12, 13, 14… Advent Calendar = Check!

OH MY! That only took two weeks longer than it was supposed to! Finally finished on Day 14…

I checked out all sorts of Advent calendars and designed one made of 4 or 5 different houses… Well, I made one and hated it. I just really disliked it.  Here is Plan A:

So, Plan B. Technically I didn’t have a plan B, but I was determined that I was making an Advent calendar this year! So, Plan B actually included coming up with a new design…. I didn’t really have a clue what Plan B was going to be and I was already behind schedule…

I came up with the idea of all the pocket being presents. Maybe under a tree?  Maybe just presents? Or another house theme?? Then I started following this awesome blog, oohmoon. Katie, from oohmoon is making an art piece everyday and then giving it away for free for 24 hours. (If you haven’t already seen this, you should.) She was working on a series of animals and I had fallen in love with the owl. Then she made the owl in the tree with the fox. When I saw that, the design just popped into my head instantly!!

That was the design process. Then I made all the present pockets, positioned the tree pieces and Katie’s art, sewed on the pockets, layered the quilt pieces, appliqued the tree pieces, finished the edges and wah lah…

There is one other thing I have planned for this quilted advent calendar. I have a bunch of pearl beads that fell of the pearl fabric I used for the stockings. I want to stitch those to the quilt for a little snow effect. Cool? Leave it alone? Let me know…

As I was making this, almost done, probably about the 10th of December, my husband asks, ‘Is this something he’ll use every year?’  My answer was basically a look of shock, of course he will! Until he’s about 40 years old…

Letterpress Calendar, revealed…

Finally! I got it all photographed and put together. My Calendar! My first ever attempt at linoleum cutting and printing.



“Snacks and Naps For the Year 2011”

The calendar project is a project I collaborated on with thirteen great artists. I should say 15, including the printers. Thirteen artists carved illustrations in linoleum blocks. We then turned them over to the 2 printers and the calendars were printed on a Vandercook proofing press under the guidance of Master Printer Lynda Sherman at Bremelo Press in Seattle by Kyle Hanson. The month names are vintage woodcuts and the dates are perpetual calendar 18 point metal type. And together we produced a beautiful “Snacks and Naps For the Year 2011” wall calendar.

This was my first ever attempt at lino cuts. I decided to make mine with the image as white space and the background as dark. Then I tried to print it. No luck, what-so-ever! But the two printers were amazing and said no problem. And here is what became of my lino cut…

My image is from a photo of my son napping while dressed as Max, King of the Wild Things!

The calendars are printed on assorted colors of a high-cotton content, acid-free paper from Canson. The pages, 6 inches wide by 8.5 inches high, are loosely bound to a bookboard backer with black elastic bands.

 

 

Illustrations

Cover   Curtis Taylor

January   Magda Baker

February   Emily Forland

March   Gigi Grinstad

April   Saya Moriyasu

May   Molly Magai

June   Sedora DeBondt

 

July  Sara Varon  

August   Clyde Petersen

September   Nine Frenkel  

October   Louise Wackerman

November Michael Getz

 December  Aya Kakeda

Calendars are ready for shipping in my etsy store.