Years ago we had a snowman we hung on the wall counting down to Christmas as you moved the snowflake along his belly. At one point we had a wooden tree plaque where one ornament was added every day as we neared Christmas day. For whatever reason, they have been passed on and for the past few years, we have not had a Christmas countdown. It didn’t really bother me not to have one as I was always terrible at changing the days! So for today’s theme of Christmas countdown, it took me a while to come up with something that would fit my current style. I seriously considered making a countdown saying “you have xxx days to get off Santa’s naughty list!” and hang it on the door of whatever child was driving me the craziest…. But, I think the $2.00 rustic pallet Christmas countdown goes better with my decor this year.
Welcome to Day 3 of the Fourth Annual 12 Days of Christmas Series!
We have teamed up with 50 plus bloggers to bring you a oodles of DIY Ideas and Recipes to make your holiday season merrier. There are 12 different posts in the series and we have spread them out over a four week period with three posts per week. Now is the time to subscribe!
GO HERE for the complete list of Dates and Topics plus a collection of most popular holiday ideas including ornaments, games, recipes and more from all 50 plus talented bloggers!
It’s Day 3 and we are sharing DIY Christmas Countdown Calendar Ideas!
Dollar Pallet
I am continuing to try to work through my existing craft supplies as much as possible. Rock what you’ve got has been crafting motto for quite some time now. When I finally decided what I wanted to do, a cold snap hit and then we had snow…
Chopping up wood and building a pallet sign in the frigid garage was just not tempting. I considered going back to the drawing board… or creating something from my ever faithful yarn stash…
And then I had to run into Dollar Tree for more earbuds (I refuse to spend more than that, they keep losing them!). I couldn’t not look at the Christmas stuff… especially since, at the time, I was also trying to figure out how to finish off my crocheted farmhouse winter wreath.
I stopped to look at this MDF pallet sign… kinda cute in a cheesy sort of way…
But, I can’t handle glitter! I managed to get it on my face just from buying it in the store! I blame my mother, she never liked glitter or tinsel and apparently, I don’t either now.
The wheels did begin to turn though…
Paint
The shape was perfect, so I flipped it over and painted the back to look more like distressed and whitewashed boards.
I started with gray, but it ended up too dark.
And repainted it with white chalk paint.
Using a ruler and a black sharpie, I marked the “spaces” between the boards. And softened the lines with the dark gray chalk paint.
Finally, I dry brushed some gray to finish the look.
Ho Ho Ho
I may have to pick up another one and go back to my original countdown phrase… Especially since it was so simple to put the lettering on my sign.
Using the photo transfer technique Lara and I used for the photo wood transfer gift, I only had to select my font and print my wording backward. I love using PicMonkey for things like this.
I cut the words out before applying them to my pallet so I could line them up exactly the way I wanted.
For changing the numbers each day, I knew I wanted to use a chalkboard. A chalkboard sticker worked perfectly (that’s the other dollar in this project… the 3 pack of 3 chalkboard stickers was less than $3).
Rustic Pallet Christmas Countdown
I’m really excited about how this turned out! And the kids are too. I’m pretty sure Tasha and O-Man are going to be fighting over who gets to change the numbers.
Plus, because it’s slim and not the thickness of a pallet sign I would have built myself, it will take up less room for the 11 months out of the year that it will be in storage.
Another trip to Dollar Tree quickly became necessary as a new idea began brewing… I might even need to go back again for a few more….
Scroll down for many more DIY Christmas Countdown Calendar Ideas for your holiday season!
Are you ready for Christmas? Make personalized hand knit stockings a part of your family tradition.
3 Comments