The Boot Camp Advent Calendar/
Letter Writing Schedule
Even though I have so much going on lately, graduating school has freed up some extra time for me to be crafty during my evenings! This is something I created for my mom so that she will have a fun way to follow my little brother's Marine Corps boot camp schedule (12 weeks long) while having fresh ideas for writing him new letters. One important thing about boot camp is being sure to write your recruit as many letters as possible because their mail is the only connection they have to civilian life for 3 entire months. Every day the DI's do the big "mail call" while recruits stand at attention hoping to hear their name called out. We aren't able to talk to him but we can exchange as many letters as we want. So, inside each envelope on the board, I've included his schedule for the week along with quotes that pertain to his schedule which we will mail to him to help keep him encouraged and motivated. In his recent letter we received, my brother mentioned that he really appreciates us writing as often as possible. He said it really sucks when mail call comes and you don't hear your name called :( He is the youngest of four so it was particularly difficult for my mom to see him go off. I was inspired to create this bulletin board for her when I came across some blog tutorials showing really fun envelope advent calendars which I cited above. They gave me some creative ideas to make my own custom bulletin board for this particular occasion. My mom had mentioned she was a bit worried she might run out of writing ideas so I thought it would be helpful for me to incorporate some letter writing assistance into the project. This involved a lot of quote research! Even if you have a family member whose deployed for a longer period of time, this can be a great way for you to show support by following their schedule day-by-day (if you have it) and displaying the board in your home for you to show off to all of your guests. It's also a fun way to count down to the date of their return!
#1 Board Assembly
I went the cheaper route and used a large, thick Elmer's presentation board. You can also use cork board if you prefer. I tried to find a large, framed cork board which would also turn out great if you choose to do it that way. You can find all of these supplies at JoAnn Fabrics. The fabric I bought was from there and it's in the burlap section. It's almost identical to the burlap print that Pottery Barn used for an office wall organizer board this year.
(1) Glue fabric to the front side of the presentation board
(2) Secure burlap by stapling it to the back of the board along the edges
(fold the fabric at the corners like you do when wrapping a present)
(3) Staple a felt fabric to the entire backside of the board
(if you care to give the backside a cleaner look)
#2 Envelope and Decorative Tag Assembly
(1) Pearly cream envelopes from Archivers. Align evenly on board which I used a measuring tape for. Pull envelope flap up and staple the inside, middle of envelope to the board 2x.
(2) Craft tags and vintage print tags from JoAnn Fabrics. Secure craft tag behind printed tag with brad embellishment from Archivers. Secure metal prongs behind craft tag.
(3) Secure tags onto middle-top of envelope using double sided adhesive dots from JoAnn Fabrics.
(4) Idea-Ology card stock salvage stickers from JoAnn Fabrics. Stick vintage numbers onto middle of decorative tags.
(5) Decorative mini hangers from Archivers. Slide onto the edge of each tag.
(6) Pearl Paper from JoAnn Fabrics. Print "For Week #---, Open Me On ---". Cut out and tape onto the middle of the plain tag.
#3 Envelope Content Assembly
(1) Idea-Ology craft paper from JoAnn Fabrics. Cut out schedule and use adhesive dots to secure onto craft paper.
(2) Scrapbook stickers and embellishments from JoAnn Fabrics. Scatter scrapbook stickers over top of schedule secured on craft paper.
(3) Vintage Stationary Pack from Archivers. Write different quotes pertaining to the weeks schedule along with weekly writing subjects to keep fresh letters flowing.
This is how my mom has displayed the board at home. It looks great next to the Christmas tree and all of the beautiful wrapped gifts! I also made a weekly calendar dry erase board to put on the kitchen counter so everyone can see the weekly boot camp training agenda on display :) I'd love to get one of these calendars for my home office soon!
