Blocks, phase two

So here is part two of my "multi-purpose" blocks.  I guess I could call them multi-functional?  Anyway, I followed the exact same process as the FALL blocks, even printing holiday paper from the same blog.  When I actually set them out for Christmas, I will embellish them with garland/ribbons, etc., and I'm not 100% sure that I'm sold on my paper choices, but for now here is how they turned out:

Now, there will be a phase 3 of this project.  In the next couple of weeks, I will be decorating the backs of the blocks to spell the word THANKS, so that I will have three sets of blocks in one: Fall, Joy and Thanks.  :)  Coming soon!

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??

I Love Fall!

I am so in love with fall!  I love the weather, the colors, the fall holidays... everything!  So over the past couple of weeks I have been getting ready for fall with some crafts.  This wreath I actually made last year, but I love it so much I thought I'd post again!  In total I think it probably cost me about $10, if that.  The wreath and the garland leaves were on sale at Michael's for pretty cheap.  I don't have pics to do a step-by-step "here's how I did it," but it was very easy.  I took the leaves off of a garland (literally, I popped them off), took pine cones from my Mom's yard, ribbon from my left-over scrap box, and the potpourri from a storage box.  Then I got out my hot glue gun and got busy.  I love the colors!

This next one was even easier.  I got a couple of bushes of fall flowers on sale at Michael's (they had their big fall sale last week....can you tell???), grabbed a cornucopia basket that someone gave me, put the flowers in, and hung it with wire.  Ok, so I didn't actually have wire.  That is a straightened coat hanger.

And here is how the two look together on my front porch:

I want to make these..

These are so cute... Thanks Shabby In Suburbia!  They look just like the ones that take 3 days to make with resin (on the Hobby Lobby Inspirations page), but they're made with glass tiles and scrapbooking paper.  Easy!  (The link is for the tutorial.)

I heart Hobby Lobby

I found a new reason to love Hobby Lobby.  Their Porject Inspiration pages!  They have "Inspirational Sets" which basically just show you a bunch of ideas using one of their products, but they are very cute ideas!  My favorite, though, are their "Project Sheets."  Everything on there comes in PDF format (it basically looks like they scanned in their free pamphlets) that can easily be printed, and these Project Sheets are actually instructions to the crafts!  I want to make one of these, these (at Christmas time) and some of these (much cuter than the ones I made the other day)!
(And here's a pic, just to spark your intereste!)

I made a Tie!

So, I have been searching and searching for a necktie for Evan to wear to church.  We had one that we got from the church bookstore, but it quickly got torn up and untied.  The ones at the department stores are expensive and either too long or too short.  So I started looking for patterns.  I found some fabric months ago in the discount bin at Hobby Lobby (I think it was about $3 for almost a yard) that I had been dying to make a tie out of, but I was not willing to pay $15 for a pattern.  That's almost the same as just buying a tie.  So the other day (again, after I finally got my craft area clean) I searched online for a pattern and tutorial that looked do-able.  I found this post on The Purl Bee blog (which is fabulous!) and thought it looked easy and fast, and it was!  I think I worked on this for 4 hours total (including trying to teach myself how to do a slip stitch and then doing it veeeeeeerrrrrry slowly and stopping to check the blog every 5 minutes to make sure I was doing the right thing), start-to-finish.  I want to try another one for Christian (which you can do by reducing the size when you print it apparently...duh!), and I'm sure it will go much faster now that I know what I'm doing.  It was really fun, and I love the result!

Wasn't sure how to tie it...

My little model... in full Batman attire, naturally

I looked up how to tie it real quick, but I'm not very good!  :)

A New Project!

So I FINALLY have my craft area re-organized, and I love going into the room now.  It has totally renewed my crafting spirit!  Now, I don't have a lot of funds right now (my piano lessons haven't started back up yet), so I'm mostly crafting with just what I have laying around.  Here's what I did the other day: votive holders!

It's not the most magnificent thing I've ever made, but I think they're pretty cute.  I used some empty cheese dip jars (my hubby's favorite), took off the labels, and Mod Podge'd on tissue paper.  I wanted to try a couple of different things for embellishments, so I wrapped a scrap of lace around one and a simple ribbon around the other.  I think the music one will look cute on my piano.  :)  I like the blue ribbon on the lace--it gives it a more casual accent (as opposed to, say, pearls, which I also considered putting on), and gives it a little extra color.  It only took m about an hour to make both, including mod podge drying time, and there are sooooo many things you could put on them!  I just used what I had on hand, but you could do different papers, ribbons, charms, jewels...even feathers and paint!  I can't wait to get more supplies so I can try different things!