Library Pocket Advent | Tutorial

Here it is!  Can I tell you how much I love it?!   It is exactly how I wanted it to turn out.  Well maybe even better than I hoped.    I love it when that happens.     

Each and every tiny detail brings a smile to my face.  The colors, the bling, the tape and twine,  the unperfect perfectness, all in one happy, christmas-y place.

I love that I took the time.  The time to think of what I wanted and how I wanted to make an advent calendar.  The time to dig through my supplies to find little treasures.  The time to make it just right and even redo if I wasn't perfectly in love with something.  The time to make something that can be with us for a long time.  

Are you in need of an advent calendar?  You can learn  how to make your own after the jump... 

Supplies you will need...

Cardstock or Library Pockets.  {I used a pack of Kraft paper from Hobby Lobby.}

Scissors and other  basic craft supplies 

Embellishments of your choice

A large frame or some way to display your advent

There are a couple of ways you can cut out your envelopes.  You can just buy some from etsy, or use your craft cutter.  You can also find a template online to trace and cut.  I cut one with my Silhouette and used it as a template.  I traced two on a page then cut them out.  Now I know you are thinking WAIT! STOP!  Jenn  you STINK at cutting things out!!  I know its true.   But I had some handy tools and I didn't want to waste paper since the silhouette could only fit one per page and I could fit two.  I used my corner rounder, a scoring rotary blade for the folds, and the bigshot to cut out those perfect circle notches.  I didn't do too bad on the straight lines either.  After you get all twenty five envelopes cut out then its time to fold and glue.  

This is the funnest part for me.  It also took me the longest.  I tend to stare at things for a long time until I know what I want to do.  I love how each and every envelope turned out. I used all of my most favorite things to get them just right.  If your envelopes are going to be all different then I recommend laying out your envelopes in the rows you want so that you can get the whole picture, while working on the individual pockets.

Once I finally got all my envelopes done I got my frame out and put the twine in.  You can use whatever kind of string you want for this!  Mine is red and brown twist from Ikea.  I used pushpins in my giant frame so I could move them easily to get the lines all straight.  

Now you can hang up those cute library pockets!  I had these mini clothespins that I spray painted black forever ago and they are perfect.  I also added in some small bulldog clips just to mix it up a bit.  Once you've got them hung you can step back and admire your new advent, all ready to be filled with activities and fun things for Christmas time.