DIY ADVENT CALENDAR

Hello my little chestnuts!

I hope you have some time to spare this afternoon to make this advent calendar! Obviously, the do it yourself was scheduled for Wednesday... But as you may have noticed, I've had a few unforeseen problems with my website at the start of the week... So I'm sorry and I hope you're one of those people who do things backwards and don't mind starting to make an advent calendar at the beginning of December...

So here we are, presenting our geometric Advent calendar, made of blue, black and grey paper modules and other little "moons". We've thought of this calendar as an installation to be hung with a hook, like a sort of cascade of surprises! Or, if you decide to hang the calendar against a wall, you'll have a Christmas tree! We're proud of our invention!

The "balls" are big enough to fill an advent calendar with "big" surprises! No, dear parents, don't thank me... Besides, it's a great activity to do with these little ones, perfect for introducing them to geometry in space... I can't hide the fact that I would have loved to have been able to do this when I was little, it would have played down geometry and mathematics, the real anxieties of my younger years...

Time: a short afternoon
Cost: €20
Difficulty : It's as easy as pie, because everything is explained to you, and I recommend that you download the ball pattern, the numbers and the instructions: HERE

For this DIY you'll need :

- 240g paper in various colors,
- ball pattern,
- number pattern,
- a scalpel,
- a ruler,
- string (approx. 14m),
- 24 eyelets,
- hole punch,
- eyelet pliers,
- glue,
- India ink,
- white paint,
- 7 key rings,
- paintbrush,
- toothbrush.

Assemble the two pieces, using the red tab as a guide, and glue them together.

Then trace the pattern on paper, making sure to draw all the little lines on the solid tabs. Cut out your paper, and get your scalpel.

Using your ruler, pre-trace the folds of your ball (the dotted lines on the pattern), remembering that, as with ice cream.

Then fold your edges and start gluing the facets together using the tabs. Remember to leave the ball open to fill and finish... (BIG surprise we say).

Take your hole punch, make a hole on one side, then place the eyelet.

Secure it with the pliers. Now take your Indian ink, dilute it and start painting your ball, in a random fashion, creating darker circles for the craters. Don't hesitate to go over the same spot several times to create depth, hence the importance of having slightly thick paper!