Multi-purpose Blocks

Here is my fall craft #2, multi-purpose blocks:

And I actually have step-by-step pictures to go along.  I'm pretty proud of myself.  :)  Now, they don't look multi-purpose here, but that's because I am only done with phase one of the process.  The rest will be explained at the end!  (And I must give credit.  The real inspiration for this is found here, but I only ever looked at the pic on Pinterest.  I never actually went to the blog for instructions, I just made it up as I went along.)

To make blocks you need:

wood blocks, acrylic paint and brush, scrapbook paper of desired pattern, Mod Podge, die-cut letters (from paper or vinyl)

Step 1: Have your super-awesome sister cut random blocks out of scraps of 2x4.  Or anyone else you know who has a saw.  They can be any size and shape, but I happen to like uniformity and symmetry, so I cut 3 short, 3 medium, and 1 tall block.  (Why so many?  Read on....)

Step 2: Paint them.  I chose white because I wanted a neutral color that would fit with different seasons, but any color is fine, depending on what you like.

See how nice and neat??

Step 3: While the paint dries, cut out rectangles of the scrapbook paper to cover as much or as little of the block as you want.  I wanted to show a little of the white, so I cut the paper slightly smaller than my blocks.

This cute paper actually came from this awesome website, and I printed it myself.  They have tons of printables!

Step 4: When the paint is completely dry, decoupage the paper onto the block.  I used a very thin layer of Mod Podge since my paper was so thin.  

The Mod Podge actually seemed to deepen the colors for me, which I like.

Step 5: Cut out letters and adhere them to the blocks.  I used my Cricut to cut vinyl, but any die-cut letters would work.  They could be decoupaged on if need be.  Again, I like uniformity, so mine are all of the same font and somewhat in a straight line.  Feel free to adlib.  :)

Ignore the clutter and random children's toys in the background...

Step 6: Add a bow if you want, or any other embellishments that you can think of, and enjoy.  I first tried them out on my mantle (as in the picture at the top), but with everything else up there it was too crowded and they didn't stand out enough.  So I moved them here:

Nice pop of color, right?

With the other three blocks I plan to follow a similar patter to spell out the word "Joy" for Christmas (my favorite Christmas word), and on the back of six of the blocks I am going to spell out the word "Thanks."  That way I have a set for fall, a set for Thanksgiving, and a set for Christmas, all in one set.  Make sense??