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Refillable Rustic Advent Calendar

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This refillable rustic advent calendar is the perfect farmhouse Christmas decor. 

Make a beautiful rustic advent calendar that you can refill and use again every year. Advent calendar boxes are the perfect way to create a customized Christmas countdown.

This chalkboard advent calendar is made with 25 little paper mailboxes for you to fill up for each day in December.

This refillable rustic advent calendar is the perfect farmhouse Christmas decor. You can fill your own advent calendar with treats, small presents, or activities to help countdown to Christmas. Housefulofhandmade.com

Do you do an advent calendar for Christmas?

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My kids get so excited for it. As soon as the turkey leftovers are in the fridge, they want to know when we get to start our advent calendar.

Make a rustic advent calendar with these paper advent calendar boxes. You can fill your own advent calendar every year. Housefulofhandmade.com

We have used many different advent calendars, I loved the farmhouse plaid advent calendar I made last year. But I had the idea to make this new refillable rustic advent calendar this year, so I just went for it.

And I am so glad I did because this one is gorgeous!

Create an advent calendar out of paper. This beautiful chalkboard advent calendar is refillable and works perfectly with your farmhouse decor. Housefulofhandmade.com

There are so many different ways you can do an advent calendar. We prefer the activity advent calendar.

Sometimes it can get a little crazy to do a Christmas themed activity every day, so we came up with the perfect solution. I’ve shared all our tips and tricks for how to plan a stress free activity advent calendar.

Now all we needed was the perfect calendar to store those little strips letting the kids know what fun to expect that day.

I love this DIY advent calendar. Make refillable paper advent calendar boxes to create a beautiful rustic advent calendar. Housefulofhandmade.com

I love all things rustic. Nothing makes me happier than reclaimed wood, chippy paint, and a cozy house. All the things I wanted to have in our rustic advent calendar this year.

And since I love how our Letters to Santa mailbox turned out, I decided to stick with the mailbox theme and make these refillable paper mailboxes for our advent calendar. Don’t they look so cute?

Create a rustic advent calendar with these cute paper advent boxes that look like metal mailboxes. Perfect farmhouse Christmas decor. Housefulofhandmade.com

Then I used a piece of foam board to put the cute paper advent calendar boxes on. So easy, all you need is hot glue.

And the foam board can be purchased at the dollar store, bonus!

I even used hot glue to attach the super easy (no mitering required) reclaimed wood frame around the chalkboard advent calendar.

This paper advent calendar is gorgeous! I love the chalkboard and refillable advent calendar boxes. Get the tutorial from Housefulofhandmade.com.

Because I felt like I needed a little something else, I also added this Christmas Countdown banner to the top. It’s the perfect rustic farmhouse advent calendar now.

And those little boxes are perfect to fill your own advent calendar.

Celebrate a beautiful rustic Christmas advent calendar with this free cut file. Perfect Christmas Silhouette Cameo project. Housefulofhandmade.com

If you want to make your own refillable advent calendar, check out the tutorial below. Then don’t forget to check out the rest of my Christmas Decor tutorials.

How to Make a Refillable Advent Calendar

Supplies

  • Cardstock
  • Mailbox template
  • Hot glue gun and glue sticks
  • Foam board (20″ x 25″)
  • Hammered spray paint
  • Chalkboard paint
    • I used chalkboard spray paint, but you can use any chalkboard paint you might have on hand.
  • 1×2 boards
    • I used up some of the reclaimed wood that is filling up my garage, If you do not have reclaimed wood to use, you can always use new 1×2 boards and a wood aging stain like this.
  • Twine
  • Chalk and chalk marker
  • Optional: Silhouette Cameo
    • If you do not have an electronic cutting machine, that is okay! I included a PDF of the mailbox template so you can cut it out with good ol’ fashioned scissors. Just watch your favorite Christmas movie while cutting and enjoy.

Assemble the Advent Mailboxes

Start by cutting out 25 of the mailbox templates out of cardstock. If cutting by hand, score along all the dotted fold lines.

Use this free cut file for to make a refillable rustic advent calendar this year. Housefulofhandmade.com

Assemble the boxes.

  1. Fold along all the fold lines.
  2. Start at the bottom and glue the tabs to the inside of the mailbox bottom.
  3. Secure the tabs on the the side of the mailbox.
  4. Fold the flap behind the mailbox front and trace around the opening so you know where not to put glue. Then add glue to the flap and secure.
  5. Fold the mailbox cover down and trace the latch hole.
  6. Glue the latch together and then attach it to the latch hole.
Assemble paper advent calendars boxes to create a beautiful refillable rustic advent calendar this year. Housefulofhandmade.com

Repeat for all 25 boxes. If you are not in the mood, you could always do a 12 days of Christmas advent calendar. But once cut, the assemble only took me a couple episodes of my current Netflix bing series 😉

After all your boxes are assembled, give them all a coat of hammered metal spray paint to look like galvanized metal. Also, paint the front of your foam board with 2 coats of chalkboard paint.

Spray paint the assembled advent calendar boxes to make them look like metal. Housefulofhandmade.com

Attach the Refillable Boxes

Prime the chalkboard by rubbing a piece of chalk over the entire thing and then erase.

Turn foam board into a chalkboard for the back of this beautiful rustic advent calendar. Housefulofhandmade.com

Now it’s time to glue down the advent calendar boxes. Use a ruler to make sure you line them up correctly.

Start at the bottom and leave 1″ boarder below the bottom of the mailboxes. Glue 5 boxes along the line with 1″ on either side of the foam board and 3/4″ in between the boxes.

Leave 2 1/2″ in between the rows of mailboxes (to allow for room to write the numbers).

Glue the faux metal advent calendar boxes to the back to create the perfect refillable advent calendar. Housefulofhandmade.com

Add the Frame

Once all the boxes are attached cut the 1×2 boards for the frame. Cut 2 pieces at 25″ and attach them to the sides with the hot glue.

Then measure the top and bottom (should be around 21 1/2″ but the boards are never the perfect width so double checking is good). Cut 2 pieces to that measurement and then glue to the top and bottom.

To add the banner, cut the pieces out of colored cardstock. String them onto a piece of twine. Attach it to the top of the rustic advent calendar with hot glue.

Create a simple farmhouse banner to top this beautiful rustic advent calendar. Housefulofhandmade.com

Now you can hang up your advent calendar and fill those adorable advent calendar boxes.

My kids keep checking to see if I have started filling up the boxes with our activities. I will have to wait until Dec 1st so they do not spoil the surprise.

I love this homemade advent calendar. It is made out of paper and you can fill your own advent calendar every year. Housefulofhandmade.com

And tomorrow I am excited to share our Christmas living room tour with you. I’ve never been so excited, it turned out better than I could have hoped!

DIY refillable rustic advent calendar on a board up against the wall sitting on a white console table.

Refillable Rustic Advent Calendar

Yield: 1 Advent Calendar
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Active Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour
Difficulty: Intermediate
Estimated Cost: $10

Advent calendar boxes are a great way to create a customized Christmas countdown. Make a beautiful rustic advent calendar that you can refill and use every year.

Materials

  • Cardstock
  • Mailbox template
  • Foam board (20″ x 25″)
  • Hammered spray paint
  • Chalkboard paint
  • 1×2 boards
  • Twine
  • Chalk and chalk marker

Tools

  • Electronic cutting machine (Silhouette Cameo or Cricut)
  • Hot glue gun and glue sticks

Instructions

  1. Cut out 25 of the mailbox templates out of cardstock.
  2. To assemble each mailbox:
  3. Fold along all the fold lines.
    - Glue the tabs to the inside of the mailbox bottom. Then secure the tabs on the the side of the mailbox.
    - Fold the flap behind the mailbox front and trace around the opening. Add glue to the flap and secure.
    - Fold the mailbox cover down and trace the latch hole. Glue the latch together and then attach it to the latch hole.
  4. Spray the assembled mailboxes with a coat of hammered metal spray paint.
  5. Paint the front of your foam board with 2 coats of chalkboard paint. When dry, prime the chalkboard by rubbing a piece of chalk over the entire thing and then erase.
  6. Glue down the advent calendar boxes.
  7. Cut the 1×2 boards for the frame.
    - Cut 2 pieces at 25″ and attach them to the sides with the hot glue.
    - Measure the top and bottom and cut 2 pieces to that measurement and glue to the top and bottom.
  8. Create the banner by cutting the pieces out of colored cardstock. String them onto a piece of twine.
  9. Attach banner to the top of the rustic advent calendar with hot glue.
  10. Fill your advent calendar and have fun counting down the days until Christmas!

Share the fun!

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Lynn

Tuesday 27th of November 2018

I was just wondering if we could just leave the black poster board as is? I don't have any chalk paint on hand. Does it give a smoother finish is that why you painted?

Kati

Tuesday 27th of November 2018

You definitely could do that. I painted mine so I could use the chalk. I thought I might want to change out the numbers so it made sense to me.

Michelle

Friday 23rd of November 2018

I submitted a request for the templates but have not received them yet. Such a cute idea and really wanted to get started this weekend since kiddos are home for the long holiday weekend.

Kati

Friday 23rd of November 2018

Hello Michelle! I checked and it looks like you haven't clicked the email to confirm your subscription. Double check that the email did not go to junk or promotions. If not, try signing up again. Sometimes the confirmation emails can get lost. If you get it soon, let me know and I will see if I can force it on my end. Have a wonderful weekend with the kids home! We are hoping to get the tree all decorated tomorrow ;)

Kimberly

Saturday 10th of November 2018

Hi! Such a cute idea... love it! Just a question: I downloaded the Studio version but when I try to cut it out on my silhouette, the 'no cut' lines come up and when I click on 'cut,' the bold red lines do not appear. I'm sure there is an easy solution to this, I'm just not sure what it is! Thanks! Kimberly

kimberly

Monday 12th of November 2018

Nevermind, I figured it out. =)

Bob

Sunday 4th of November 2018

How do you make a password to access the templates I already have a account

Bob

Sunday 4th of November 2018

How do you get a password to access the templates I already have a account

Kati

Tuesday 6th of November 2018

You will get an email titled Welcome to Our House with it when you sign up. If you signed up a while ago, I include it at the bottom of each newsletter.

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