DIY Advent Calendar

BLOGMAS- Day 2

Hello!
Today I wanted to write a post about an advent calendar that I have made. Normally, I share an advent calendar with my sisters but this year I wanted to make my own one. I thought for a while about how I would do this and after browsing on Pinterest, I came up with an idea.

To make this calendar, you will need:

• 24 empty toilet paper rolls- yes, I started collecting in August!
• 6 sheets of green paper    or    a bottle of thick green paint
• 1 sheet of brown paper    or    some thick brown paint
• A sheet of green tissue paper
• Some brown/orange tissue paper
• A black marker pen
• Strong glue (I used a glue gun) 
• Some Christmas decorations (optional) e.g. mini baubles, a star for the top etc.

I started by turning 21 of my toilet paper rolls green, and 3 brown. You could paint them but I didn't have the right sort of paint and was looking for a more even finish. So, I wrapped each one in green or brown paper. The glue I used for this part was PVA craft glue. It takes quite a while to wrap each toilet paper roll but I did it whilst listening to music! I went for the traditional colour of green but you could use a different colour if you want.

The next step is to cover one end of all the tubes in tissue paper. The idea is that you can rip through the tissue paper on each day to discover the treat inside the tube. This part doesn't have to be perfect. I just cut out a small square of tissue paper and glued it onto the tube. The edges didn't look very neat but I think it gives it a nice homemade feel.

The next task is the assembly. To make it look like a Christmas tree, you want to glue the tubes together in the correct formation. You need strong glue for this otherwise it won't hold together. I used a glue gun. The rows go in this order, starting from the top:

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 3

The last three are in brown to make the trunk of the tree.

You can then decorate the tree with any decorations you want. Glitter might look nice or something to mimic tinsel. I just decided to keep mine plain. Then, write the numbers on for each day. I did mine in order but you could do it randomly.

Finally, fill with your favourite sweets or chocolate and enjoy!

I hope you give this a go. It is not too late to start an advent calendar, you could just have 3 days in one! If not, there's always next year so start collecting!