{create this} beribboned trees advent dry erase frame

Here we are again on Friday ... (or Thursday, but I'm off work and this post was already drafted!) and the Friday after Thanksgiving at that!!  If your Thanksgiving was anything like ours, you were stuffed to the gills with food and good times!  What could be better?!  And if you have the luxury of a couple days off, hopefully between leftover turkey sandwiches and footballs games, you can squeeze in some crafting.  Because I have a simply sweet project that you can do this weekend and use alllllllll winter long!!

If this looks a little familiar, this was the project I submitted for the Handmade Holidays Series featuring STYROFOAM™ Brand Foam over at Under the Table and Dreaming :)

Since I am like a kid in a candy store for all things celebratory (seriously, I will celebrate my birthday all month long if you'll let me!), I wanted to create a project that our family could use to count down to all the fun stuff coming up in this busy winter holiday season.  Behold:  my Beribboned Trees Advent Dry Erase Frame!!

To get started, you probably have the following items stashed away at home:

• 1 photo frame (size of your choice) - I used a frame with an inner space of 8 x 10
• Ribbon scraps
• Low temperature hot glue gun
• Straight pins
• Festive holiday and white card stock
• Stamps/ink - or print the "days until" phrase using your printer
• One 6" x 4" STYROFOAM (TM) Brand Foam cone
• One 4" x 3" STYROFOAM (TM) Brand Foam cone
• Three 1" STYROFOAM (TM) Brand Foam balls
• Winter Snow (from one 4 liter bag)

(R) TM Trademark of The Dow Chemical Company ("Dow") or an affiliated company of Dow.  Disclosure:  I received the STYROFOAM (TM) Brand Foam products in exchange for creating and posting this project.

Let's work with the cones, first:

I used a regular old kitchen steak knife to cut each cone in half and I didn't have any issues at all!  Just take your time and I would suggest cutting in something to catch any of the little flakes.  (I used the cardboard insert from a case of bottled water.)

Now, using a sponge/foam brush and acrylic paint, paint each halved cone with a fun, merry color and allow to dry.  

I wanted a modern, funky feel so I used leaf green, Tahitian blue and fuchsia.

Once your cone trees are dry, use straight pins  to secure coordinating ribbons scraps around the trees.  (You can also use glue but straight pins were quick and easy!)
  

Think ric-rac, lace, velvet ribbon, fun little pom poms and different widths and textures to give your trees character!  Don't forget to add a twiggy stem to each tree, too!

 For the frame:

1. Select a piece of festive card stock and trim it to fit in your frame.
2. Trim a piece of white card stock a bit smaller.  In my 8" x 10" frame, I trimmed my white card stock to 5" x 7".  Stamp your "days until" phrase.  (If you are using your printer, print the phrase before trimming your white card stock.)
3. I inked the edges of my white card stock with hot pink ink - basically, run an ink pad along the edges of your paper to add a touch of color and character - and then adhered it to the larger piece of card stock.
4. BEFORE you place your card stock insert in your frame, add a small amount of Winter Snow onto the inside bottom of the glass to add a snowy landscape to your frame.  (The Winter Snow should be between the glass and the cardstock.)
5. Place your card stock insert in the frame (on top of the Winter Snow) and secure it in place.

For the finishing touch, using your low temperature glue gun, affix the trees to the outside of the frame and add a 1" ball of STYROFOAM (TM) Brand Foam to the top of each tree.  Here are a couple close ups of my finished trees:

Believe it or not, you can use regular dry erase markers on the glass and wipe it away!!   That means you can count down to all sorts of fun things as get-togethers, parties and special events draw closer.  Here are a few ways to use this around your home ...


Paris?  I wish!!  Santa ... are you listening?!  ;)

I hope you were inspired to {create this}! 

This post was shared at the parties on my Link page!