{DIY} 13 Days of Halloween Advent Calendar

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Advent calendar for Halloween…YES, Please!!!

We celebrate Halloween the whole month of October around our house with crafts, baking, and movies. The 13 Days of Halloween Advent Calendar is another fun way to celebrate the spooky season. The 13 Days can be counted down any way you wish! One way would be to count down from the 19th of October to the 31st, or you can pick 13 random days throughout the month with the final day being on Halloween. This has been one of my most favorite craft projects to date! I hope you enjoy making one too!

What to put in the boxes? Trick or Treating usually provides a good stash of candy that tends to last for six months in the candy bowl. Here are some ideas of non-candy tricks and treats:

• Halloween Fairy Garden Figures
• Halloween Jokes/Riddles
• Plastic Fangs
• Special Halloween Treats
• Coupons for Family Outings
• Temporary Tattoos
• Halloween Crafts

Supplies Needed:

• 1 Paper Mache 25 box advent calendar
• 2 Paper Mache “Books”
• 1 Paper Mache Cylinder Container
• Black Craft Paint
• Foam Paint Brushes
• Elmer’s Glue
• Black Tissue Paper (2-4 sheets)
• Purple Tissue Paper (1 sheet)
• Orange Tissue Paper (1 sheet)
• Hot Glue Gun and Glue

Additional Materials: Any Halloween Decoration you want to use to put in the empty boxes and outside of the calendar! I bought my decorations from several different stores.

• Battery Operated String Lights
• Skeleton Rat and Skull
• Halloween Spider Web and Spiders
• Mini Halloween Figures
• Skulls
• Tombstones
• Jack-o-lanterns
• Witches Brooms

For the Banner and Numbers: I used my Cricut to cut out the numbers for the boxes, the lettering for the banner, and the banner pieces. If you do not have one, you can do these by hand, or you can purchase pre-cut pieces and number stickers.

Purple and Orange Vinyl
Black Cardstock Paper
Black Jute or Yarn

Directions:

1. Paint inside/outside of the paper mache container and 10 boxes with black paint.

   

   

2. Cut 2-4 sheets of black tissue paper into about 1-inch squares.
3. Tear 1 sheet purple and 1 sheet orange tissue paper into about 1-inch squares
4. Once the paint has dried completely, usually overnight, then you can begin to “mache” the container and boxes with the black tissue paper.
   

   

   

   

   

• • • Make a glue/water mixture by filling the bottom of a plastic cup (just until you no longer see the bottom of the cup) with craft glue. Then add about ¼ cup of water. Stir with a foam paint brush. (Be sure to stir this mixture periodically.)
    • Dampen the surface with a thin layer of the glue/water mixture.
    • Randomly place pieces of black tissue paper.
    • Gently wet the pieces of tissue using the foam brush and glue/water mixture. Be sure to work from the center of the tissue out.
    • As the tissue pieces dry, you will be able to see where you missed placing tissue pieces.
    • Do this until the entire outside of the advent container is complete as well as the front of the black boxes.

5. You will repeat the “mache” technique to cover the purple, orange, and mixed colored boxes as well as the cylinder and books without painting them first.

6. Once everything has been completely dried add your numbers to the front of your 13 boxes. I used a Cricut machine to cut the numbers with purple, orange, and black vinyl.
7. Add your Halloween embellishments with a hot glue gun.

• • • Look for fairy garden figurines or anything that is small enough to fit into the empty spaces of the advent container. The spider web easily fills boxes.
    • Have fun with the different decorations and placement.

8. I used cardstock paper and a black ink pad with letter stamps to complete the letting for the books and the saying on the cylinder. Glue those on with the hot glue gun.
9. Glue the paper mache books closed, glue them together, and then glue them to the side of the advent calendar. Glue the black cylinder to the other side of the advent container.
10. For the banner, I also used the Cricut machine to cut out the black banner pieces as well as the lettering. You can also buy pre-made banner pieces and lettering or cut them out by hand.

• • • Once you have the banner pieces complete with the lettering, use the hot glue gun to glue the pieces to the black jute.
    • String the banner across the top of the advent calendar. I used two small tree figures and mini clothes pins.

11. Finish with stringing battery operated lights around your creation and adding special tricks and treats to your boxes!