Do you remember being a kid and making those lovely paper chains that you could hang for decoration? It required cutting strip after strip of paper and looping them together. I think most children have made one of these at some point.
 
I recently found a new use for the same concept! Instead of using it for decoration, why not use it as a countdown to something? It could be a countdown to a holiday or other big event. I’m not sure what I’m using mine for – it started out as a tool to help me establish a routine, but I never took the time to use it for that. 
 
Here’s how I made mine to look more festive than plain old construction paper!
 
1. I started by cutting strips of different scrapbook pages. I wanted something more decorative than plain colored paper. I chose a variety of non-holiday related pages for my project. If you’re using it to countdown to a holiday, you could use holiday scrapbook paper!

 
2. I used my paper cutter to cut my strips but you could also do it by hand. I had never used this tool at home (it was a gift from my dad) and found it to be quite nifty!

 
3. After cutting the strips, I looped them through each other, just like when I was a kid. If you’re doing this as a project with/for kids, this would be a great time to get them involved in the creation stage of this countdown tool!

 
4. Last, I hung it in a place where I could see it. I love that it brightens up the plain white wall as well! Now, I just need to figure out a NEW use for this chain since my original use didn’t happen. I have a few ideas, but I’d love to hear yours as well!

 
Ideas for your own countdown chain:
– Back to School countdown
– Holiday countdown
– Birthday countdown
– Vacation countdown
– Moving countdown
 
What will you use it for?