Blog hop:

I invite you to visit the projects of all my friends at the end of this tutorial. 

How to make a rustic advent calendar:

I began with a piece of wood I had leftover from another project. 

It was "good wood" with no knot holes or warping. 

I cut it to the size I needed with a small circular saw. 

 

I stained the wood with my favorite stain called Rustoleum Transformation Decorative Glaze. 

It can also be found in Home Depot. 

This stain has a beautiful color, you just paint it on and wipe it off!

After letting the stain dry for a few hours, I used my new Christmas Bingo stencil from Old Sign Stencils.

These stencils are large and very well made. 

You can use them again and again. 

I stenciled most of the stencil with black, I did the tree with green and the bulb with red. 

When the paint was dry I used antique nails and hammered them into the center of each number. 

I found an old brass piece in my stash that represents an ornament. 

I used the metal ornament as a guide on each number so I knew where to place the nail. 

When all the nails were in I attempted to clean up the metal piece a little and realized it was brass. 

I painted the inside of the circle with red and now it looks even better! 

As each day passes and it gets closer to Christmas, we will move the little brass ornament to the next nail. 

You may have noticed that I changed one thing on the stencil as I went along. 

I thought my calendar needed a larger Christmas word at the top. 

I sanded the edges of the board with fine grit sand paper and a little over the words at the top so they look rustic. 

We are so excited to use this junky version of an advent calendar as we count down the days until Christmas with my grandchildren. 

The giveaway is now closed!