Monday, September 29, 2014

DIY Reversible Blocks Instructions

I am absolutely in LOVE with wood crafts. I recently treated myself to a brand new miter saw. Yes, I'm that weird about wood crafts. I figured I was frequenting Home Depot much too often to have them cut my lumber. But seriously, there is nothing better than the smell of freshly cut wood!

I've added a DIY kit to my Etsy Shop for my reversible holiday blocks and I thought a tutorial online would be a good idea. I decided to do these blocks 1) because they were all over pinterest and I HAD to have them & 2) I needed decorations that I wasn't afraid of Dean playing with. Too many times I've had to rescue glass or ceramic home decor pieces. These wood blocks are 2-year-old-proof. I love it!

DIY kit includes:
~7 pieces of carefully selected wood (pre-sanded for your convenience!)
~Background scrapbook papers
~Vinyl lettering

What You'll Need:
~Foam paint brush
~Paint
~Mod Podge
~Roller pin or Credit Card for smoothing bubbles

1) Prep your working station. I like to work on top of parchment paper. This works especially well when using mod podge!

2) Paint your blocks! Depending on the holidays, I choose either black or white but, you can be as creative as you'd like. Wait at least one hour before you paint a second coat.

3) While your paint is drying, apply vinyl letters to paper backgrounds. Some letters will be slightly bigger than the paper. All you need to do is fold the letter on to the other side. You may choose to use transfer paper but with this particular project, I skip that step. I'm faster without it.

To peel the letters, first start with the corner of the vinyl. You'll remove the dead space vinyl first. This will leave only the letters. Using a cricut spatula or similar tool, lift the letter and place on paper.

4) Once all the vinyl letters are placed on paper, it's time to MOD PODGE! Using the foam brush apply a thin layer of mod podge to back of the paper and place on wood block. Using a small roller or credit card, smooth out any bubbles. Do this to all papers and make sure they've had time to set (about 20 minutes). Next apply mod podge to the top of the papers. Keep your strokes similar and using the same pressure. Let it dry! I like to wait a couple of hours before either adding a second coat or flipping blocks over to apply second holiday.

I hope you enjoyed creating these blocks! If you have any questions or might possibly need a replacement letter or background paper due to accident, let me know :) Mistakes happen!

**pictures & video coming soon!