Second on the 2nd: Advent calendar

If your T Stands For Tuesday post and your Second on the 2nd post are the same, please add it to BOTH links.

Welcome to year 3 of Second on the 2nd.  I think it's exciting because I was simply thrilled this once monthly event has lasted this long.  This second look is a bit different from others I have shared over the past two years.  Instead of showing one post, I'll be sharing photos from many posts that occurred over the 25 days leading up to Christmas.  Please be aware I had a HORRIBLE camera back then.

Here is how I began this 25 day adventure I posted in 2010:

25 Days of Christmas: My altered advent calendar

A few years ago, I made this Advent Calendar from jewelry boxes. I filled each one with something that could be used in altered art. 

It's no secret I decorate my house with trees, and this is the funkiest tree I own. And it's the only one I made from scratch, too. Although I open it every year, I get a smile on my face with each box, because I only remember Day 1 and Day 25. The rest are always a mystery to me until I open them.

Day 1 begins at the top with the only blue box in the calendar.

It is only appropriate that the tree topper would be a star. This one is made of red felt, something most altered artists own. Happy first day of December and 1st day of Advent.

That was the first advent calendar post.  Now it's time to fast forward to the rest of the advent tree calendar.  It appears I forgot to mention that these boxes are all velvet jewelry boxes given to me by my foodie friend Sally.

Here is the tree with all the boxes opened.  It represents many things an altered artist would use in her/his art.

Now I'll share a few of my favorites.

Here is a recap of Days 1 through 3.   The lid of the star holds some of my handmade paper and a piece of paint chip sample. The Snowman is 3 buttons with toothpicks for arms.

I used miniature playing cards and a bingo marker for Day 3.

This is a metal elephant found in Box 5.  The background is a small version of part of a wallpaper border sample. Lowes (a big box home/hardware store in the US) used to give these out instead of wallpaper samples. I haven't seen these small strips in years, but I was glad I picked this one up, since the palm trees seemed to go so well with the tiny brass elephant.

Here are boxes 1 through 5 open.

Day 11 has one of my favorite box decorations.  I used two matching African beads to denote the day.

This is a photo of Days 7 through 12 open.

Day 14 shows bottle caps and Day 15 includes a small coin envelope filled with money.  One coin is international and real.

When I opened Day 18, I smiled because this honors the fact I've started sewing in my altered books and mixed media projects.

For Day 19 I covered a slide mount with Braille text.  To that I added two tiny clothespins.

Day 20 started with a map for a background, then I curled a piece of wire and added a small compass.

Here are Days 11 through 21 with the boxes open.  You can see fibers, ribbons, and a tag hanging from Day 21.

I can't say Day 22 is necessarily a favorite, but I colored cardstock and punched many, many hands that I turned into a wreath.

For Day 24, out popped a set of vintage sparkly earrings. Now I could have altered them, but at the time I made the box, I just couldn't bring myself to do so. They look too sweet this way.

It's really hard to see this dimensional ribbon with my old, worthless camera

and maybe even more difficult to see from the top.

Now it's time to see the tree open one final time.

Thanks for joining me as I looked back on this advent tree that holds altered book embellishments I created using velvet jewelry boxes.

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Now it's time to share your Second on the 2nd.  The rules are quite simple and everyone is welcome to join the fun look back.  All you have to do is bring back a post that you are especially proud of, or perhaps one you shared before anyone knew your blog existed.  Any post, any genre, any artistic endeavor is acceptable.  Then link below (direct links only, please) and Bleubeard and I, along with other Second on the 2nd friends, will be by to visit.   Please be aware this link is only open for five days, so linking on the 2nd is preferred and encouraged.  And please don't forget if your T Stands For Tuesday post and your Second on the 2nd post are the same, please add it to BOTH links.