Seasonal Countdown

December is coming, and with it a wealth of holidays, parties, and lots of important numbers. Children are counting the days until school goes on break, and in general counting seems to be the theme at this time of year. With that in mind, DT member Ashli challenges us to use holiday countdown as this weeks inspiration!
Whether you’re working on December Daily, doing an advent calendar, creating home décor with numbers, or perhaps just making holiday cards and counting down how many you have left to make Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge would love to see how you countdown during the festive period.

My children usually have a chocolate advent calendar every year so this year I thought I would make a little effort and try something a little different. I was looking around Pinterest a few weeks ago and stumbled across some advent ideas HERE and HERE and so I decided to try out a few ideas of my own. 

I began with pieces of wood which I adhered and then used nails to ensure each piece was secure prior to any painting.

The tree was then painted with a dark coloured paint (I used paint from one of the bedrooms I decorated recently).

Pegs have been added so that I could hang bags from each.

I wanted my tree to have an aged rustic feel and Vaseline is perfect for achieving this.

Apply the Vaseline around the edges of the tree, where you would expect pieces to age and add some Vaseline randomly around the tree. Do not apply in thick blobs, less is more with this technique. Then paint the tree with white or cream paint. I used white and applied two coats.

Once the paint was completely dry I then sanded the tree with some fine sandpaper. Wherever I applied the Vaseline the paint is removed easily and the darker colour underneath is revealed, giving an aged effect to the wood.

I love this technique and it's so simple and the finish is perfect to add that rustic feel.

My family also helped a little with this tree, my husband made the stand and my children Ryan and Laura had a great time picking out chocolate for the bags. However, I did add a surprise here and there!

I added hessian to cover the stand and tied a large twine bow to the centre.

This picture shows the ageing a little better.

I added a wooden heart to the centre of the twine and stamped the heart using the background stamp from the Season's Silhouettes stamp set. I also added a touch of colour to age using Frayed Burlap Distress Ink.

I added a heart to the top of my tree using one of Wendy Vecchi's Heart Art Parts.

This tree could actually be used all year round to hang gift tags or special pieces of art.

Next came the bags for my trees which I die cut from Kraft card using Tim Holtz In The Bag Die, this die was the perfect size to house seasonal treats. I aged each bag adding a touch of colour with Frayed Burlap Distress Ink.

I added numbers to each bag die cut from Tim Holtz Kraft Core Nostalgic Paper Pad using the Memory Box Advent Calendar Die.

Mini stockings have been added to each bag die but from Kraft card using the Mini Stocking and Candy Cane die. I also sanded each stocking to add to that aged feel.

For more great ideas please pop over to the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge blog and take a look at my fellow team members they have created some inspirational projects. Remember there is also the chance to win a $50 prize from Simon Says Stamp.  I always look forward to seeing your creations each week.

Thanks so much for stopping by and leaving a comment, much appreciated.  Enjoy your week. Tracy x x 

Products Used:

Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous Season's Silhouettes Stamp Set
Tim Holtz In The Bag Die
Tim Holtz Core'dinations Kraft Core Nostalgic Paper Stack
Tim Holtz Mini Stocking and Candy Cane Die
Memory Box Advent Calendar Craft Die
Frayed Burlap Distress Ink
Black Archival Ink
Twine
Wendy Vecchi Art Parts Heart, Love and Stars