Distressed Countdown Advent Cabinet

I had so much fun making this project. This Advent Calendar Cabinet is the perfect holiday decoration. Drawers are just big enough to hold little treasures so excited keiki's can count down the days until Christmas arrives.

Distressed Countdown Advent Cabinet by Beth

Tim Holtz Distress Stain

30143784 - UNF Cabinet 24 Drawers w/ Shutter

77501692 - Mod Podge

30141040 - Americana Multi-Surface Paint (Vanilla Shake)

30145457 - Joyous Tradition Paper scrapbook paper

30136620 – ½” EK Tools mini punch

James Button

Paint the cabinet with the color of your choice. Measure each drawer and cut 24 pieces of patterned paper to fit, mixing patterns and colors as desired. Punch a half-hole in the top edge of each piece to match the notches on the drawers. Use the stain to ink the edges around the cabinet. Mod Podge the cut paper to the drawers. Cut paper to fit the sides and back of the Advent calendar box; ink and adhere with Mod Podge.

Happy Crafting! Beth @ Mapunapuna BFC

Crankin' Out Crafts: Episode 275: Clothespin Shadowbox

Puna explains how to decorate this incredibly cute shadow box in just a few steps.

Use scrapbooking elements to decorate!

Watch our episode here: Crankin' Out Crafts: Episode 275 - Clothespin Shadowbox

Supplies:

Shadow box

Scrapbooking paper

Tim Holtz's Distress Stains

Sticker embellishments

Double-stick tape

This shadowbox is great to memorialize a special occasion by using the included clothespins to hold ticket stubs or other memorabilia.

Crankin' Out Crafts: Episode 274: Wood Puzzle

Are you looking for a guest book for your next party? Check out this unique alternative - a Puzzle!  This idea takes a raw wood puzzle to an OVER THE TOP centerpiece, guest book, memory all in one, that you can decorate your home with!

Make a fun puzzle!

Watch the segment here: Crankin' Out Crafts: Episode 274 - Wood Puzzle

Supplies:

Wood Puzzle 

Black Pen (for sketching design)

Tim Holtz Distress Stain

Acrylic Paint

Stay tuned for more wood projects!

A Pallet-able Project

There are a lot of people out there right now on Pinterest and all over the web who are making astounding things out of pallets. Of course one thing leads to another and the love for making things using pallets has turned into simply a love of pallets. To help spread a little more pallet love, today's blog topic concerns making something into a pallet. Well, making popsicle sticks into a mini pallet coaster, to be exact.



If you want to make this pallet project for your own home, you're going to need a few things first. Popsicle sticks are the main ingredient but you'll also need something to cut them with and something to stain them with. I used some heavy duty tin snips and Tim Holtz's Distress Stains respectively. To round the project off, you need a length of balsa wood - square shaped, not circular - a hot-glue gun, and an Xacto or utility knife.

I then cut both ends off of the popsicle sticks to give them straight edges. You can also find popsicle sticks ready made without the rounded ends, but I used what I had on hand. I also cut the balsa wood into pieces that were roughly the same size as my popsicle sticks. Then I used the Distress Stain to give the wood pieces a rugged, weathered look. Last, I hot-glued the popsicle sticks to three pieces of balsa wood.

Keep in mind that these coasters are supposed to look raw and used, just like those life-sized pallets. Don't worry if your popsicle sticks hang over too much or if a couple of your pieces have some rough edges. In fact, you want these cuties to look as imperfect as possible. The less refined the better, I think, and they're great for adding a fun, rustic touch to your home.

Drop by our Enchanted Lake store during July for demonstrations on how to make some pallets of your own.

See you soon,
Puna @ Enchanted Lake