Graphic 45 St. Nicholas Christmas Calendar

It's December!

Can you believe it? This year has flown by so fast. And now I'm making it fly even faster with my latest project: a Christmas countdown / Advent calendar.

I've had this ginormous wooden shadow box for quite some time. I couldn't decide where to save it for a Graphic 45 Secret Garden project or a Christmas-y one. But after some recent time I've spent with my train-loving nephew, I felt a Christmas project was the appropriate use. :)

This isn't your typical shadow box, where you have perhaps 1 1/2" depth, so your embellishments "pop" easier. Rather, this is about 2 1/4" deep - so you either use a ton of dimensional objects inside and/or a lot of foam adhesive. Or - you take advantage of the extra space, and make room for tiny trains.

Remember these fabulous life-size door knockers from Graphic 45?? So fitting for my huge &$@ shadow box.

I assigned a day for each box. Since I didn't have enough boxes for 25 days, I had to double, and even triple, some of the number of days in the boxes.

The idea is that you take a little train - like the Thomas and Friends mini's that I stole from Trent - and move them from box to box until they hit the 25th.

Percy fits in so perfectly. 

For Christmas Day, I chose a train from the Dollar Tree store, and glued some St. Nicholas imagery on top.

Here's a peak into each box: 

As I was uploading photos, I realized that I never made a number 6. Oops. I guess the trains take a break that day and ride around the Christmas Countdown? Please tell me I'm not the only one who does this. 

Well, that's all for today, friends! I hope you enjoyed this project. Now I'm off to drink some eggnog and chug some rocky road ice cream before the husband comes home. :)

Supply list 

Graphic 45 St. Nicholas 12 x 12 Pad

Graphic 45 St. Nicholas 12 x 12 Patterns & Solids Pad

Graphic 45 St. Nicholas Decorative Chipboard

Graphic 45 St. Nicholas Journaling Chipboard

Graphic 45 St. Nicholas Tags & Pockets

Graphic 45 St. Nicholas Banners

Graphic 45 Policy Envelopes - ATC Red

Graphic 45 Ornate Metal Keys

Graphic 45 Shabby Chic Door Pulls

Graphic 45 St. Nicholas pocket letter

Happy Monday!

How many of you are into pocket letters? My talented friend Paula, from the Mia Sogni Dolce blog, makes beautiful pocket letters all the time. I've been curious about them and asked her if we could do an exchange. Lucky me, she said yes!

We decided the theme would be a Graphic 45 Christmas. Because come on now ... ;) Two G45ers, what else are we to do?! I wanted to make Paula's pocket letter as special as I could, so I used a TON of fun product from Graphic 45's St. Nicholas collection and Staples.

I used 12 x 12 paper from both the regular St. Nicholas papers and the patterns & solids pad. You can also spot some of the decorative and journaling chipboard. I also added some banners and a shabby chic ornate metal keyhole. Oh, and lots of glitter. :) 

Because nearly every G45er is also a big Tim Holtz fan, I added some Idea-ology pieces. 

Did I mention I added glitter?? 

One of my favorite additions is the little red ATC policy envelopes. They are just a smidge too wide for the pockets, so you'll need to trim 1/8" off both the left and right sides to make them fit. 

I was bummed at first to have to trim the envelopes - but - that ended up being the best thing ever. What happens is your envelope folds out, so you can easily add a small letter or some stickers. I added a tag and pocket for a favorite Christmas movie list. 

My other favorite Graphic 45 Staple to add was the letter "T" (for tea). I used the ATC red alpha banners for this. And they fit perfectly! One last G45 product: some St. Nicholas ephemera cards, so that after the trinkets are taken out, the back of the pocket letter still looks festive.  

Well, thanks so much for looking! I have more St. Nicholas projects to share, so stay tuned! 

Graphic 45 Children's Hour card

Happy Day After Thanksgiving!

Here's a card I made a short while ago. I used Graphic 45 Children's Hour along with little bits from Off to the Races. :)

Thanks so much for looking! 

Safari Adventure Mixed Media Box

Hi there!

Tonight I have a little project to share. This is a mixed media box from Graphic 45 featuring their adorable Safari Adventure paper line. Since little hands might be reaching for this, I tried to keep the embellishments and fussy cutting to a minimum.

These 5x5 boxes are so cute and come with 6 loose tags. Many crafters turn them into an album; I thought I'd keep each tag loose. Again, thinking about the little person who could be handling these photos. 

Leaving the tags unattached means you can switch out any tag to be the one that shows through the box's cover. (And that was a clunky sentence - but I'm too tired to fix it.)

These little boxes make for great gift ideas. This one in particular was a late Father's Day / Happy Birthday gift, so Safari Adventure made for the perfect paper. 

I have more Safari Adventure projects to share next! A mini album and a set of cards, from Graphic 45's monthly class series. Stay tuned!