Christmas Advent Plaque

There are a million ways to celebrate advent, but this year, I wanted to make something myself that could be used as a Christmas Tradition year after year with my family. With just a few hours and supplies, I came up with a compact and functional Advent that can be used for years to come.....Here's how it's done:

These are the items I used because I had most of them on hand in my clutter(except for the wood plaque...I had to buy that from Hobby Lobby for $6 with a coupon :) So go ahead and substitute what you want if it makes the project easier or cheaper....except for the chalkboard paint...that's kinda the main feature of the whole project idea !!

* A wood plaque or board
* Paint brushes (large and small)
* Red, white and green paint
* Chalk Board paint (paint-on, not spray)
* Hemp & Eye screws to hang up
* a Clip of your choosing ( I used one from the 7 gypsies collection)
* E6000 glue (or whichever glue is strong of your choosing)
* Green twine - or any color
* Holly leaves and berries (I made mine from green paper and red felt) *optional
* Sealer (whichever you normally use to seal your paint)

As stated in the last picture, choose the size of the circle (or whatever shape you choose) and stencil it on your plaque, then (according to the instructions on your chalk paint) apply your Chalk Board paint in thin coats letting each layer dry before adding another--usually about 30-40 minutes.

** My paint container said that 30 minutes is all it needs to be dry to the touch, but to leave it overnight after you have added all your coats of paint to have it be completely dry and be ready to write on- it also said not to over brush when painting the chalk paint on...I assume because the brush strokes may end up showing in the dry paint...but I have assumed wrong in the past, so really I don't know what the reasoning is...I just followed the directions :))

I painted the entire background with Red paint except for a 3/4" circle around the chalkboard so that I could, later, sponge on some Green paint to make it look like a wreath circling the chalk board.....

I painted a second coat of white paint over my letters after the first layer, just so they looked better. Then I used a stencil brush to dab the (already painted) green wreath with a second coat of lighter green paint to make it look more "leafy" !

I drew some bows on each side of the wreath and base-coated them in white and let them dry before painting them with the lighter green paint and adding a dot of red in the middle. I also cut some leaves and berries out of paper and felt to add around the letters just to fill in some space.

After all has dried - use the E6000 glue to attach the clip you have chosen to the bottom of the plaque and let the glue dry overnight, just to be safe (sorry, no pic on that).

Last...spray or paint your plaque with a sealer !

But wait...there's one more thing......

....here is what I did, but, of course, hang it up however you want :))

To Hang:

I attached two eye screws to the top of the plaque (spaced evenly apart) and then braided some green  twine and tied the ends to the eye screws to make sure all was secure when I hung the plaque on the wall...


Clip on a treat each day, and Enjoy your Advent...you rad little Crafter, you!!!