Tutorial: DIY Pom Pom Advent Calendar

This year we tried to buy an advent calendar but couldn't find a nice wooden one.  Then I saw this one online at Target and was ready to buy it.

But it sold out quickly.

Then I saw this one online at Sears but it too was sold out.

We could've done chocolate filled calendars but I wanted the option to choose what went into the calendar.  I thought about doing a banner like my birthday banner (with pockets) but wasn't able to sew anything because I had laser eye surgery 3 weeks ago and recovery has been slow.

So while my eyes were resting from the surgery, I had a lot of time to think about what to make.  It had to be simple, fast, and use materials that I already had in my home.  Then it hit me... a pom pom advent garland!

Here's what you need:
Yarn
Needle
Pom pom maker or piece of cardboard to wrap the yarn around
Clothespins
Paper

I actually made the pom poms with my eyes closed.  I wrapped my yarn around the pom pom maker 70 times, had the kids cut the yarn for me, and eventually ended up with 25 pom poms.

Next, I made my envelopes because I couldn't find tiny envelopes anywhere.   I went to dafont.com and used a holiday font for the numbers and trees.  I printed out 24 templates and started cutting. 

I was happy when the envelopes were all done.

Now you're ready to put it together!  Estimate how much yarn you'll need for the garland.  Thread the needle and then pass the needle through the thickest part of the pom pom.  Then thread it through the clothespin.  Repeat and make sure you space them apart. 

Test it out and see what it looks like with your envelopes.

I threaded the rest without attaching the envelopes. 

And here's the whole thing

As we take down envelopes, we can start putting up Christmas cards or use it to hang small art projects.

Tomorrow is Dec 1... we have until tomorrow morning to figure out what's going in those little envelopes.  Joshie thinks I should put a Pokemon card in each one...  what would you put inside?