31 days of warming up to the holidays: {day 26} clothespin Christmas countdown

I came across this pin on Pinterest and loved the countdown…but the link went to tumblr, not a tutorial.  So I did what any good DIY blogger did and made my own!



Here’s what I used to make my clothespin Christmas countdown:
A scrappy board that I found in our shed – it measures 5 1/2 inches x 48 inches
White paint
24 clothespins
Mod Podge
Scrapbook paper – to cover clothespins
Glue gun
Red paint pen

I gave the old, scrappy board a coat of white acrylic craft paint.  I wanted it to be a little rustic looking, so I didn’t worry about sanding it or giving it more than one coat.  While that was drying, I gave the clothespins a quick (and rough) coat of white paint.

Once the clothespins were dry, I cut pieces of red and green patterned scrapbook paper to fit on the “front” of the clothespin.  I Mod Podged the paper on and then put 2 coats of Mod Podge on top to seal them.

Now I was ready to embellish my board.  I printed out the numbers 1-24 using the Century Schoolbook font, size 90.  I cut the numbers apart and arranged them on my board.  I didn’t measure anything exactly, but I did lay all of the clothespins out on the board, trying to spread them out evenly.  I made a little pencil mark at the top of the clothespin so I knew where to place my numbers.

Using my pencil marks as a guide, I taped the top of each number onto the board.  I wanted to numbers to be able to “flip up” so I could trace them.



I traced the numbers onto the board using a method that I found on Pinterest.  It really does work!  You put a piece of newspaper under the paper you want to trace, but on top of the board.  Trace over the numbers with a ball point pen and the print transfers ever so lightly onto your board!
 


After tracing the numbers I went back and filled them in with a red paint pen.  I left the numbers attached to the board until I was finished painting all the numbers – so I could flip the number back to check my work.

The numbers look stamped in the original, and that would definitely be easier – but I wanted to use what I had on hand!



It’s time to attach the clothespins!  I used hot glue, but we’ll see how long that holds up.  I simply used the hot glue gun to attach each clothespin under the number.  (If you have Gorilla Glue or another adhesive, that might be a better long-term option.)





I’ll be back on Friday with different ideas of items that you can “hang” from your clothespins to help your kiddos countdown to Christmas!