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Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Name Blocks Tutorial

I've seen these before around blogland and thought I would make my own variation. My friend Katie came over and we got to work on our craft. I also got to use my recently purchases Silhouette for the first time (minus testing a couple things when it first arrived).


You need:
-1 2x4
-1 2x6
-Cardstock
-Craft paint & brushes
-Mod podge
-And a way to cut the wood

Eric cut our wood out for us which he said was not the easiest to do with the saw choices we had and a circular saw would have been better. You would want to tailor the length to your needs but the 2x6 was cut to be about 3 1/2 in. long and the 2x4 was cut to be 9 1/2 in. long. Then some more of the 2x4 was ripped for another skinnier block that was also 9 1/2 in. long so that the 2 2x4's now are about the height of the 2x6. I say about because it doesnt match perfectly and normally I am somewhat of a perfectionist but that's okay and I'm okay with it :)


Next Katie and I painted our blocks. I chose white and she chose green and a mixed blue color. I did my coat kinda thin so you could see the wood through it.


Next we printed off our last names and the other words/numbers on my silhouette. We struggled a bit due to user error (apparently when you import an image you have to do the outline function for it to go through with cutting but a test cut will in fact work) and luckily my personal computer guru was there to help us. We tested out the size of the letters on navy cardstock since I saw myself using it less than the other colors but Katie actually loved the look of the navy so she stuck with that. I printed mine on black. (Note: if you don't have a silhouette you could cut them by hand or not use paper and just paint them on) Then we put a layer of mod podge on the blocks and placed the letters/numbers where we wanted them. We let that dry and then put another 2 layers of mod podge on top.



I decided I didn't want the black to stand out so much so I mixed a little bit of white paint with water and did a layer of that over the top.



I think they turned out great!! It's definitely thrifty since the materials are pretty cheap or you already have them on hand (the wood is enough to make like 5 sets). These would make a wonderful gift too!

Linking up here:
Making the World Cuter Mondays
Today's Creative Blog
Power of Paint Party
Blue Cricket Design
Frugalicious Friday
Remodelaholics Anonymous
JAG Show and Share Day
Hooking up w/HoH
FrouFrouDecor
Weekend Wrap Up Party
Sunday Showcase Party

7 comments :

  1. Em - These are real cute!! Great wedding gifts too! Maybe you can make one for our baby next spring? ;)

    ReplyDelete
  2. These are so cute! I think they would make darling gifts. I just have to get me a Silhouette for Christmas. There are just too many cute crafts to do with it.
    I better talk to Santa!
    Brooke

    ReplyDelete
  3. Great job. And pretty clever I might add.

    Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  4. These turned out very cute! I saw some similar to this with baby names and their birth info on them. I'm loving the last name though. What a great idea. Came over from Remodelaholic.

    Krista
    whilehewasnapping.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  5. This is such a cute idea! You have a really nice blog! I saw your comment on a blog I was commenting on and I had to click it because of your name (my son is a huge star wars fan lol). Anyhow very nice blog!

    ReplyDelete

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