope.
This was a bit time consuming but since I plan on using it year after year, it was worth every second!!
The beads that I used to separate the envelopes are from a candy garland that I bought in the Christmas Section a few years ago.
Have a Very Merry Christmas!
ETA- My 10 year old put lights on the banister last night and it looks SO much better! Just wanted to share a picture of how it looks!
I love envelope projects, never thought of doing one that big though!
It looks great :D
Posted by: Lynn | December 08, 2009 at 05:43 PM
so pretty!
Posted by: caroline | December 08, 2009 at 06:53 PM
Incredible..this looks stunning you must be so happy with it!!
Posted by: ruth philps | December 09, 2009 at 07:04 AM
Super cute! Love all the bright colors!
Posted by: Mikkel | December 09, 2009 at 10:29 AM
Very awesome!
Posted by: slammie | December 09, 2009 at 11:00 AM
I love this idea!
Posted by: Julie Mitchell from Montréal | December 09, 2009 at 11:53 AM
adorable!!!
Posted by: Kim Hackworth | December 09, 2009 at 03:37 PM
Katie!!!! This is truly amazing!!! What a perfect idea :D
Posted by: AndreaWiebe | December 09, 2009 at 07:12 PM
An awesome idea!!They look sooo cute!!!Keep rocking!
Posted by: Zero-emission car models | December 09, 2009 at 11:40 PM
That's amazing!! Just amazing!!!
Posted by: Lia | December 10, 2009 at 08:43 AM
katie this is so stinking cute! I may try this for next year.
Posted by: rachael wood | December 10, 2009 at 06:25 PM
What a beautiful way to use the envelopes-very creative!
Posted by: Lisa BlueMoonScrapbooking | December 11, 2009 at 10:02 AM
That is a wonderful idea!
Posted by: Melanie O | December 14, 2009 at 03:09 PM
That is awesome!!
Posted by: Linda Gunther | December 14, 2009 at 06:02 PM
Katie, this is soooooo adorable! What a terrific job you did. I bet your daughters are so proud of you:)
Posted by: Debbie K. | December 15, 2009 at 06:13 PM
love it love it!
Posted by: Dianne Yamada | December 19, 2009 at 03:16 PM
So gorgeous! What a fabulous idea.
Posted by: Keely Yowler | December 30, 2009 at 06:40 PM
Simply PRECIOUS!! Great idea and wonderful job :)
Posted by: Debbie Marcinkiewicz | January 01, 2010 at 03:55 PM
I love love love this! You are so creative and I love that you turned something as simple as envelopes into Christmas decor!
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Posted by: viagra online | September 30, 2010 at 10:26 AM
Thanks for sharing this idea! I love the way you displayed it! I did stockings last year & this would be fun to do this year! I
Posted by: June | November 11, 2010 at 10:04 AM
I can be a little dense at times. Just so I understand, the envelopes aren't actually attached to the wire ( or string), they just hang over by the flap. I think I can do this with and for my granddaughter.
Posted by: Bonnie | November 12, 2010 at 03:00 PM
Una maravilla!!!!! Precioso!!!!!
Posted by: Gabriela Diaz Gondar | November 06, 2011 at 03:16 PM
I am planning on an envelope countdown this year.x
Posted by: Louise Houghton | October 21, 2012 at 12:59 PM