Advent calendars are one of my most favorite things
about the holiday season. When the kids were younger
the treats tended to be small toys and candy, but, now
that I have teenagers, we enjoy a special activity
together that everyone looks forward to. This year we'll
use this Wall Pocket Advent Calendar that I designed.
It's easy to make (no sewing) and I used an amazing
new product, Tulip Shimmer Sheets, that
I want to share with you.
Just slip in a piece of paper with an activity
idea and maybe a few chocolates too!
Tulip sent me a wonderful box full of glittery goodness
that is not just your regular glitter - everything is
specially formulated to work on fabric and it's washable
too! Dimensional glitter paint, spray-on glitter paint...
Iron-on rhinestones and a special tool that acts
like a miniature iron just big enough to
heat set the rhinestones...
An assortment of glitter in shaker bottles, glitter fabric
glue, and iron-on Shimmer Transfer Sheets! If you have
ever shyed away from glitter because it is too messy then
you will especially like the spray-on glitter and iron-on
glitter sheets so be sure to check them out.
Wall Pocket Advent Calendar Tutorial
I really liked working with the iron-on Shimmer Transfer
Sheets. They couldn't be easier and the results are
amazing. I hope they add some more colors (maybe
brown, turquoise, and orange!) because I can see
doing other projects with these in the future.
Materials & Tools:
fabric
wood embroidery hoops
Tulip Shimmer Sheets
iron
scissors
glue gun
number templates
small piece of thin scrap fabric
There is a lot of flexibility in this project for you
to customize the calendar: fabrics, hoop
sizes, and glitter colors.
I used three different sized hoops: 4", 6" and 8".
They are very inexpensive and you can usually find them
at your local thrift shop, dime store, or craft store.
I used 10 different fabrics but you can use as many or
as few as you like. Thinner fabric works best since it
will be folded three times in the hoop.
And, lastly, I used four different glitter colors: gold,
red, green, and silver (from the holographic set).
Step 1
Cut your fabric in rectangles so that the width is
approximately 1 - 1½" wider than your hoop and
the length is about 2½ times the width.
Here are the measurements I used:
4" hoop: fabric 5½" x 10"
6" hoop: fabric 7½" x 15"
8" hoop: fabric 9½" x 20"
Step 2
Fold the fabric into a square so that here is a pocket
in the fabric. Make sure there is at least 1" - 1½" inches
of fabric all around the sides of the hoop. The fold should
be about a third or half way down from the top
of the hoop for easy access.
Step 3
Cut the numbers from the Tulip Shimmer Sheets.
You can use the templates I made,
if you like, or create your own.
There are three number pattern sizes:
(click to download the pdf pattern)
small for the 4" hoop
medium for the 6" hoop
large for the 8" hoop
The only tricky part here is to make sure you trace the
number pattern on the back of the shimmer sheet (the
smooth side) and that your number is traced in reverse.
You don't need to cut out the numbers to trace them; just
lay the iron-on transfer on top of the pattern and trace it
with a black permanent marker. Hold it up to a window
or use a light box for easier tracing.
Step 4
Position your hoop on the fabric, then lay your glitter
number on top of the pocket in the center of the hoop.
Remove the hoop. Place a thin piece of fabric on top of
the glitter number and press with a hot iron for 40
seconds. Move the iron around to prevent scorching and
be sure to press the folds too. Pull away the thin
fabric slowly from the glittered number.
Step 5
Put the fabric into the hoop. (Separate the two pieces of
the hoop. Lay the fabric, centered, on top of the hoop
without the hardware. Loosen the outer hoop and then
press it down on top of the fabric covered inner hoop.)
Tighten the screw as best you can to keep from slipping.
Step 6
Turn the hoop over and trim the excess fabric all around
so there is enough to fold over the edge of the
hoop; about a ½" should do.
Step 7
Use your glue gun and glue the fabric to the inner hoop.
Along the sides there will be three layers of fabric - start
glueing the inner layer and work outwards so
they are all glued down.
Now, repeat 23 times! It's easy, but does take some time.
The longest part for me was arranging the fabrics and
hoop sizes and deciding what glitter colors to use. I think
they look like big colorful ornaments! An added benefit
of these are that they stack neatly and will be easy
to pack away for next year!
You can connect with Tulip via these links:
Web: http://www.ilovetocreate.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lovetocreate
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ilovetocreate
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/ilovetocreate/
I wrote this post as part of a paid campaign with
Blueprint Social and Tulip. The idea for this project
and all opinions are my own.
Take a look at what some other creative crafters are
doing with the Tulip Shimmer products: