Advent Calendar

I was inspired by the advent garlands in the December issue of Better Homes and Gardens magazine... so I had to make one of my own! I already had the green dot fabric, so I picked up some red gingham and set to work making simple drawstring bags. Then I stamped each number on a snippet of white fabric (so it would stand out) and stitched the top of each one onto a bag. The bags are small enough that it will be easy to store them when the holidays are done, yet big enough to allow me to use them in different ways each year - whether it be for candy treats, or little gifts, or notes. This year I decided to go the note route and wrote something fun to do as a family (like read "Frosty the Snowman" or sing "Jingle Bells") on a bunch of 2x4" patterned tags. And if I decide not to make a garland out of them, they would also be fun to hang on the tree or hide them in various places around the house for a bonus treasure hunt! Now, if you aren't into sewing the bags... you could probably find some small muslin bags that would work well and it would be easy to stamp directly on them. Here's a photo of the whole group:

Are you making an advent calendar this year? What do you put inside each day?

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Images and notecards by A Muse. Brilliance pigment ink (not sure how well this will wash, but it worked fine for my purposes). Ribbon, Fabric, sewing machine, pinking scissors, mini clothespins, rope or ribbon for hanging the bags.