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| This beautiful calendar is a twist on the traditional! Instead of candy, we stuffed each pocket with an individually wrapped charm. Each day, your little one can open a new charm and add it to their bracelet. If you have more than one child, wrap each with their own color of tissue or wrapping paper so that they know which charms are theirs. We recommend putting the bracelet in the first bag. Choose charms that represent your child’s hobbies, sports and passions. Fill in with holiday charms.
Step one: Cut your fabric to the size you like. This is a 35 x 33 inch final project. There is a good deal of space between the bags, and it can certainly be reduced by placing the bags closer together. Hem the edges for a finished look. Leave a hole large enough in the top to slide a dowel through.
Step two: Prepare the bags with Swarovski flatbacks, for detailed instructions on how to apply flatbacks, please visit the Handy Tips section of the Learning Center. To get the numbers uniform, we just printed out numbers we liked from our computer and lined them up inside the bags to “trace”. We recommend Jewel Bond glue for this step, and remember to place something between the layers of the bag so that it doesn’t stick together. Be cautious not to let the glue dry to the paper you are working with, or the ink will come off on the bag. You may want to lay the bags out ahead of time so you are certain that you are numbering them correctly. We made rows with five of each color, but you can pattern them in a way that is most pleasing to your eye.
Step three: Lay the bags out to make sure the spacing is correct, then adhere them to the fabric using a hot glue gun. Place a piece of cardboard in the bags as you adhere them so that the glue does not stick the two sides of the bag together. Remove it before the glue dries so that the cardboard does not stick.
Step four: To make the embellishment on the bottom corner of the calendar, we used a stencil found at a local craft store, and simply cut the tree out of fabric. You can use any shape you like. We then embellished the tree with Swarovski flatback rhinestones and hot glued it to the calendar. We used Gem Tac adhesive to adhere the flatbacks to felt.
Step five: To create the hanger, wrap the 20 gauge brass colored wire several times around one end of the dowel and then leaving approximately 42 inches of wire between ends, wrap around the other end of the dowel. Bring it back to the end you began on and finish wrapping. Using the other wire, wrap each individually around one end of the dowel, then string randomly with beads, wrapping loosely around the original wire as you go. When you are done, wrap the remaining end around the other end of the dowel.
This project takes a bit of time, but will bring years of happiness! Refill each year with different treasures and start a Christmas tradition that is sure to last a lifetime!
Cost will vary depending on materials you choose.
List of components:
Thick fabric, wood dowel
3x4 –inch white organza bag (ORGANZA03, qty 14)
3x4 –inch gold organza bag (ORGANZA01, qty 10)
20 gauge brass non-tarnish artistic wire (AWR20BRS6)
26 gauge burgundy non-tarnish artistic wire (AWR26BRG15)
24 gauge silver non-tarnish artistic wire (AWR24SVR10)
8mm fire polished crystal/mint 1/2 coat luster (FP-CRYSMNT8, qty 2)
4mm fire polished crystal/mint 1/2 coat luster (FP-CRYSMNT4, qty 2)
6mm fire polished crystal copper lined (FP-COPCRYS6, qty 2)
4mm Czech druk bead ruby AB (DRUK-RUBYAB4, qty 2)
8mm fire polished crystal copper lined (FP-COPCRYS8, qty 2)
4mm Czech druk bead emerald AB (DRUK-EMAB4, qty 2)
6mm Czech druk bead emerald AB (DRUK-EMAB6, qty 2)
8mm Czech druk bead emerald AB (DRUK-EMAB8, qty 2)
8mm fire polished crystal copper ˝ metallic coated (FP-CRYSCOP8, qty 2)
8mm fire polished crystal (FP-CRYS8, qty 2)
Swarovski flatback SS12 topaz (2028-TO12)
Swarovski flatback SS12 crystal (2028-CRYS12)
10x6mm Swarovski crystal teardrop flatback (2300-CRYS10, qty 3)
8x5mm Swarovski crystal teardrop flatback (2300-CRYS8, qty 4)
Jewel Bond adhesive (JEWELBOND)
NOTE: The quantities for the rhinestones will vary according to what font and size you choose to use. We used approximately 300 of each color.
Tools Used:
Perfect Positioner (TOOL-147)
Lindstrom Supreme side-cutter (TOOL-600) | |
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