it’s come to this …

I originally saw this idea when Impress Your Kids linked up to My Sweet & Simple Life.  Evan is all about the calendar these days.  He wants to know when his birthday is, when Christmas is, when … well any other holiday that equates to him getting a gift!!

So when I saw this Activities Tree I thought I would use it as a way for our family to countdown to Thanksgiving Day.  If you know me in real life, then you know I am anything BUT crafty!!  So you might be surprised when I decided to do this.  The inspiration piece was made of construction paper & then she laminated it so she could use it for different seasons throughout the year – brilliant!!

Is it mean to admit that I’m not a big fan of construction paper & I wish my fridge was clean again (without kid magnets & drawings – ha!)  So anyways, I attempted to make something fairly permanent & hopefully cute enough to hang in the house:)

So I started on my mission … and I actually finished it (almost) the very same day!!!  Another shocker for me!!

Here’s what I used:

1 thin sheet of birch wood for the backing

1 piece of magnetic sheeting w/self adhesive

*Note – I got super lucky & the birch wood was the exact same cut/size as the magnetic sheeting – no cutting required!!

Several sheets of printed paper – remnants worked perfect!

1 package of magnetic tape (I went for the pre-cut circles, but you could also use the long strips & cut)

Market to write

Craft Glue

Here’s what I did:

Line one side of the birch wood with the Self-Adhesive Magnetic Sheeting.

Line wood with Magnetic Sheeting

Glue paper to the magnetic sheet to make “pretty”.

Cut out the shape of a tree (I’m not crafty enough to have branches!!).

Cut out all the leaves (I just made one free-hand then traced & cut the others so they’d be similiar in size & shape).

Magnetic Leaves

Write the numbers for each day of “the count” on each leaf.Glue the leaves to the small magnetic tape.

And …

Our Thanksgiving Countdown Calendar

I still need to screw in hooks & tie a ribbon to hang it up.  And by self-admission it might be a “tad” busy.   But we’re going to keep it in our kitchen.  Each day we’ll remove a leaf & let Evan tell us one thing he’s thankful for that day (that should be interesting!!).  That leaf will then fall to the base of the tree & we’ll have our countdown:)

So if you don’t know me you may not be impressed but if you do then you should give me some comment love & pat me on the back … Either way, it works for me!

For more Works for Me Wednesday ( it’s the Holiday Edition) or to hook up to your own, visit We Are That Family!