133 – Advent Calendar (3 of 3)

Video - November 18, 2010

The base for the advent calendar is made with 1/2″ ply, butt joints and brad nails. Doesn’t get simpler than that! Once the construction is complete, I embark on a journey into the world of faux finishing with a 2-part distressed paint job. Now I know my way around the finish cabinet, but one of my weak areas is acrylic paint. I just never work with the stuff, let alone creating faux finishes. So the best way to learn sometimes is to jump in and do it. And maybe its not too surprising that things aren’t exactly perfect. But with a little elbow grease, the Advent Calendar is now resting comfortable on the ledge in my entrance hallway.

Here’s the paint I used for this project:

General Finishes EF Milk Paints
EF Milk Paints are classic interior/exterior acrylic paints suitable for furniture, crafts, cabinets, and outdoor furniture…

General Finishes EF Milk Paints

Wanna build along with me? Download the free plans now:
Advent Calendar SketchUp Plan
Advent Calendar PDF Plan

Associated Shop Journal Posts:
Jig For the Advent Calendar
Tiny Door Hinges
More Tiny Door Hinges
Distressed Painted Finish

Other parts in this series:
Advent Calendar Part 1
Advent Calendar Part 2

Viewer Gallery

Products Used

Blind Nailer & Nails by Fastcap

Resources

Discussion

Brett November 19, 2010 1:06 am

Hey Marc,

Nice tree! You know, I had my doubts about this project when you first showed the sketchup drawing, but I think that you pulled it off nicely. It looks very festive and the green was a nice touch.

Lindt chocolate truffles would fit nicely behind those doors and they are very tasty too!

Happy Holidays!

Reply
BedrockBob November 19, 2010 6:10 am

Another great video Marc,
Thanks for taking us along for the ride on this project. Loved the ending.
You did a very good sales job on the grass stained finish. ;)

Reply
- thewoodwhisperer November 19, 2010 7:25 am
  
  I almost had myself convinced Bob. :)
  
  Reply
JW November 19, 2010 7:53 am

I can totally relate to your predicament at the end. Seeing those “grass stains” would have driven me mad as well, and I’d lose sleep over it until I took it back to the shop and made some changes.

Also, love the Christmas Story shirt you’ve got. Be sure to drink your Ovaltine!

Reply
Blair November 19, 2010 10:00 am

Nice Job Marc,

I’ve always respected the way you’re not afraid to show your mistakes. Most woodworking shows are generally unrealistic with each project working out perfectly everytime but frankly, I learn much more this way.

Thanks for your honesty!

Reply
- PickeringMike November 19, 2010 10:37 am
  
  I’ll second what Blair says. I’ve learned a lot from what you’ve done right, but I think for this project, I’ve learned just as much from what you believed you could do better. I say ‘better’ because when it comes to artistic finishes, only you can say what you did wrong. :-)
  
  It was also great seeing your process of tackling challenges like the hinges and how you worked through it all.
  
  Reply
Bryan Huot November 19, 2010 3:14 pm

Nice to see it all come together in the video…great work on this, and definitely a lot more work than expected when you first look at it!

Happy Holidays everybody!

Reply
Mike M November 19, 2010 7:10 pm

It was like watching an M. Night Shyamlan film with a major twist at the end! :)

Seriously though, I like how it turned out! I doubt I could have one ready in time for this holiday season as I have other projects to get done first, but this may have to go on the project list for next year!

Reply
Ryan Schmoll November 20, 2010 7:03 am

A Festool Kapex and (2) Christmas story t-shirts, you must be a hard person to buy for come the Holiday’s.

Nice project, my kids would have a lot of fun with it.

Reply
Stampen November 21, 2010 3:02 pm

Why would people get upset over milk paint?

/A

Reply
- thewoodwhisperer November 21, 2010 4:55 pm
  
  What I meant by that was simply that people will be upset that the product is labeled as Milk Paint, when its not actually Milk Paint.
  
  Reply
John November 21, 2010 7:11 pm

Very cool to see some people still practice the tradition of Advent calendars. This was one of my favorite things as a kid.

Reply
Steve Ramsey November 22, 2010 4:32 pm

Fun video. I kept looking at the photo beneath the video and wondering what was going on. I decided the photo was a prototype version. Then I decided that you would have to be mad to make a prototype of this!

Great job. We used to get my son a Lego advent calendar each year. Each day contained a simple little project to put together.

I always thought it would be neat to have an advent calendar in which each day contained a couple of pieces of a project. Each day you would keep adding to it until the 25, at which point you would complete the project and have built your own gift!

Reply
- Ben November 22, 2010 9:57 pm
  
  Don’t you think that’s a bit lazy, Steve? Making the recipient make their own gift? hehehe
  
  As for Marc’s project, I totally respect the patience you showed by fixing the grass stains. I might have just hit it with a big hammer and cursed it to oblivion. I also see the opportunity to make this even MORE complex by adding LED lights. There’s plenty of space for a battery pack, and the lights could go on the star, the doors, the tree sides, etc.
  
  Reply
Devin M November 23, 2010 3:12 pm

Very cool and educational
Definitly one of those easier said than done projects

Marc, are you actualy wearing shorts in the video? Its like 20 degrees in MN. And we have snow too.

Reply
- thewoodwhisperer November 23, 2010 3:14 pm
  
  Haha yes indeed. And I’m wearing shorts right now. :)
  
  Reply
Aaron T. November 23, 2010 10:17 pm

hey Marc, greetings from Canada. I am fairly new to this site, but so far your videos are quite educational. I am a journeyman cabinetmaker and I have learned a lot of new tips and tricks from them. I really like this advent project you did i have always had advents since I was a kid so it was nice to see. A lot of fussy bits to deal with but it turned out great, I really like the distressed look. Just wondering is this video filmed recently? The reason i ask is because I see it is nice and sunny and warm in your video and you are wearing shorts, currently it is around -27 degrees here in Alberta.
Keep the videos coming, I find myself on here every day to see what is new.

Reply
- thewoodwhisperer November 23, 2010 10:19 pm
  
  Thanks Aaron! Appreciate it. This video was indeed filmed this month. That’s sunny Arizona for ya. :)
  
  Reply
Derek November 24, 2010 10:54 am

Another great video! I was always looking for an option of an advent calendar. All of the ideas I could come up with were far to complex.

I need to move to a warmer climate, Michigan winters suck!

Thanks!
D

Reply
Paul Zapchenk November 28, 2010 11:02 pm

when cutting extra sharp bevels on the table saw try taping a backer board of about the same size as your finish piece .It will thicken the base of your piece which should help stabilize the wood as you push it along the fence.It will also alow you to cut that sharp point you wanted,as well keeping the end of your board from dipping down in the saw slot on the table saw.It might help.Just thinking out load.

Reply
Dan January 21, 2011 1:54 pm

Hi Marc,

I’m attempting the two-color paint look on a project and appreciate the instruction. My question is: can de-waxed shellac serve the same purpose as the clear coat you mention between the two colors? I know it’s a “universal binder”, but I’m still new to this stuff and would appreciate your input.

Thanks,
Dan

Reply
- thewoodwhisperer January 21, 2011 4:57 pm
  
  yep. I see no reason you couldn’t use dewaxed shellac.
  
  Reply
noumenon January 28, 2011 5:12 pm

I definitely learned a great lesson from you in that video. That is to go out and buy one made in china from Hobby Lobby. I am way too lazy to spend that kind of time on a Christmas decoration. I am also the guy who would like to pay someone else to hang Christmas lights on his house :)

Reply
Bryan V June 30, 2011 1:21 pm

Wow, after watching this series of pod-casts totally reminded me of when i was a kid… though we didn’t have an advent calendar nearly as cool as the one you built!

Thanks for the flashback Marc!

Reply
Matt August 18, 2021 6:57 pm

Great calendar. It inspired me to make one that serves as a shelf for my nativity scene. Wish I could figure out how to post under the viewer gallery.

Thanks for the inspiration. I also used your door concept. Worked great!

Reply

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133 – Advent Calendar (3 of 3)

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