I am forever looking for different ways to use the glossy pages of old Vogue magazines to make into something new. I am so happy to share with you guys my new little creation, an advent calendar with a difference. Me and my little one spent some time last weekend creating and perfecting these little trees. They are easy to make, very inexpensive and so colourful and fun.

Materials
For these little trees I used the soft tree pattern from Little Birds Handmade and adapted it a little.
Glossy good quality magazines
Little pom-poms for the top of the tree
Scissors
Hot Glue Gun
Candy for the middle

Steps to Make Advent Calendar
1. Download pattern and then cut out twenty five little trees from pages of a magazine.
2. Cut out the circles for the bottom but adapt the pattern by adding four tabs onto the bottom to help glue it.
3. Glue together your first little tree using your hot glue gun. Place a line of glue down the side of the piece and then stick the other side of the tree onto the top of it. You will need to repeat this 25 times, of course. I found it a little fiddly at first but it got better and better.
4. When you have the tree forms made, glue a pom-pom onto the top.
5. Cut out numbers from magazines from 1 to 25 and glue them onto the front of the trees.
6. Place the candy inside the trees. Or place little inspirational quotes, parts of the Christmas story, little activities to do, little love letters. You are only limited by your imagination.
7. Take one of the bottoms and place a dob of glue on each of the four tabs you have cut out with it. Place the tree on top of the bottom, fold the tabs upwards and glue them to the outside of the tree. This gives them a really funky little edge. I tried putting the tabs on the outside and this way definitely looked a lot better. You will need to repeat this 25 times too.

Ta-Da! You now have the cutest advent calendar!

Handy Tips..

• Cut out all the pieces at the same time and glue the same pieces together at the same time. It will save you time, which is a precious commodity at this time of year.
• Cut out magazine pages in mostly reds and greens then some in purples or blue or yellows for a little variety.
• Please don’t let little children anywhere near a glue gun! They are dangerous. My little girl searched for all the numbers and cut them out for me. She also counted out the candy and put it in the trees. She loved doing it!

Enjoy!
Mia

I am thrilled to have just had two great tutorials, one for some very cool ice candles and the other for some lovely lanterns, published in the December/January edition of New York’s Bust magazine.    What a supercool, funky, fresh magazine with loads of great ideas and quirkinesses (new word alert). I had a lot of fun writing these tutorials, and it was an interesting process sending ice candles by courier to New York City, from this here end of the earth.  I don’t think that high altitudes and frigid temperatures are kind to delicate candles like these.   But it ended well and I am really pleased with my contribution.

You can take a sneak peek at this edition and at my tutorials here.   And buy your copy here!

And.  YES!  I am available for more freelance work.  Email me at mariabinns@hotmail.com to discuss your project.

Mia

PS. Other unrelated news, please make sure your journals are sent within the next few days, and I will only ask once this time, PLEASE upload your photos to One Hour Craft Flickr Group.

(Loving Lizzie Hunter’s experiments with typography, (via Icing) using spam email headers.  Very cool.  These are available to buy as postcards.) 

Mia’s random thoughts on a happy life on this lovely Monday…

• Are you putting off having a happy life? 
• What would you change today if you decided to live your happy life?
• How could you celebrate your life more each day?
• How could you make someone else super-happy today?
• Look through your wardrobe and choose your happy clothes to wear today.   Make them bright and crazy and fun.
• Stop taking yourself so seriously.  You don’t have to be the brightest star, the funniest clown, the sexiest model, the brainiest kid in the class.  Just be you and trust that others will see your true colours and love them….

I feel like I am really well organised if I have bought and wrapped all the presents I need, with two minutes to spare, before I run out the door to church on Christmas morning – BUT that is just me!  And I feel super-organised and almost, umm, Martha Stewart herself, to be talking about Christmas crafts already.  I know that it is only just over a month but still I am patting myself on the back – and only for starting to think about Christmas crafts.

I have made one decision.  I usually intend to do this but this year I have made a pledge to buy handmade things only.  Well, I am trying to take this one step further and actually make all my gifts this year.  I have some ideas already.  Well, I have made a few already but I am going to get onto it VERY soon… and so more back-patting will ensue and congratulatory wines, I’m sure.  Where has that good Baptist girl gone?  Now I drink once a week and not once a year, but still have tiny pangs of guilt brought on by a childhood and adolescence where alcohol was not allowed and a myriad of parties and weddings where no alcohol was present.  I suppose we just made our own fun really.  Was it fun? 

Oh boy, I have definitely gone off the topic.   For the last seven years I have been crazily surfing the Net for great Christmas craft ideas.  Each year there are more and more, but some really stay in my mind from last year.  Have you seen…

• Those lovely soft trees from Little Birds Handmade.  I swear the whole crafty internet community and other crafters went crazy for these last year.  I intend to make some for this year.   Actually, come to think of it I intended to make some for last year.  What I need is to employ a  part-time seamstress I think (another dream).
• Christmas Card ornaments at Martha.  If I hadn’t just thrown out all my cards from the last gazillion years I would be inclined to make many of these.   But I have so much ribbon at home that I will make these cards.
• Origami Advent Calendar from Myra at My Little Mochi.  These are so cute, especially for those in the North.  For us in the South, our children find it a little difficult to relate to snowmen at Christmas when it is often over 100 degrees Farenheit on our summer Christmas day.

And..

Sew Mama Sew are having a handmade gift month.  They have a load of great tutorials to sew gifts.  What a great idea!  Why not start late?

Don’t forget to get your journal underway and make sure that they are ready send by the end of the month, if you are involved in our Journal Swap.  I have been making some wicked little journals.  More on that later.

Have Fun with a Happily Handmade Christmas..

Mia

Thanks to all those who will be participating in our November Journal Swap. 

Entries are now closed.  Check your inbox because your swap partner’s details will be there by tonight!

 Any questions or problems, please contact me. 

Will post some tutorials and ideas tomorrow.

Have a great time, and I hope you make some lovely new crafty friends…

Mia

PS If you don’t want to join in the swap,  you are still more than welcome to join us in this challenge.

xxx

I have been a confirmed Francophile for many years now.  When I am getting tired of crafting ideas from the English speaking world, I look elsewhere.  France is a great place to start…….

Be inspired by….

• Clothes with huge silkscreened illustrations.  Check out Nini Wozniak.

• Very funky handmade bags (via Glamcusto)

• Stunning Necklaces (from Boutons et Dentelles)

And.  I cannot finish this without a little rave about my favourite craft magazine of all time, Marie Claire Idees.  I am wondering if anyone has any clue where I can buy back issues of this mag?  I also need to find a better place to buy my current copies than the local newsagent who orders them in and charges me $20 for them, three months after they have been issued.  One could be mistaken for thinking that I live in the middle of nowhere and it takes a camel train to deliver them here at that cost.  Any ideas?

Mia

 PS There are still spaces left in our journal swap (scroll down to the last post).  Will leave it open for the next two days then I will send you out your swap partners.