Valentine Wood Blocks

♥

I've had some unfinished wood blocks sitting on my work table since before Christmas when I made the "JOLLY" blocks {see them here}. I wanted to create a Valentine set, and when Rinda recently asked for a tutorial on my altered wood blocks, I knew exactly the direction to take.

Uhhh...sorry about all the kissing in this post. I didn't realize that Doug and I are kissing {all over the internet} in pretty much every photo of this post. It's not as offensive in person.

The blocks I have are cut in random sizes, and for sure Doug will cringe when he sees that I didn't do a great job of sanding them, nor did I coat the blocks with primer before I began. {It's art, Honey. It's art.}

Before I start adhering paper to the blocks, I put a bit of black paint around the edges - just to cover up anything that might peek out later on. Nothing fancy - just slap it on there.

I used strips of book paper that I tore {I think a torn edge lays nicer than a blunt cut} and then used Mod Podge to adhere them to the blocks. You can see that some of the papers wrap around the sides, and some of the sides got a strip of masking tape. {I did use Mod Podge to adhere the tape as it is a re-positionable product and I wanted it to stick for good.}

Before I did a final coat of Mod Podge over the outside, I sanded down the edges of the photo to give it a weathered look. Oh - I printed this little black and white photo onto some plain white cardstock and made sure it was good and dry before hitting it with Mod Podge so the ink wouldn't smear.

Give the blocks a good coat of Mod Podge and let dry completely. I used a Sharpie marker to outline my "X" and "O" then added a few rub-on's here and there for embellishments.

{ Here's what the back looks like.}

And that's it.

So tell me, what are you going to put on a wood block?

♥

PS: We have a bunch of random pieces of wood left over from our recent {ongoing} home remodel so the base part came easy {well...sort of...} for me. If you don't have access to wood blocks, try your local lumber yard or hardware store for scraps. Also, most of those stores will cut the board for you if you buy the piece there.