DIY Countdown Calendar

I wanted to pop on and share with you the craft "recipe" to make your own countdown block calendar!

I loved doing this craft and it fits in perfectly on my living room shelf. The bottom block has a chalk board label on it so I can write on and erase the upcoming holiday or celebration we're waiting for with a chalk pen.

Supplies:

1. Wooden blocks cut to size (all the cubes are 1.5" x 1.5" x 1.5". The two longer blocks are 6" x 1.5" x 1.5")
1. Custom order blocks from Bayou Gifts and Upcycle. 
2. White and black paint (I used a basic acrylic craft paint from Michaels) 
3. Small can of wood stain in the color of your choice (I used Minwax in dark walnut from Home Depot) 
4. Chalk board labels (here, from Amazon) or chalk paint will work too 
5. Rubber gloves and newspaper for staining the blocks 
6. Small paint brushes for paint and stain 
7. A rag to wipe the stain 
8. 1 inch letter and number stencils (Mine came from Bella Art and Design) 
9. Pencil and tape to use with your stencils 
10. White and black Posca paint pens with a fine tip for the letters and numbers (here, from Amazon), or if you're great at doing freehand, a small paintbrush will do!

Steps:

1. First, I contacted a seller on Etsy to make a custom order for me to have the wood pieces I needed cut to size. You can search for "custom wood cutting" over there or contact the shop I mentioned above and see if she's taking custom orders. 
2. Then I purchased a stencil sheet from Etsy as well. The letters and numbers are 1 inch high. The stencil material is thin and paint ran underneath easily, so I recommend using a pencil to trace the letters and numbers on first, then going over that with your paint pen or paintbrush. 
3. Once I received my wood I stained the top 4 square blocks and one of the long blocks with a few coats of stain trying to get each one to be similar in color. This is tricky (and messy because the pieces are small and will get on your hands) so I recommend doing one side at a time and wiping the stain off in equal lengths of time so the color stays consistent.
4. I painted the other block all white. 
5. In order for the tracing to go easier, I cut all the numbers into individual separate pieces and used a piece of tape to hold each number in place while I traced onto my block. 
6. Once everything dried (I'd give it a good day or two because the acrylic may be tacky) I used my pencil to trace the words "Days until" on the white block and I traced all the numbers on the brown cubes. Then I went over the pencil marks with a fine tip Posca paint pen.
7. Here are the numbers I put on each block: 
1. Block 1: 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 
2. Block 2: 6, 7, 8, 9, 0, 1 
3. Block 3: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 
4. Block 4: 8, 9, 0, 1, 2, 3 
8. Finally, I carefully cut and applied my chalk board label to the bottom block. The labels I already had from Amazon weren't long enough to cover the entire length of the block, so I ended up cutting two of the labels to size and sticking them next to each other. 
9. Then write the holiday on with your chalk (I used a chalk pen that came with the labels).