Christmas Countdown Tree

While I was sick earlier this week, 

I decided to tackle a project that would keep me awake,

 but not require too much movement.

I attempted to start on Monday and then asked myself,

"Why in the world are you doing this when you don't feel like it?!"

So, I tossed everything down on the table, 

walked away from it, and crawled back on the couch.

Ugh.

Tuesday afternoon, I finally got a second wind, 

so I started again.

And finished it.

A Christmas Countdown Tree for our kiddos.

Unfortunately, because I wasn't sure the concept would work, 

I didn't take pictures of the process.

But...

I'll walk you through it.

:D

What you'll need:

Foam/Wood Board

Piece of Fabric

Washi Tape

Burlap 

Jute Twine

Raffia

Brown Ribbon/Lace/Elastic

Sharpie Markers in Red/Green

Glue Gun/Glue

Salt Dough Ornaments

Yep.

I'm still working with Salt Dough Ornaments.

LOL!

For these, I used the top of a water bottle 

to cut them out into small circles.

Because I didn't want them to puff up, 

 I let them air dry for 3 days, instead of baking them.

The result is nice and flat.

Then, I wrote 1-25 in alternating colors on one side 

and outlined the edge with the opposite color.

Next, I flipped them over and wrote,

"Christmas Day is finally here."

One letter for each number.

Alternating the colors again.

Believe it or not, that was the first phrase that popped into my head 

and it was exactly the right length of letters!

What are the odds of that?!

LOL!

Then, I threaded the jute twine through the small hole 

I had punched in the top, 

tied a loose loop and set them aside.

Next, I cut out burlap in the shape of a triangle.

I used the Washi tape for the "garland".

Then I grabbed a flat piece of board that I had laying around 

and covered it with white fabric.

You can glue the white fabric to your board with your glue gun.

And then, glue your burlap triangle 

to the center of the board.

Next, I took one of Eva's brown lace headbands 

 and made it into the "trunk" 

by cutting it into three equal sections.

(That's called making the best of what you've got!  LOL!)

Then, I fiddled with it for a while, 

making sure the little salt dough ornaments had enough play 

in the loop for them to be flipped over.

It looked a little plain, 

so I dug around in my craft cabinet and found the raffia.

I just threaded the raffia through the loop,

 knotted it, and then tied it into a bow.

Perfect!

Add a drop of glue to the knot of your raffia bow

to adhere it to the burlap.

I staggered the ornaments as I put them on, 

so they weren't all clustered together and easier to turn over.

Because I had the phrase on the back of the ornaments, 

I grouped them in sections according to each word.

The top I embellished with a star 

(because as Noah will tell you EVERY Christmas tree 

MUST have a star on top.  He was disgusted with my 

snowflake topper for the tree in the dining room.  LOL!) 

and a large raffia bow.

Each morning when they come downstairs, 

Eva, Landon, or Noah flip an ornament over, 

bringing us closer and closer to Christmas Day.

When Christmas morning gets here 

and they flip the very last ornament over, the tree will read...

I finished the entire thing off with 

putting the Washi tape around the edges and sides of the board.

I think it turned out pretty cute.

Of course, Scott couldn't figure out why 

I started the sentence at the bottom.

You might think it's odd too, 

but I wanted the sentence to begin on the 1st 

and end on the 25th, 

working it's way up to the top of the tree.

Might be backwards, but the kids get it.

Maybe my mind thinks like a child's does.

;)

Anyway...

It works.

It's cute.

And it prevents me from having to think of 

how many days it is until Christmas, 

when they begin asking a bazillion times a day.

(Which should start any day now.)

They can just go look at the countdown tree and count off the days.

Win, win!

Oh, how I wish I still had the excitement

of anticipating Christmas morning like they do.

But it sure is fun to relive it again through them!

Dream Big,