Thursday, 21 November 2013

Matchbox Advent Calendar

I have something a little bit different to show you today...an advent calendar made out of matchboxes:


Having seen a few of these in blogland over the last few Christmases, I thought I'd have go at making one this year, and so picked up some packs of plain craft matchboxes in the Range a few weeks ago. I found a tutorial here which I used as the basis for making mine. I started by inking the edges of all of the drawer fonts using 'Brushed Corduroy' Distress Ink...just to take the edge of the 'white-ness' as I couldn't be bothered to paint them and wait for them to dry! I used scraps of BasicGrey 'Figgy Pudding' papers to cover all of the drawer fronts, sides, top and bottom...again inking all of the edges. I added glittery American Crafts brads for the drawer handles, and simply added the numbers using a black gel pen. Once assembled, I thought it kind f looked like a little gift box, so added a gold satin ribbon bow to the top:


Here's a peek at what's in the drawers:


Challenges for this advent calendar:
Posted by at
Labels: , ,

20 comments:

  1. Lady Bug Stampers21 November 2013 at 13:35

    Fantastic project. this looks like it took some time to do. Thanks for sharing this week at Created with love Challenges Anything goes.
    Linda K. DT

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sharon21 November 2013 at 20:19

    Looks great, loving the papers. thanks for joining us at CCT this week x

    ReplyDelete
  3. Chris Hanselman22 November 2013 at 01:01

    Cute project. LOVE the different colors. Thanks for joining our Anything Goes Challenge at Created With Love Challenges

    ~~Chris

    ReplyDelete
  4. Unknown22 November 2013 at 09:54

    Absolutely fantastic! This is sure to be a family keepsake that will be treasured for years.
    Thanks so much for sharing with us this week at CWLC. We hope to see you back very soon!
    hugs--
    Roberta
    Created with Love Challenges Design Team
    Queen Bee Paper Crafts

    ReplyDelete
  5. Whisper22 November 2013 at 10:46

    What an absolutely fabby idea and my 6 year old would love this, thanks for the tutorial too, Luv Sam x

    ReplyDelete
  6. Blossom Cards22 November 2013 at 14:11

    lovely project thanks for sharing with CWLC this week rachel DT

    ReplyDelete
  7. Sarah22 November 2013 at 14:49

    That's a stunner Helen!! Pleased to see you've added little treats for yourself! xx

    ReplyDelete
  8. Squirrel x22 November 2013 at 18:14

    I was just gonna ask who uses that amount of matches these days when I read your post properly!! Gorgeous make hunny, what a brilliant idea and so beautifully made. Love it! Hugs xx

    ReplyDelete
  9. Sandra H22 November 2013 at 21:34

    WOW Helen this is absolutely stunning x

    ReplyDelete
  10. Sandy Palmer22 November 2013 at 21:48

    This is very clever! I love it! Thanks for sharing it with us at Delightful Challenges! :)

    ReplyDelete
  11. Wendy22 November 2013 at 22:26

    Fantastic project...Thanks for playing along with us at Fab'n'Funky this week.
    Wendy xx

    ReplyDelete
  12. Anonymous23 November 2013 at 22:34

    Wow Helen this is brilliant! love it hugs me x

    ReplyDelete
  13. Unknown24 November 2013 at 20:53

    OMG, you've done so much work with this project, but it was worth it! It's awesome! Thank you for your inspiration!
    Anna

    ReplyDelete
  14. Bernardine Cuttino25 November 2013 at 01:47

    Wow amazing project and so handy to store items. Charming, beautiful design and extraordinary details. Thanks for joining us at Delightful Challenges. We look forward to seeing you again.
    Hugs
    Berni, DT
    delightfulsketches.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Chrissy25 November 2013 at 16:42

    Oh! WOW!!...fabulous project Helen, I love it..

    Luv CHRISSYxx

    ReplyDelete
  16. Laura Love25 November 2013 at 19:01

    What a gorgeous project! You did an amazing job! Thank you so much for playing along with us at Crafty Sentiments Designs this week! We hope that you will play along with us again soon! Good Luck in the Draw!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Judith26 November 2013 at 14:50

    This is gorgeous Helen - such a great idea and lovely colours and embellies thank you so much for joining our birthday challenge at Fab'n'Funky this week and good luck hugs Judith
    Ps I'm just popping back to sign up to follow you for more great ideas like this!

    ReplyDelete
  18. InkyAndScrappy27 November 2013 at 02:49

    What a fantastic make! I made one two years ago, so I know the love and time you put into it! Hope yours gives you all the fun and memories my gives us! Stunning colors and project! Thanks for sharing at Crafty Creations Challenges this last week!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Dina1 December 2013 at 20:12

    wauh a very nice creation thanks for joining us at stampavie and more

    ReplyDelete
  20. Cazzy6 December 2013 at 00:24

    What a great idea Helen, I think you should enter the Quirky Crafts challenge because this is just perfect for the current challenge!
    We allow 10 days back dating!

    Cazzy - on behalf of the Quirky Crafts Challenge Blog DT.

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for taking the time to look and comment on my cards! Helen x

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)