Christmas isn't the only holiday we can count down to. I, personally, am excited when my birthday rolls around. ;) Or anniversary. Or Easter. Or any other holiday involving good food and something to satisfy the smallest (or largest) of sugar cravings.
I decided that a Multi-Purpose Advent Calendar would be a wonderful addition to our home. (I have a countdown app on my phone, but that doesn't quite cut it.)
Enter: The Muffin Tin.
My MIL gave me a countdown tin for Christmas this year, and so when my aunt gave me some extra tins Just Because, I thought they could be perfect for this next project.
Start with a muffin tin. You can use those smaller ones, but for this project I used a regular sized one. Leave it or paint it. It's up to you!
Decide what you want to use to cover the wells with. What theme do you want? What colors? When deciding what to use, let me make a small suggestion. The lighter the better. The embellishments should not be too heavy, or your magnets will not be able to hold. Here's how to make one like this:
- Cut 2, 1 1/2 in. strips lengthwise from a book. Accordion folded them then tape the ends together to form a ring. Press flat. (They won't stay flat until the numbers are hot glued on.)
- Stamp (or print) numbers on plain paper (you could use cardstock, but I was trying to make it as light as possible), then cut them out using a circle punch. (Or if you don't have one, you could trace out the bottom of a pill bottle and cut them out individually. Oh yes I did.) ;)
- Hot glue the numbered circles onto the center of the book pages, then outline with glitter.
- Attach strips of magnets to the back in random places to make sure it holds to the tin. (It doesn't have to be pretty.) I used one of those ad magnets one gets in the mail and cut it up.
- Optional: Attach a wire through the top holes (drill your own if there are no holes in yours) then embellish with ribbon.
Voila! And another Muffin Tin Advent idea:
Here are some ideas of what you could place inside your tin wells:
- Small candies and notes from family members, telling the soon-to-be-birthday person what they love/appreciate about them.
- Twelve love notes from you to your spouse counting down the days till your anniversary.
- Twelve different acts of service.
- A scripture a day.
- Dollar bills.
- Puzzle pieces that have a special message when put together.
- Coupons to redeem.
Be creative, and have fun counting down to those special days in your life!
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Jordan is a SAHM of 2 beautiful kids who get the words 'burp' and 'toot' mixed up. She blogs over at Mean Mommy Academy about such bum-burping adventures.
All photos are my own
