Jo Myhill Project #3 Advent Calendar ....

Hi Everyone, Jo Myhill back again for my last post this month!

"I’ve wanted to make an heirloom re-usable advent calendar for ages and the idea of creating pockets that allow you to put either chocolate (yummy) or proverbs in really appealed."

I needed something big to accommodate all the pockets needed so a cork noticeboard was ideal. This one is 40cmx60cm.

I gave it a good coat of gesso all over the cork and the frame to give a base and tone down the cork.

On the actual wooden frame (front and sides) I added layers of Brown Shed to act as the base coat for the Crackle Glaze.

I smeared the Crackle Glaze on the front of the frame with my finger, it didn’t matter if it was a bit thick in places or didn’t cover all the Brown Shed as I was going to sand after the top coat as I wanted a very shabby look.

Once this was dry I mixed Nougat with a little bit of BrownShed. This made a slightly pinkier shade than I expected but it actually worked quite well.  I wanted a mixture of cracks so I varied the amount of paint I loaded on the brush and dabbed the paint on all the front of the frame.  Once this had dried I added the paint to the sides as well.

As I wanted to distress the frame more I took some sandpaper and sanded the frame in one movement rather than actually sanding as you would normally.  I also varied the pressure to remove more of the top layer in places where you might expect to see more decay.

Choose three 12”x12” toning papers to use on the cork. Cut the paper into 3” squares. 

Mark the centre of the cork board as this is where you’ll start sticking the squares down in a patchwork fashion.

I used watered down PVA to stick the squares down and also went over the top of the paper with the PVA to make sure the squares are really stuck down! I moved outwards to form a row across the board and then started to move up and down alternating the squares. At the edges there will be some overlap.

At the top and the bottom you’ll need to cut some of the 3” squares in half to fill in the gaps. Leave this to dry thoroughly.

To make the pockets I took some sheets of 12x12 Kraft paper and cut it to make six 4” x 6” pieces. On one of the long edges score along it at ½”. On the shorter edges score at 1¾” on either side.

Following the picture cut away the excess card and fold the sides in and the bottom up to make a pocket.  I used double sided tape to seal the flaps. To sharpen the folds run your bone folder or something similar over them.

To decorate the pockets stamp the text stamp from Xmas Plate4 in Sepia Archival Ink on each one.

Xmas Plate 4 

Then add an oblong of Claret paint on top of this.  I put a blob of paint on my craft and alongside it I added a small amount of water.  I dipped my brush in the water and then picked up a little bit of paint and painted an oblong moving the paint around with the brush, it doesn’t have to be neat.  As it’s a translucent paint it creates a wash over the text stamp. 

Once this is dry I added Brass Treasure Gold over the Claret wash. I didn’t want an opaque coverage so I didn’t load my brush up too much with Treasure Gold and scrubbed the Treasure Gold on. I use quite a stiff brush as I wanted to see some lines of the Treasure Gold and the Claret rather than an opaque solid layer.

Go back the cork board.  Mix together Nougat and Irish Cream and water, you want a consistency of single cream. Start adding the paint to the patchwork squares.  You want a really shabby look so move your brush vertically and then horizontally.  If it looks too wet mop up the excess with kitchen roll.  Keep adding layers until you are happy with the effect, not too much coverage you just want the background papers to peak through the paint.

Once this has dried add Vintage Photo Distress Ink all over the paint paying special attend to the edges of the squares. It looks a bit messy but as it dries it really adds to the shabby distressed look.  Flick the whole of the cork with water to react with the Distress Ink and create water spots.

To add another layer stamp the snowflake from Nut & Meg8 in Aged Mahogany Distress Ink and the small snowflake from Nut & Meg 1 all over the board randomly.

Nut & Meg 1

 Nut & Meg 8

Finally finish the pockets by stamping numbers on the front. I used the numbers from Words 2 plate. Stamp in Versamark and emboss with WOW Burgundy embossing powder. I quite like the edges of the stamp being embossed to add to the shabby grungy look, but if you want cleaner edges that will work as well. I find using a very fine paint brush to remove excess embossing powder really helps. Edge each pocket with Vintage Photo Distress Ink.

Words Plate 2

Punch a hole through the front and the back of the pocket so you can use a Tim Holtz memo pin to attach the pocket to the cork board.

It’s been really hard to take a decent photo to really show the size of this and clearly show the pockets, hopefully you can see enough to get a feel for the piece.

Well lots of Christmassy ideas this week to create home décor pieces that you can bring out every year to celebrate your family Christmas. Just need to buy chocolate money now! Jo xx

Leandra Says: I love it! And most of the fun of advent calendars is also trying to find the number for that day, so you've sussed that out too. When I was a kid we used to pull out the same calendar year after year, and open the doors to a picture behind, it was still exciting. But in my dreams this one would have a diamond in each pocket (from Mark) and I could go and get some humdinger of a ring made! LOL (always dreaming huh!)

Gillian Says: It's beginning to look alot like Christmas lol .... love this Jo, no matter your age who doesn't get excited by an advent calendar right! Thanks for a fab week of projects.

If you are inspired by Jo this week, then don't forget you are most welcome to play along in the weekly challenge, and thus go in the draw to win prizes. Details can be found here, which is also where you can go to link up your creativity this week, ie the 'Challenged by Jo Myhill' Sunday night blog post. You have until midday Sunday Dec 1st to enter.