Advent windows

Celebrating advent at Salisbury District Hospital, 2021 and bringing colour, sparkle and joy to the hospital. We’ve come up with this idea so that you can have decorations throughout December but still comply with the COVID precautions on site.

Make a batch of tissue paper stained glass window decorations and (if you want to) add the numbers on, like an advent calendar. Add one decoration each day. On the sixth day take down the first one, put it in a black rubbish bin and then add the new one on the window in its place. Repeat, swapping the oldest decoration each day with a new one. N.B. The onsite policy is that decorations should not be up for longer than five days.

Print the templates or create your own designs – Pinterest has loads of inspiration.

This project is funded by the Stars Appeal.
Stars Appeal Funded Logo

 

 

 

 

You will need

  • Black paper
  • Marker Pens
  • Tissue paper
  • Glue sticks
  • Scissors

 

Instructions

  1. Choose a window that others can enjoy how your design looks at night when the lights inside the room make the design glow with colour in the darkness.
  2. Choosing your shapes
    – you can practice your own design and make a sketch on a piece of scrap paper
    – You can trace from our templates
    – Making a template from a piece of card is a good way to repeat a shape
  3. Protect your work surface with an old sheet, newspaper or a tablecloth
  4. Draw the designs on your black paper
  5. Cut out the holes carefully
  6. Make colour tissue paper pieces larger than the holes
  7. Add Glue carefully around the edge of the holes
  8. Stick down the tissue paper
  9. Repeat until all the holes are filled in with your colours
  10. Final touches – Use the marker pens to add simple lines and details if you wish. You can layer the tissue paper colours to make the colour stronger or create new colours.

 

Add your finished design to the window, photograph it and email us at ArtCare sft.artcare@nhs.net. On Twitter share and tag @ArtCareUK @SalisburyNHS #AdventWindow. You are invited to share your design with us for other people to use as a template next year! Send us a line drawing.

 

Download

Advent window templates (pdf)