mantel advent – mystery box creative challenge

Zevy Joy
Craftberrry Bush
Beneath My Heart

My Sweet Savannah
The Handmade Home {that’s us!}

 

 

So, Melaine {My Sweet Savannah} sent us a box, and we sent Brooke {Nesting with Grace} one. And so forth and so on… let the fun and games begin! You can imagine my absolute glee when I opened up my box, and it was filled to the brim with vintage Christmas lights.

 

Say what?! So much fun vintage color! My head was spinning with fun ideas!

 

 

I had so many ideas and simply couldn’t wait to get started with our mantel. So I combined it with some of our own graphics, and decided to create an advent calendar and garland!

 

 

The kids get so excited to count down Christmas every year. And this year is no exception. We hope they never grow out of the excitement. {I’m basically in denial that they ever will}

 

This time, our advent calendar is filled with free printables, if you’d like to create your own. And it’s centered around good family conversations. We like to gather at our family dinners at the end of each day, and discuss how everyones’ day went.

 

But what we really love, is the awesome conversations we’re having with our kiddos. 

 

 

These are a mix of everything. From thinking about others this time of year, to the reason we celebrate the way that we do, great conversations for your kids. We also included blank options, for your own customizable conversation starters, as well.

 

Each night, you open a new package, and answer the questions inside. 

 

 

So, without further ado, here’s what you’ll need + how we made it: 

 

 

• A canvas or backdrop of some kind to attach your goodies. 

– this is a plain jane canvas I had on hand, that I plan to use again for a painting. In the meantime, it made the perfect backdrop, and we framed it out. However, you can easily place this on your wall, a bulletin board, or even a fridge with magnets. Just know this is what we chose to use, and it made simple mantel art. 

• small round {and star} ornaments + vintage lights

• twine + hooks

• paper clips or clothes pins

• wrapping paper {we used four kinds from Target} 

• washi tape in various patterns 

• ruler + X-Acto knife

• free printables
– get your numbers here {numbers 1 / numbers 2/ numbers 3}
– get your convo starters here {blank cards / cards 14 / cards 13 / cards 12 / cards 11 / cards 10 / cards 9 / cards 8 / cards 7 / cards 6 / cards 5 / cards 4 / cards 3 / cards 2}

So when my canvas was ready, I decided on four types of wrapping paper, and laid them all out. My printables are basically 5.5 inches squared, so it made sense to do roughly 6 inch squares down in rows. It helped to plan them out ahead of time to know how they would sit. These will all be different, depending on your “backdrop” size.

I simply made my first template, and then cut strips of wrapping paper, to make sure they were all the same size. 

Each one was folded differently, though I kept the folds consistent with each color as I went. 

So we basically folded each strip into little presents, so that they sat neatly all the way across. 

These little “envelopes” had the printables placed inside, refolded, and taped shut. 

Then we added washi tape and our number printables, to the front. 

Hint: we love our Create a Sticker Machine, and this helped turn them into full-on labels.

Then they were ready to go!

To add them to our canvas, here’s what we did: 

Depending on the size of your canvas or backdrop, map out the rows by measuring them out. We then marked each row with tape, and added hooks to the back of the frame. {See below.}

With each hook, we then added string, and strung them across in a row, on the front. 

Then they were ready to hang! 

Hint: depending on the twine you use, the strings may droop a little under the weight of all the envelopes or “gifts”. This is why we opted for paper clips.

You can also discreetly reinforce your envelope by using FrogTape® on the backs.

They work like a charm!

For embellishments, we added the ornaments and vintage lights, by adding hooks with hot glue.

They went seamlessly with the entire look. 

We also made a small garland and mixed it up, by adding ornaments and lights, wrapped with twine to string on the mantel. We simply glued them on with hot glue. Easy peasy, and the cutest little elements to add so much personality!

We love Christmas decor with meaning, and especially this advent calendar to count down the days with purpose in our family.

The kids love the conversations we’ve had so far, and we can’t wait to keep introducing new topics.

As always, let us know if you try it.

We’d love to hear! 

Be sure to check out what Nesting with Grace did with the box we sent her!

 

Thanks so much for tuning in. Be sure to check out the other fab sites participating in this challenge… and see what we all sent each other! We plan to host more of these in the future, with versatile combos and themes and items sent, so be sure to stay tuned for more Mystery Box Creative Challenges coming your way!