12 Days of Christmas, Day 5, Advent Calendar

Okay, at the risk of being obnoxious ;) BEFORE you see day 5 PLEASE take 30 seconds to go vote for my pallet potting bench.  I am closing in on first place, but need your help to take the lead.  THANKS SO MUCH!!

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On the fifth day of Christmas

Beyond The Picket Fence gave to me

An advent calendar that is bright & cheery.

For this advent calendar I started with a bunch of "branch rounds".  However, these really aren't from a branch because I didn't have one.  I did have some wood tree stake poles so I cut one of them up on the chop saw. You could also buy round, wood circles at the craft store. 

After a light sanding of each round, I stained one side and painted chalkboard paint on the other.  My plan was to leave the stained side that way, but it was so dark and not very cheery so instead I painted the one side with red, green, and blue.  

I then painted numbers on them with white paint, drilled a small hole in the top and added an eye hook and some baker's twine.

I grabbed apiece of plywood and laid the number rounds out.  If you are particular, you can use a yardstick to get everything even--me, I am an eyeballer.  

I added screws above each round.

I painted the board white

and then I added a 1"x 2" wood frame.

Now, as my hubby so gently pointed out, these are pretty small to write on with chalk.  But, you can buy a fine tip chalk pen (which I plan to do) or sharpen chalk with a handheld pencil sharpener or draw pictures for the activities that you will include for each day or use a paint pen if you want permanent activities.  

Remember to include lots of community activities like visiting a nursing home or baking for the local fire department.