With my friend Niki's son's 1st birthday just 2 or so weeks away, I knew this would be the perfect gift. Kapri loves to stack...and she does it like a pro. So my trusty sidekick Kapri & I ventured off to the foreign land I call Home Depot - I get so intimated by this place, and I'm amazed when I see women in there by themselves, shopping for all sorts of goodies - like they know this whole store like the back of their hand. Yeah...not me. As a young girl I took many trips here with my dad...yet I never really cared for it myself...there's way too much going on. At least the employees are always super helpful, when you walk in with an idea & they help you find what's on your list.
I grabbed a 2"x2"x8' piece of wood, found some white spray paint, a small double-sided sander (med/fine grain)...then had to seek advise when it came to a small hand saw. *Gulp* Finally I was showed the wall of little saws, and was specifically guided to buy this nifty thing called a Mitter Box...not too shabby for $15!! With that, I headed home with my proud purchases....eager to start this fun project. Here's the breakdown of a week long process.
Day 1
- Cut out 26 pieces of 2x2 wood blocks
- Use medium grain sander to eliminate the super rough/jagged areas, and the fine grain sander to smooth out every side/corner of each block (mmm...love the smell of freshly cut wood & sawdust)
- Spray paint each side of each block...wait to dry...spray one/two more coats to ensure even-ness
Day 2
- Cut out 156, yes...156 little squares from scrapbook paper (6 per block)
- Realize that I cut too big of squares...re-cut all 156 down a bit...ugh.
- Call it a day...my hand kinda hurts
Day 3
- Mod Podge the HECK out of each & every little square...
- Realized by trail & error that I could only 5 sides at a time, since you have to lay each block on one end (not mod podge'd) to allow all other sides to dry
- Wait for blocks to dry...turn over & MP the bare side
- Let dry overnight
Day 4
- Repeat entire day 3 (minus the trail & error)
- Run to Michael's to buy some clear acrylic spray...only to realize upon opening it at home that the spray nozzle is totally M.I.A....great.
- Drink 1/2 bottle of wine in irritation to missing spray nozzle & call it a night
Day 5
- Return/exchange janky spray can to Michael's for another - make sure to CAREFULLY inspect can for nozzle. Check.
- Come home, lay out all blocks outside...coat with acrylic spray & let dry
- Turn all blocks over for another blast of spray & let dry
Day 6
- Strategically place each block inside adorable clear plastic 'paint' canister in order to take equally adorable photos of my proud creation.
- Place in birthday bag
Day 7 (today)
- Watch in amusement as little P plays with his blocks while mommy unwraps all the other gifts
- Mission accomplished. Perfect 1st bday gift. :-)
Love it! They came out absolutely gorgeous! I'm pinning. Thanks so much for sharing at Whimsy Wednesdays!
ReplyDeleteThx for Pinning Jenny!
DeleteThese are so cute! I AM going to make some for this house, one of these days.
ReplyDelete~Amy @ Permanent Kisses
haha Amy...yeah, they are time consuming, but soooo worth it in the end, they are so fun & bright...and UNIQUE! Love that you can customize them in size, colors, etc.
DeleteThese are being featured over at Whimsy Wednesdays! Stop over and pick up a featured button. www.thenymelrosefamily.blogspot.com/2012/04/whimsy-wednesdays-8.html
ReplyDeleteoh wow, thx Jenny!
DeleteWhat size ofwood did you use?
ReplyDeleteHi Jodi - I mentioned the wood size up above Day 1... 2"x2"x8' piece of wood. So the blocks will be 2x2" in size...so I recommend cutting your scrapbook paper pieces (if doing those), down to be a bit smaller than 2" in size so they don't go over the edges ;-)
DeleteThese are awesome! What did you use to make the letters?
ReplyDeleteHi Becky - Thanks! I just used alphabet stickers...stuck onto the squares of paper ;-)
DeleteDid you mod podge again after putting the alphabet stickers on?
DeleteI totally enjoyed your page. You are so funny and your blocks are beyond amazing. I had the right wood idea picked out, I just wasn't sure what to do with them after that. Thanks again!!!
ReplyDeleteI thought if you asked they would cut it for you? Uh-oh idk if I trust myself with a saw lol. Anyone who tried this what was the toughness level of this project 1-5, 5 being the hardest?
ReplyDeleteI forgot to add this thank you for your tutorial. I came across your page by accident and I am thinking it's fate lol. I totally love your page!
ReplyDeleteThank you for this post.. I will be making one soon.. Did you stick the paper with the alphabets or did you stencil cut them and stuck them on paper?
ReplyDeleteI feel happiness to read the content that you are posting شركة تنظيف مسابح بالرياض
ReplyDeleteHow do you know what letters go on what block? They don't know in alphabetical order do they?
ReplyDeleteI see....you did 1 block per letter unlike the old fashioned ones where you might have multiple letters on one block. Sorry about confusion.
Delete