Author Topic: Custom Made Advent Calendar  (Read 4475 times)

Custom Made Advent Calendar
on: October 10, 2011, 17:16:36 PM
I have a plan for what I think will be an awesome Christmas present for a good friend of mine which will also satisfy a craving for DIY that I have had for a while.

I plan to create a custom Advent calendar. Each of the 24 doors will contain a different pack of cigarettes (already sourced during a trip to Russia). The calendar will be approximately A1 (554mm x 841mm) in size and about two inches in depth.

Current plan is to use 6mm MDF which is easy to cut cleanly and means the finished product wont weight too much. I will paint it all over then get an A1 photo print (£17 from a2posterprinting.com) and glue it to the front to make it look pretty.

Havent quite worked out doors yet, or maybe draws.

Formerly sexytw

Re: Custom Made Advent Calendar
Reply #1 on: October 10, 2011, 18:19:59 PM
if the paper you have the picture printed onto is thick enough... you could just use that as a hinge...

cut the wooden doors out first... then stick the big wood bit to the photo, then stick the doors in after...

cut around 1 side+top+bottom of the door picture... the other side of the door will photo will act as a hinge :-)

Re: Custom Made Advent Calendar
Reply #2 on: October 10, 2011, 20:18:59 PM
That's a good idea indeed! Even if its not quite thick enough to rely on I could always put some kind of tape on the hinge first then glue the print over the top.

I need to find some kind of handle, some white numbers (1 to 24) to stick on as door numbers and maybe a large number of weak magnets to keep the doors closed ...

Initial work on the front image:

Formerly sexytw

Re: Custom Made Advent Calendar
Reply #3 on: October 10, 2011, 20:44:44 PM
good idea on the tape... gaffa tape ?

for the handles you could use white drawing pins ?    (the big plastic ones)


Re: Custom Made Advent Calendar
Reply #4 on: October 10, 2011, 21:08:06 PM
Would be ideal if I could find some drawing pins with a nice handle bit, maybe christmassy but stardard black ones might also do, and also with a <6mm pin so it doesnt poke through the other side.
Formerly sexytw

Re: Custom Made Advent Calendar
Reply #5 on: October 10, 2011, 22:20:00 PM
Or black pins with a bit of tipex to give a snow effect :P

Re: Custom Made Advent Calendar
Reply #6 on: November 07, 2011, 16:25:01 PM
Or black pins with a bit of tipex to give a snow effect :P

Construction is underway! I bought black pushpins, as suggested. I will probably wire cut most of the pin off so it doesnt stick through the 6mm MDF im using.

I'll post a build log when I make more progress.
Formerly sexytw

Re: Custom Made Advent Calendar
Reply #7 on: December 02, 2011, 16:46:45 PM
Finished it!



I went with the black push pin idea for handles, 6mm MDF construction, matt A2 photo print from a2posterprinting, 10mm craft hinges for the doors and loads of glue and tiny nails to hold it all together.

Fail: It only has 23 doors
Win: It looks awesome and every door has a packet of fags behind it
Last Edit: December 02, 2011, 16:49:59 PM by sexytw #187;
Formerly sexytw

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Re: Custom Made Advent Calendar
Reply #8 on: December 02, 2011, 16:55:18 PM
Finished it!



I went with the black push pin idea for handles, 6mm MDF construction, matt A2 photo print from a2posterprinting, 10mm craft hinges for the doors and loads of glue and tiny nails to hold it all together.

Fail: It only has 23 doors
Win: It looks awesome and every door has a packet of fags behind it

This is epic, i bet if this were planned as a guide it would bring some traffic in to the forums as its a rarity and totally unique! :)
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Re: Custom Made Advent Calendar
Reply #9 on: December 02, 2011, 17:27:01 PM
Bloody fantastic, if I was still a smoker you'd have been top of my awesome list on receipt of that :w00t: :ptu:

Re: Custom Made Advent Calendar
Reply #10 on: December 02, 2011, 17:34:54 PM

Fail: It only has 23 doors


Awesome, but how or why?

Re: Custom Made Advent Calendar
Reply #11 on: December 02, 2011, 17:41:03 PM

Fail: It only has 23 doors


Awesome, but how or why?

A simple case of not thinking things through. I worked out that 24 packs of cigarettes would fit on an A2 sized print, I then set about making 24 boxes to hold the cigarettes, leaving a gap around each one for easy access but I hadnt accounted for the extra space in the original fitting so when I came to put them all in I could only fit 23 - doh!
Formerly sexytw

Re: Custom Made Advent Calendar
Reply #12 on: December 02, 2011, 17:56:27 PM

This is epic, i bet if this were planned as a guide it would bring some traffic in to the forums as its a rarity and totally unique! :)

That was my original plan but when time got tight I got very lazy on the photo taking - I'll take a look at what I ended up with but I think a lot of the crucial stages were missed.

It also took forever and cost quite a lot more than I expected so might not actually be a good idea.
Formerly sexytw

Re: Custom Made Advent Calendar
Reply #13 on: July 24, 2014, 07:28:13 AM
I have a plan for what I think will be an awesome Christmas present for a good friend of mine which will also satisfy a craving for DIY that I have had for a while.

I plan to create a custom Advent calendar. Each of the 24 doors will contain a different pack of
e cigarettes (already sourced during a trip to Russia). The calendar will be approximately A1 (554mm x 841mm) in size and about two inches in depth.

Current plan is to use 6mm MDF which is easy to cut cleanly and means the finished product wont weight too much. I will paint it all over then get an A1 photo print (£17 from a2posterprinting.com) and glue it to the front to make it look pretty.

Havent quite worked out doors yet, or maybe draws.

hello friend bit old thread but were you able to create custom Advent calendar. It seems like unique idea and I hope you will be able to share some more details..
Last Edit: July 25, 2014, 17:12:05 PM by JakeRameaur #187;

Re: Custom Made Advent Calendar
Reply #14 on: July 24, 2014, 15:13:30 PM
I did indeed, I'll try and dig out some pics.














Last Edit: July 24, 2014, 21:54:03 PM by addictweb #187;
Formerly sexytw

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