12 Days of Christmas Corkboard Countdown Project Tutorial

Love the traditional Christmas carol? Enjoy this fun project to count off the days right before the big event. (Or the more traditional way, to count off the days after Christmas until Festival of the Kings.)  A list of materials follows the tutorial.

Start with a 24x16 corkboard then build out the edges using chair rail molding from the lumber store. (Edges depth should match up.)  Measure and cut the mitered corners carefully. 

Sand the rough edges, attach  molding sections to frame each other at the corners.

Reinforce corners by cutting and gluing pieces of wood lattice to top and bottom project edge measurements.

Corner detail with molding edge face down,
lattice strips on top flush with edges, clamped to dry.

Use a clamp at each corner until the glue is dry.

Fill seams and corners with drywall plaster, let dry, sand. Paint with a sealer, then color coats. 

Next do the math: divide cork area into 12 equal spaces: 4 squares by 3 rows. Determine exact measurements, then cut paper or fabric squares.

Use spray adhesive to attach them to the cork surface.  (Make sure you mask off and cover your work surface to protect from glue overspray first.)

Glue 1/8" wide red grosgrain ribbon over the seams, cutting ribbon ends exactly at edges.

To hide fabric raw edges, cut 1/8" wooden dowels to fit exactly with 45 degree miters at the ends . 

Paint dowels a contrast color. Glue snuggly along the edges of the cork panel.

 Now comes the fun with Silhouette. Use the Twelve Days designs from Snapdragon Snippetts, each sized between 3.5 - 4.5" in the longest dimensions. For durability, cut a pair of each from cream Bazzill heavy cardstock, join, then distress the cut edges.

Use the offset tool (set at 1/8")  in Silhouette to cut two green liner pieces. Make sure you save the hanger hole punch in the same place as the original resized ornaments. Find the tutorial for the offset process at http://www.silhouetteamerica.com/training/section8_7.aspx.

Here are all of the 12 ornaments.   Find other uses for them: gift tags, Christmas cards, wreath or garland embellishments.

Go to SilhouetteAmerica.com to find and shop for these designs.

Final details include a stencilled number on doubled fabric, stitched and edge-frayed










Finished square with card and twill ribbon strip, all elements  glued in place using Fabric-Tac. Also notice the painted green tack and ribbon, and the small gold escutcheon pin perfectly placed to allow the ornament to hang in the square.

Cut a vinyl phrase. Apply to the frame. 

Final idea: Print and cut a matched card shape and mount on the backside.  Turn each over one by one for the countdown.


For a different and simpler project idea using these ornaments, check out my other "12 Days of Christmas Canisters" Project.


LIST OF MATERIALS USED
Snapdragon Snippetts 12 Days of Christmas ornament designs
recycled cork board
chair rail unfinished wood molding
wood lattice strips
1/8" narrow dowels
squares of Christmas fabrics (cream, red, green)
rough weave brown tea-dyed fabric
cream twill tape
red 1/8" grosgrain ribbon
brown vinyl letter phrase
cream and forest green bazill heavy cardstock
brown and green regular cardstock
distress stamp (vintage photo)
painted thumb tacks, gold escutcheon pins
plaster patch compound
acryllic paint: cream, bright green, dark brown
Fabri-Tac glue, adhesive spray, wood glue