A happy hello, crafty friends! I hope you are having a lovely day today. One of my very favorite things to do with my family every year is a countdown to Christmas. Sometimes, we do a traditional advent calendar that I’ve filled myself with little treats, or we might do one we picked up at the drugstore, and I’ve even gotten us one filled completely with chocolate (that was mostly for me, I’m afraid!) There is just something so fun and festive about an advent calendar, and none are quite as special as one made by hand. This week, I thought I’d share some gorgeous and fabulous advent creations from our awesome Creative Team using our Matchbox Die and accessories. Today, I’ve got an absolutely beautiful “12 Days of Christmas” advent by the very talented Keia Shipp-Smith. Check it out…

How stunning is this? Keia confessed that she doesn’t do a lot of home decor crafting for the holidays (and I for one am shocked because after seeing this creation, I think she should be doing more!) She began by choosing her color palette, which is an array of rich, bold, traditional colors in deep shades of red, gold, and green. She cut out 12 Matchboxes in complimentary colors like Toffee, Espresso, and Buttercream before sitting down to embellish.

Keia stamped with TE Matched Premium Ink images from our Holiday Florals and die cut with coordinating dies, as well as with our Clearly Planned – Candy Cane Numbers. Along with a few of her favorite Little Bits dies, she also added some sequins for a bit of festive fun. I love how she filled the boxes with things like mini perfume and even little dies!

To display her gorgeously embellished boxes, Keia hot-glued each to mini wreaths she found at a local craft store, adding some holiday and seasonal ephemera in between, finishing off with a bright, pretty bow for a pop of color. Wouldn’t you just love to celebrate with Keia?

Thank you so much, Keia, for sharing this advent project with us! Tune in tomorrow as Kim Singdahlsen shows off a super cute advent that will have you hunting of treasure. Have a joyful day!