Advent Archives

I'm so glad I'm not the only one who is already looking towards Advent! It doesn't happen every year, but this year, I did get the jump on things and plan to be mostly finished with Christmas preparations by the time Advent starts.  Anyway, I thought I'd pull these posts out of the archives and make them easier to find for those of you also getting a jump on things, or for those of you who need a little push to get you going! We have company coming this weekend to celebrate a birthday so don't be surprised if things are quiet for a while but be sure to check out Jessica's wonderful resources for Advent (scroll down to where it says "Advent") for more inspiration!

~Advent Crafts~

Advent Plans and Decorations (2009)
Advent To-Do's:: followed by
Um... about that Advent Calendar and Advent Calendar Fixer Upper (2008)

O Antiphon Craft :: start collecting your Altoid tins! (2009)

Silhouette How-To :: a tutorial

Christ Candle (2009)
O Antiphon Activities (2009)
Martha Who? :: Gingerbread houses (2009)
O Oriens (2009)
No Flame Advent Wreath (2008)
One way to hang an Advent Wreath (2009)
PSA: Advent Wreath (2009)
Snow Day :: not necessarily Advent related (2008)
Jesse Tree Swap (2007)
Advent is here! (2007)

~Feasts of Advent~

Happy St. Nicholas Day (2007)

St. Nicholas of Myra (2009)

St. Ambrose of Milan (2009)

Feast of St. Ambrose (2008)
Feast of St. Ambrose (2007)
Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception (2009)
Under Her Starry Mantle :: Our Lady of Guadalupe (2008)
Our Lady of Guadalupe (2009)
Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe (2007)
Happy St. Lucy's Day (2008)
A moment :: St. Lucy's Day (2009)
Sunday Ends :: St. Lucy's Bread (2009)
More Monday Inspiration :: a St. Lucy Crown (2007)
My little Lucias (2007)
St. Lucy Day Recap (2007)


~12 Days of Christmas and Candlemas~

Candlemas (2010)
Ideas for the 12 Days of Christmas (2009)

Coffee, Tea and Thee ~ Candlemas (2007)
Candlemas Post Update (2008)
Loveliness of Candlemas (2007)

One way to hang an Advent Wreath

A conversation over at the 4Real forum prompted me to try to type out a description of how we have suspended our Advent wreath in the past but I just couldn't do it. I'm too visual, but I suspect a lot of you are too.

My MIL was the first one to introduce me to a suspended wreath and they are breathtaking! There are so many different ways to do it... this is just the one that worked best for us.

I started with an acrylic platter from the local party store and drilled holes in a cross shape. It doesn't have to be perfect. You can see that the two on the sides are a little off.
Next, take one ribbon and pass it through the top of one hole, under the platter and out through the bottom of the opposite hole.
Do the same for the other two holes. I used two different colored ribbons to demonstrate better.
Here is where the method to my madness comes in. Go ahead and draw the ribbon ends up and tie them in a sturdy knot. I have always used a small hook that blends into the ceiling to hang it from. You will see that there is a chance your platter will hang lopsided. That's OK.
Slide the platter along the ribbons until you get it even. Then you can secure it on the bottom with clear packing tape.
Place the candles in between the ribbons and you won't have to worry about anything catching on fire although you should never leave it unattended. I think you could also do it with a wire framed wreath and no platter, but I haven't tried that myself. We have always just set the wreath on the platter and usually it's fullness disguises the green below. Just don't tie the ribbons to the frame so that you can slide it to get it balanced.

UPDATE:
I found this picture in an older post that shows the wreath on the suspended platter. You can also see our completed one for this year here.

Hope that helps!

Advent is here!

I have been anticipating this season of anticipation more this year than any other. I really felt like I was waiting for that liturgical gunshot to signal the start although, a race is not exactly the image I want to connect with this lovely season. Anyway, first things first... the wreath!

I remember reading Suzanne's post about how their advent wreath came to be last year and was so inspired, it lasted 12 months long. I love to craft and I enjoy crafts, but I often enjoy them so much, I don't let my children do as much as they could either because I have an overriding idea of how it should look or... I'm just having too much fun. I have been battling this little problem as often as I can and thought this was the perfect opportunity to put on my gloves and go another round. We went to the craft store and I let the children pick the decorations along with a handful of greenery to fill in the green foam wreath that we used as our base.The Professor thought the gingerbread guy looked fun. Sunshine chose the candy clusters. Shortcake, in her love for all little critters great and small, chose the golden bird and BigBoy liked everything but settled on the apples and purple glitter balls.
Here is the finished product. Probably a bit busier than what I would have chosen, but that was the point and I love it. (ding,ding,ding) As you can kind of see, it is hanging over the half wall that separates the kitchen from the eat-in area. Does anybody else hang their wreath? My MIL had the first hanging wreath I ever saw and I believe Maria Von Trapp writes about this tradition in one of her books. It works to keep the flames away from little fingers, but should it ever become too much of a fascination or turned into a dolly swing, I would probably just set it on the table.

Do you have a unique way of displaying your wreath or a unique Advent wreath idea? I'm taking notes for next year!

Update***
Here are more Advent Wreaths to peruse and be inspired by:
My Thoughtful Spot
Under Her Starry Mantle
Karen E.
Are We There Yet?
Bountiful Blessings
Minnesota Mom