COOKIE SHEET ADVENT CALENDAR

Last week I mentioned a big project I had been working on but couldn't show it until I was able to give it to my friend as a Christmas gift. My friend, Lorri Heiling, has been the best friend a girl could ask for ... especially recently after my surgery. Lorri not only made a meal for my family soon after my surgery but continued to deliver meals from other weSTAMPers! Lorri is one busy gal yet always finds the time to check in to see how I'm doing and always has the right words of encouragement. Since my return to full-time work, Lorri has taken on the majority of the weSTAMP responsibilities. Her friendship has been a huge blessing in my life! Tonight, Allie drove me over to Lorri's house where I was able give this gift to her to express my thanks and appreciation. We had a GREAT time having a mini Christmas get-together with our daughters (who had never met, and have so much in common!) and Lorri's son.

So, what is this project? ... It's a Cookie Sheet Advent Calendar! I was completely inspired by Dena Rekow's Cookie Sheet Advent Calendar. The main ingredients for this project are the Cookie Sheet, Favor Tins, Ski Slope Designer Paper, and Sticky Strip Adhesive. (I prefer to use Sticky Strip Adhesive when adhering paper to anything other than paper). Ski Slope DP turned out to be a great choice because of all the wonderful holiday colors that I could use to design each Favor Tin lid ... Real Red, Old Olive, Baja Breeze, and Chocolate Chip.

Project Details .....
* The background of the Cookie Sheet is covered in Ski Slope DP.
* Each lid of the Favor Tins is decorated in it's own unique way (see close-up photos below) ... this was the most difficult but funnest and most rewarding part of the project for me. The majority of the lid decor was started with a 1 3/4" Circle Punch of Ski Slope DP, and another 1 3/4" Circle Punch of the same Ski Slope DP pattern adhered to the inside of each lid for a more finished look. (The lids of the Favor Tins are transparent, so if a circle wasn't added to the inside, you would see the adhesive that attached the front circle).
* Each diameter of the base of the Favor Tins is covered in coordinating Ski Slope DP, and each Favor Tin base is adhered to the Cookie Sheet with Sticky Strip.
* The whole time I was working on the project, I wasn't sure how I was going to incorporate the numbers for the countdown of the days. I ended up doing the numbers as the very last thing but it surprisingly turned out OK. I simply printed the numbers 1-24 on Baja Breeze, Real Red, and Old Olive CS, punched them out with 1/4" Circle Punch and adhered to each lid design with a Mini Glue Dot. After I took the photos above, I changed my mind about the ribbon. The above photos show a tied bow adhered with some glue dots (which didn't hold for long). After taking the photos, I decided to use my Crop-A-Dile to make holes in the top of the Cookie Sheet, added some Jumbo Eyelets, and made a ribbon hanger for the Advent Calendar.I begged Lorri to not give me anything for Christmas ... I wanted to make this for her to show my appreciation for all she's done for me ... all throughout the year. Well, she doesn't listen very well and gave me two really really cool things! You're gonna love 'em! I'll get them photographed and posted sometime tomorrow.

Edited to Add: Favor Tins are small round tins (2" diameter x 7/8" high) with clear lids usually found in the wedding section of your local craft store. I've even seen them at Walmart in the wedding craft section. The brand I purchased is Wilton.