Countdown Calendar Tutorial

One of the most popular questions I get is "how did you make that countdown calendar?" Well I got the idea from the Holiday Home magazine by CK Media (got it at JoAnn Fabrics).

First you will need a cookie sheet; I got mine in a 3 pack at Wal Mart but you can use a rusty one from a garage sale, thrift store, grandma Betty. Paint a thin coat of paint on your cookie sheet, leave some metal showing (I used a foam brush).

I then spelled out COUNTDOWN with chipboard letters (I added the glitter to the letters first)

I got the same cat & pumpkin image used in the magazine, it was a Halloween card from Wal Mart. I glued a silver pipe cleaner around the image (this was the hardest part of the project)

I marked out 6 rows of 7 rectangles on my white cardstock and cut the bottom and right edges with decorative scissors to match the one in the magazine.

I cut the patterned scrapbook paper to fit around the cardstock for the left backdrop and then glued both papers to the cookie sheet.

If you notice in the magazine they have the days of the week labeled... I haven't done that yet ;)

I then added a punch label HALLOWEEN to the top of the cookie sheet and sprayed the whole thing with spray glitter (HINT: I use the glitter hairspray that is always out in the hair products isle! Once again, Wal Mart)

Then comes the fun part... get 31 round magnets (pack of 50 at ... you guessed it... Wal Mart) and start making numbers! I used buttons, stickers, pipe cleaners, house numbers, and misc. embellishments...

This is the most time consuming part because you actually have to think up a different thing for each number, but it is fun! You can move the magnets next year when the days of the week change!

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Tomorrow I will show you various ways to display a rag garland... in the meantime, here are some answers to random questions thanks to the award I received from Elise - Thank you Elise, you are the sweetest new friend I have met in blogland and my most favorite swap partner ;)

I am supposed to give one word answers with no explanation and then tag five bloggers with the award. BUT... You know me.. a rebel - I am breaking the rules and not tagging anyone else ;0) So there! Here are my randomly fascinating answers:

1. Where is your cell phone? Purse
2. Where is your significant other? Snoring
3. Your hair color? Latte
4. Your mother? Fashionista
5. Your father? SilverFox
6. Your favorite thing? Inspiration
7. Your dream last night? Forgettable
8. Your dream/goal? Stability
9. The room you're in? Garage
10. Your hobby? Chaos
11. Your fear? Loss
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Teaching
13. Where were you last night? Sacramento
14. What you're not? Timely
15. One of your wish-list items? Workstation
16. Where you grew up? California
17. The last thing you did? Math
18. What are you wearing? Pjs
19. Your TV? Discovery
20.Your pet? Zoo
21. Your Computer? Acer
22. Your mood? Anxious
23. Missing Someone? Nope
24. Your car? Odyssey
25. Something you're not wearing? Underwear
26. Favorite Store? Thrift
27. You're summer? Miserable
28. Love someone? Someones
29. Your favorite color? Apple
30. When is the last time you laughed? Hours
31. Last time you cried? Weeks

I'll continue answering questions tomorrow, if you have anything else to ask - ask it!

~Em