Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Pottery Barn Inspired Branch Advent Calendar



I saw this Pottery Barn Branch Advent Calendar, and I fell in love...then I looked at the price $299.00

Holy Cow!

I mean it's cool, but 300 bucks for some buckets and branches? 

My next though was, I'm pretty sure I could make something like that for a lot less.
So I came up with my supply list:

branches 
(our apple tree just fell down so those were perfect!)
Spray Paint 
Paint for Numbers
Rope or Twine
25 Buckets or Cups
Hole Punch 
Items to put inside the buckets.

I used plastic red cups that were about 3-4 inches tall.


 Spray painting them worked great. I usually always have drips when I paint, but I didn't have any with these.

 Next I took a hole punch and punched a whole on both sides of the cups.

 I painted the numbers on with white acrylic paint.



 I took the twine and put it through the whole and tied a knot. If I did it over again, I would just tie one side and tie the other after I hung them. I tied both thinking I could just slip it over the branch but I ended up having to untie and retie a lot of them.

 I put two of these hooks in my ceiling about 2-3 feet apart and about 4 inches from the wall.



 I took the twine, tied a knot in the top then wrapped it around the branch and tied it.


It should look something like this when you're done.I realize that mine looks a little different from the pottery barn one. I really like it though!

I think I could have put something heavy in the bottoms of the cup to make them hang a bit straighter (like the pottery barn one) but I feel like it has a little more character this way.

 I filled the buckets full of silly little things like; tattoos, stickers, socks, sunglasses, undies, fruit rolls, and some left over Halloween candy.



I can't wait for the count down to begin!

38 comments:

Ambrosia said...

You did a great job! I can't believe how those little red cups look JUST like buckets!!! I may do this for my boys.

Amy @ Increasingly Domestic said...

Oh my gosh! So cute!
I think that I like yours better than PB...it's more rustic looking:)
So rad!

Marcie @ DWYH said...

Love this project! Thanks for sharing :)!

Laura at Ms. Smartie Pants said...

You are brilliant!!! I knew someone would do a knock off of this but the plastic cups was very clever and inexpensive idea!!!

Louisa said...

How cool! I love it! I've already made two Advent calendars. Now I want to make one like yours as well.

Tam-A-Roo said...

Wow! I was just at my dollar store yesterday looking for some small pots...I think I might try your version...amazing!!

Thanks for sharing!

AttemptingAloha said...

Great job! I was just about to list my "PB-Inspired Advent" on Remodelaholic, and yours was listed directly above mine. he he he.

Feel free to check it out. I used the fabric one more for my inspiration.

http://attemptingaloha.blogspot.com/2010/11/blue-and-silver-christmas-day-5-advent.html

Again, lovely advent. I just became a follower (almost to 100!). Keep those cheap knock-offs coming!!

Aloha,

charlie

EditorK said...

I added this project to our site and linked to you. We are looking for more Christmas Crafts as well, so if you have any similar projects please feel free to let me know.

Kirsten
kkwon@primecp.com
Editor, www.allfreechristmascrafts.com

Beth said...

When I saw this in the PB catalog I just knew it had "copy me" written all over it and you have done a FABULOUS job at making it your own! Love the use of the red cups. So cute!

Heather - Dollarstorecrafts.com said...

Sweet! My favorite thing is that you made those cups look JUST like buckets! Very well done. I just linked up at Dollar Store Crafts. http://dollarstorecrafts.com/?p=8583

Elizabeth said...

You did such a great job with this! Looks so great! Would love for you to come and link up to Made with Love Monday at Sew Chatty this week! http://sewchatty.blogspot.com/

Wendy said...

I love this ! What a beautiful, natural look. And, man, I never would have guessed those were spray-painted plastic cups. Good thinking!!

Unknown said...

I love the natural look the tree branches give. And good for you for being so ahead of the game. I have the supplies to make my own Advent calendar and there they sit. Not to mention all of the little things that need to be found and purchased for each day.

Jill said...

Oh that looks fantastic! What a great job! and far better than a store bought version! I can't believe how realistic your sprayed cup buckets look!
Thanks for linking this to A Round Tuit!
Hope you have a lovely week!

Jill @ Creating my way to Success
http://jembellish.blogspot.com/

Katie Brown said...

You did a great job with this! I love it!

Meredith said...

this is awesome. no joke. love it.

McClure Family said...

Awesome job!!

I linked to you here: http://mcclurefamilyspace.blogspot.com/2010/11/advent-calender-ideas.html

Unknown said...

what a brilliant idea!

Charity said...

Love it! I just wrote a post about the different varieties of advent calenders, and I added the pottry barn one because I think it is SO cute. Come check out the rest:

http://allthingsbeautiful-charity.blogspot.com/2010/11/advent-calendars.html

You did a great job!

Moms Crafty said...

Love this!! And the cups look just like buckets and your PB knockoff is a huge success! Got to make this for the holidays.

Anonymous said...

I really thought these were little buckets when I first saw the pics. This is so cute! I'm including it in my Friday Favorites this week!

Pickled Pink said...

You did an AWESOME job! I absolutely love it & just may have to "borrow" it:)

Bella @ Bella before and after said...

Yup I'd say you def hit the target on this one. How much more awesome can you get girl???? I would NEVER EVER EVER spend 300 bucks on that pottery barn thingy, but shoot yours turned out better than I could have imagined. Oh and the fact you got an awesome silver manicure is just better, lol, cute!!

I MUST try this one out. Wonder all the different ways you could use this. GREAT idea.

Thanks so much for linking to **Amaze me AUgust** and I have to add this to my holiday party as well ** 6 weeks 2 JINGLE** hope you don't mind.

Thanks again,

Bella :)

Oh and please come back soon, to enter a HUGE giveaway, as of now there are SEVEN gifts up for grabs. You won't want to miss this!!

Sassy Sites! said...

I featured this over at Trash to Treasure Tuesday... what a TREASURE!!! I am in love with this idea! I think you are a genius for using the red plastic cups! :) Tomorrow is Christmas advent link up, I would love for you to link this one up then too! :)

Theprincessandthetot said...

I could not have been more shocked to see that this was made from plastic cups. I was sure that you had found little tin pails. You did a fantastic job and it is just adorable!! Enjoy starting it tomorrow!!!

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

Thanks so much for linking up to Handmade Tuesdays @ Ladybug Blessings! I love that you made this with cups, super creative!! I'm actually featuring it in my next post :)

Unknown said...

Looks great!

Nichelle @ Vintage Wanna Bee said...

LOVE THIS! GREAT JOB!

Thanks for linking up at Tatertots and Jello! I'd love for you to come check out my blog:

http://vintagewannabee.blogspot.com/

Mucho love!
Nichelle

P.S. I'm your newest follower!

The Painted Home said...

love this! i wanted to make one, but was too cheap to by 25 buckets!! great idea with the paper cups! -denise

kim west said...

it looks amazing! I love it! i love that spray painted cups..I thought they were real buckets! AWESOME JOB!

Anonymous said...

Wow, that's amazing! Thanks for sharing this great tutorial! I'm your newest follower, stopping by from Tatertots & Jello!

Mari @ Choochmagooz said...

Fantastic...And I like it more than the PB one too. Like the rustic look and definitely prefer the price! $299...REALLY!?!

Bella @ Bella before and after said...

Hey Macey, just wanted to let you know I FEATURED you today. I really LOVED your take on this advent calendar, and am a bit LATE on getting some of these features out, BUT, I do appreciate you all so much. Thanks for linking to **Amaze me AUgust**, I LOVE having you, and really look forward to what you do next.

Thanks again, and make sure to come grab yourself a button, and display it proudly girl!!

Bella :)

AmyH said...

LOVE this! Thanks for auditioning for American Crafter:)

Linda@CraftaholicsAnonymous said...

So stinkin awesome! Love it!
happy crafting!
Linda

Brandi said...

Such a great idea! i love that you spray painted the cups. It turned out so cute.

Unknown said...

great idea. i love the combination of wood and silver.

I linked to your tutorial on my blog - thanks for sharing!

doro K.

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