Making an Advent Calendar!

 Hello everyone! Welcome back to my blog!

This week's blog shows you how I created my own advent calendar to count down to Christmas! When I was a kid, we used to get these cute little advent calendars where you opened a door and a chocolate was inside. I was inspired by that to create my own, but this version is one that I can hang on my wall. 

I wanted to make my advent calendar look like little classic lunch sacks, with a chocolate in each one. I'm so happy with how they turned out.

Keep reading to see how I did it! 

Step 1

First, I downloaded a mini lunch-sack template from Gathering Beauty. It was the perfect size for what I needed it for and was exactly what I had in mind. Here's the web address: https://www.gatheringbeauty.com/blog//2018/02/mini-printable-gift-bags-with-free.html  

Original Template!

Step 2

I printed 25 copies of the template onto cardstock. I used cardstock to make the bags more sturdy. Once I printed the bags, I used Adobe Illustrator to create my own unique designs to apply to the bags to make them more festive. I wanted to use Christmas scrapbook paper, but I couldn't find any at the store! I would recommend that if you wanted to recreate this without designing your own patterns.

                                                                  

Design 1

                                   

Design 2

Design 3

Step 3

I placed all of the cardstock back into the printer and printed my designs onto the back of the templates. I printed 9 copies of Design 1 and 8 copies of Designs 2 and 3. Once they were all printed, it was time for assembly! I cut out all of the bags from the cardstock.

Cut out template!

Step 4

After cutting out the bags, I folded and creased along each template line. This made it easier to construct the bags and form their shape. I used double-sided sticky tape to hold the pieces of the bags together. Once I finished with the tape, the bags resembled rectangular boxes. I'm not going to lie, this took me hours. It was very meticulous work, but I am very happy with how they turned out, so it was all worth it.

Folding bags!

All bags assembled

Step 5

Next, I added one mini chocolate to each bag. All that was left to do here was close the bags! I pressed in on the skinny sides of the bags so I could roll the tops over. I then added paperclips to the top of each bag to hold it shut (cardstock is stubborn!). 

Tops folded!

Chocolate and paperclips added!

Step 6

Next, I used a Sharpie to write a number on each bag, from 1-25. I mixed them up, so bags of the same pattern weren't directly next to each other. I wanted variety! Then I used a thin crafting line to string the bags together, through the paperclips. I hooked the string onto small command hooks and hung the bags on my wall. I hung Day 25 on the top by itself, since it's the last day and the most special.

Final Result!

That's it! I think this advent calendar turned out so cute. I look forward to counting down to Christmas and starting my day with a chocolate for the next 25 days! 

Happy holidays!

Thank you for following along! Have a fantastic day!