Halloween Advent Calendars

Last year, my mother, sister, and I made these amazing advent calendars. I’ve tried to look online for the directions we used (which came from a magazine, I believe), but I had no luck with that. So I’ll have to give you a general idea of what we did and hope you can run with it.

We started out by buying the frames (the kinds without backs – in other words, they are just frames that you can stick your hand through) we wanted from Michael’s (each one of us got a different one). We also purchased boards that would fit inside the frames (though you can cut them yourself, if you are that handy).

Before I go on, let me say that this didn’t turn out to be the most eco-friendly project. There were a couple things that are questionable and/or downright bad and I have to admit that up front. I did not take the time to research more eco-friendly alternatives. I will talk about that a little more at the end of this post, however.

You will need super powerful magnets, which Brian was kind enough to procure for us, and 31 embellishments of your choice. We used Halloween buttons and pins, and removed the backing on them to make them flat. Glue those super powerful magnets on your embellishments (but be aware that some magnets, like the ones we used are so powerful that moving them on and off the board may rip the magnet right off the embellishment).

As for the board, you will be painting that with at least three (I think we used six) layers of magnetic paint. You can find this at Home Depot. Make sure you test your magnets before deciding you are finished – this paint isn’t strongly magnetic, so you really need to make sure you put enough layers on it.

Once your magnetic paint is dry, you will be gluing a paper/calendar design to it. Now this is where you really get creative. We simply created a grid on MS Publisher to use for the calendar (you can do this any way you like – and even make one landscape-style if you don’t want it portrait-style). This was then printed out on regular cardstock paper. We then glued our calendars onto the magnetic-painted board along with strategically and artfully placed pieces of decorative scrapbook paper (the kind that comes in those big blocks). Again, this is where we got really creative and each of us used a different set of colors, and designs. My mother went for a retro look, my sister for a rustic look, and I went for a spooky look. This is where I was most offensive to Mother Nature, however, because I used spray-on glue. I’m still feeling guilty about that one.

Anyway, once you have that together, you simply embellish as you like. We used letter stickers for the days of the week (remember NOT to number your calendar, as each year the numbers will fall on different days of the week – so just label the days of the week, and leave it at that). Then we used die-cuts for the lettering at the top. What will you call yours? My sister used the title Samhain, while my mother used October, and I used Hallowmas. Mom even made one for my sister-in-law that says Halloween. It is entirely up to you.

You can use stamps and glitter to embellish, as well, which is what I did. You can leave the magnet “holding area” (where the magnets sit at the side of the calendar waiting to be placed on the calendar, itself) plain, or you can add something more to it. I added a Samhain poem by Silver Ravenwolf on mine, printed on vellum so you can still see the dark paper behind it.

Now, if I were to make this calendar again this year, you can bet I would try a lot harder to make it more eco-friendly. There are probably many glues you can find that are safer than the ones we used. I also found ideas that are similar but easier and more eco-friendly. For instance, using a cookie sheet as your background would work well. You would have to embellish the sides pretty well to hide the lip and handles, but that might not be so difficult. You can glue the calendar grid and decorations onto the back or front of the sheet, and the magnets will easily stick without using the magnetic paint.

This is a great time to make these, while you still have access to Halloween items (for the next week, anyway). Or, better yet, collect your ideas and supplies and start making yours in September 2010, so it will be ready for action next Halloween!

Feel free to add any other eco-friendly options here in the comments section, or let me know if you have seen or created something similar.

Don’t forget to check out the October Blog Party for some excellent October inspiration, and Mrs. B.’s 31 Days of Halloween for unbelievable giveaways!!

Copyright: A Green Spell
http://greenspell.wordpress.com