During this blog post, I got kind of sentimental..
Last week, I started to clean the attic (seems to be a task for a whole century) and discovered my first crafted Advent calendar. I made years before I started my diy blog.

It's pretty colorful - perfectly for a kids' Advent calendar craft. Find the instructions and materials below, if you want to make your own Advent Calendar.

First, cut out 24 equally-sized rectangles from the felt. Fold them in the middle of the longer side, afterwards sew them together on the two longer sides on the edge with thread in matching colors. I did it manually, but I think you can also use the sewing machine.

Afterwards you turn the little bags inside out and inscribe the numbers. I made the effort to create patterns and spray the numbers on the bags - I think the result would have been better, if I had just written down them with paint stick. Plus, it would have been much quicker.

For the hanging, use thick wool or thread and sew the bags to the wool/thread.

Despite it's no German tradition, I love Halloween. The costumes, the horror movies, the scary food..

Hopefully, some dressed up kids will show up and demand sweets. If so, I'm optimally prepared. I took the opportunity to make some easy Halloween crafts for kids and created cute candy bags.
Find the instructions below, in case you want to copy them.

First, draw rectangles with the following measures onto the gift wrap paper: length 9.5 inch (24 cm), width 4.5 inch (11 cm). Cut out the rectangles. Afterwards, fold the rectangles in the middle to receive rectangles with around 4.8 inch (12 cm) x 4.5 inch (11 cm).

Stick together the longer sides on the edge. Next, cut out an irregular flame pattern at the remaining open side of the bag.

Bah.. Weather has been really bad here lately. It's starting to freeze in the morning.
Time to prepare for winter and get a knitted scarf. I like my scarves extremely huge, which is why I usually have to knit them myself.

If you have never knitted before: Scarves are quite easy to make and a good project for knitting beginners. Find my extra large knitted scarf and how to make it below!

The knitting of the scarf is quite simple. You start with a row of plain stitches, continue with a row of purls, then use plain stitches again and so on. Continue as long as you want - dependent on the size your stripes should have at the end. Once you're done with a stripe, continue in a new color and cut off the wool of the previous color. As soon as your scarf is done, bind off the stitches and sew up the remaining threads.

In case, you never knitted before and don't know anything about plain stitches or purls: there are lots of cool tutorials on Youtube, that show you exactly how to do it.

You're done earlier, if you buy bulky wool in a huge size.

This project was really a looooot of work. Honestly. But it was worth it in the end.
Okay, now from the start. We bought several new shelves for our storage room (well, it should have been our office, but ended as a storage room..).

The shelves were basically ok, but I was really unhappy with the door handles. They look kind of cheap and also pretty boring. Something had to be done..

Which is why I show you my painted shelves diy this week :)

Then, cover the area for the stripes with masking tape and paint the handles in a new color. After the second color is dry, remove the masking tape.
Sometimes, the result gets blurred on the edges. If so, use a small brush to correct the stripes.

To increase pleasant anticipation, I made a diy advent calendar. It's been so much fun! Find my homemade diy calendar with instructions below.

I found a really nice pine branch in the forest - it was the base for my calendar. To have enough space for your gift boxes, make sure your branch is widely ramified. Let it dry for a few days, if it's still wet. You can order take out boxes on the Internet, they're not expensive. 

First, paint the numbers on the boxes. Afterwards, fix the boxes to the branch using wire.

Well, at least it will be, if you have - like me - thousands of necklaces, bracelets and earrings in desperate search of their partner..
Let's end the search and craft a decorative solution! There are lots of great diy jewelry storage ideas on the net - maybe my hanging jewelry organizer in a picture frame is the right one for you.

Jewelry Storage Ideas - Instruction and Materials Needed

• Styrofoam boards
• Picture frames
• Lots of pins
• Knife (Sharp!)
• Pencil
• Ruler
• Colorful fabric (optional)

Afterwards, put the Styrofoam board into the picture frame, set the pins - done!
Shaping the Styrofoam makes a mess, but the result is worth it. To individualize your jewelry organizer, use colorful fabric to cover the Styrofoam and adapt it to your likes (see also Jewelry Storage Ideas for more ideas).