Tonight our craft club made these Christmas Countdown blocks:

Last year I made this advent calendar while on bed rest. Kate loved counting the days until Christmas and eating a chocolate Kiss each day with breakfast. I was excited for this month’s McKinney Marthas craft because I knew Kate would love changing the blocks each day. As opposed to an advent calendar that marks the days of December, this craft counts the days left until Christmas.

To make your own Christmas countdown, you will need:

* two 3.5″ wood cubes (I had Home Depot cut a 4×4 into cubes. Did you know a 4×4 is actually 3.5″ and not 4″ ? How confusing).

* one wood piece for base measuring 3.5″ wide x 8″ long x 2″ thick (I had Home Depot cut a 2×4 for this. Again, the 2×4 is only 3.5″ wide. Who named that?)

* Mod Podge

* twelve coordinating scrapbook papers cut into 3″ squares

* one 1.5″ x 7.5″ scrapbook paper rectangle

* 2.5″ tall vinyl numbers or stencils (you could also freehand the numbers with a Sharpie)

* 1.25″ tall vinyl word or stencil for base (again you could freehand with a Sharpie. Mine says “Merry Christmas”)

* acrylic craft paint

After you have your materials, let’s get going :)

1.  Paint cubes and base with acrylic paint. Let dry.

2.  Apply a thin layer of Mod Podge on all sides of cubes and place a 3″ square of scrapbook paper right side up on each side. Also apply a thin layer of Mod Podge to the front of the base and adhere the 1.5″ x 7.5″ scrapbook paper.

3. Add vinyl numbers or stencil cubes. Important note!!!

For the first block you will need: 0,1,2,3,4,5

For the second block you will need: 0,1,2,6,7,8

Please make sure your number 6 is a font that can be flipped to look like a 9

4. Add your vinyl word or stencil to the base.

5. Add a thin layer of Mod Podge on all sides of the cubes and base! Let dry :)

PS – Quick shout out to Melanie and Leah in Tulsa!