Advent Wreath With Tiny Milk Cartons

I wanted to make an advent calendar for my granddaughter this year. After I made the little milk carton for Halloween, I decided to see if I could make an even smaller version and this is what I came up with! They are tiny little milk cartons that measure 1 inch wide by 2 inches high. My granddaughter loves things in miniature, so I think this will be a hit! I am putting small candies and trinkets inside. They will also hold coins, folded up notes with activities to do, etc.

Here they are all finished and lined up. I printed out the numbers on my computer, then punched them out. I layered them with a slightly larger scalloped circle and then another circle, coordinating the circles with the colors of the papers. The papers I used are from Stampin' Up (2013). It's a good way to use up your scraps.

Directions for Mini-Milk Cartons:

• Cut a piece of patterned paper to 3 x 4-1/4 inches
• On long side, score at 1,2,3, and 4 inches
• On short side, score at 1,2 and 2-3/4 inches
• Cut away small squares on top and bottom, right side
• Cut up vertical score lines on bottom up to first horizontal score line
• Fold on all score lines
• Apply adhesive tape to the tab and fold box together
• Fold up bottom tabs and adhere
• Pinch top closed
• Insert goodie or note and close with mini clothespin
• Clip to a wreath or small tree or just put in a basket

After you make a few cartons they go faster and really don't take that long to make. Besides it's fun! Instead of putting them on a little tree, I decided to use a wreath that I can hang on her door! 

Christmas Planner

I wanted to share my Christmas Planner with you. I actually made this Christmas Planner last year and really liked it, so I updated it this year using sheets I purchased from Polka Dot Posie Prints on Etsy (see link below). I wanted to share it with you in case you are looking for a simple and cute way to make a Christmas Planner.

I removed my sheets from last year and added a section in the back of the planner for prior years. This way I can always look back and see what I did the previous year. The rest of my planner is the same as last year with the same dividers I made using Christmas scrapbook paper cut to size and adding handmade tabs. (I decorated both sides of the divider pages.)

This is my planner open. There is a pocket inside the binder cover for a post-it-note pad, lists, etc. I decorated the inside cover page using scrapbook paper, die cuts, stickers, and stamps.

The first section I added was a To-Do List (a printable from the Etsy Shop):

I took an undated Avery calender insert and added the dates for December and inserted it into my planner behind the To-Do List, adding a tab so I can flip to it easily.

 Next comes the Gift List section. I decorated the divider with washi tape and stickers.

This is one of the printable lists from Etsy:

My next section is for on-line orders. I do a lot of on-line ordering and want to keep track of the orders, the recipient, when they are expected to arrive, date of arrival, etc.

There is a printable for this section as well:

The next section is my Christmas Card List:

And again, another printable:

There is also a menu section:

 and another cute printable:

Finally, I used a premade Avery pocket that I decorated to keep all my receipts in:

Products Used:
The Avery Binder (7 x 9 inches), pockets and accessories can be purchased almost anywhere, including Walmart. I purchased the printable inserts from Polka Dot Posie Print Etsy Shop and I absolutely LOVE them! They come in X-Small, Small and Large (8-1/2 x 11). I purchased the Small which prints 2 pages on an 8-1/2 x 11 sheet of paper and fits my Avery notebook perfectly. The categories also fit in perfectly with what I had already set up last year, but in a much cuter presentation!

I'm ready for the season! Now back to card making and projects!

Note: I also made a personal planner using another Avery notebook in the same way. Click here to see that planner.