Christmas 2015 Advent Calendar

I only managed to finish this year's advent calendar in the nick of time but it's done and I'm very happy with it.

And the kid loves it, which is the point really, isn't it?!

 There are 24 circular 'pouches' that close on the top by means of ribbons and so are re-usable. 

Inside is a piece of paper with a Christmas craft or activity written on it while some may have a small piece of candy or an itsy bitsy festive toy/decoration.(The pictures are taken before the pouches were stuffed so they all lie flat.)

The pouches have two ribbon loops, one short, one long and when you thread the long one into the small one, it closes and secures the opening.

The hanger was tampered with so that I could thread the loops of all the circles through it. I just cut it open with wire cutters on one side and made two hooks that you can open and close as needed.

I made a similar one last year but I filled and then sealed shut each circle with glue, so they had to be torn open to get to the inside which was a shame really given all that work that went into making them....

That's why I made them re-sealable this year. Re-sealable means re-usable and that means less waste - and less work for hard-working mothers....

To see the step-by-step tutorial on how to make this advent calendar, click here.

Linked to:

Annemarie's Haakblog, I Heart Naptime, The Happy Housie, The Dedicated House, Tumbleweed Contessa, Table For Seven, The Silly Pearl, Homework

Merry Christmas!

 A medley of some of my favourite Christmas images to wish you all a Merry Christmas!

Click on any photo to go to the link.

Christmas Decor Sea Stones

I've been making more sea rocks - in a decidedly festive tone.

They don't photograph very well because the light bounces off the black ink and the black  gets all shiny and white. But they are a beautiful deep black in real life. Very bold and graphic.

If I can manage to take better photos of the others before I give them out, I will be sharing them with you later.

They make great last-minute gifts. All you need are some stones, a permanent marker and your imagination.

If you want to catch up on more sea rock posts, you can find them here, here, here and here.

Linked to:
Homework, I Heart Naptime,  Annemarie's Haakblog, Maybe she Made It, The Gunny Sack