"SPRING" Blocks!!

Sooo....here are my NEW "Spring" blocks! We will be making these for our next Craft Club get-together...and although there WILL be a few things I "tweak"...such as the size of some of the letters & the paper on one of them....I am pretty dang proud of them!

This is the first wood project I have done FROM SCRATCH!! I drew up the letters...and had our wood supplier cut them out (that's next...buy my own saws) and then went to town!

I am not a HUGE "tutorial-er" but I can give you some tips. Here are the steps that I took:

Materials:
-Wood letters
-Sanding Paper
-Stain
-Gloves (when staining)
-Rag (to wipe stain off)
-Brushes
-Mod Podge
-CUTE scrapbooking paper (I use a different one for each letter)
-Scrapbooking distressing ink
-Pencil
-Scissors
-Scrapbooking Adhesive
-Pop-Dots (another kind of scrapbooking adhesive)
-Glue gun & glue sticks
-Craft wire
-Wire cutters
-Ribbon
-Flowers
-Any other embellishments you prefer

1. Stain the wood at least TWO days prior to beginning project. I would first sand down any rough edges, wipe off the sawdust, and then stain the wood letters.

2. Then - trace the letters onto your paper. I trace it on the back...so you can't see any pencil lines. I then trace inside of those lines - about a centimeter - and THAT is the one I cut out. I like my paper to sit just a little inside the wood.

3. I lay the paper on the wood to see what it looks like..and then "tweak/cut" any areas that need a little fixing up.

4. I like to ink the edges of the paper..it gives it a more finished look....in my opinion. I used a ligth brown on these blocks.

5. Mod podge!! Paint a light layer of mod podge on the first block - then quickly lay the paper on top. Carefully run your fingers over the paper, get any bubbles out, and push down all around the edges. Do NOT put mod podge on top....yet! This is a trick I learned...I do the top layer AFTER this coat dries....this reduces the risk of the paper bubbling up. Finish putting paper on all of your blocks. Don't rush this part. The more time I take, the better they always turn out!

6. When the first layer has dried - I then paint a top layer of mod podge on top of the paper and wood. Make sure to get any drips off the sides of the wood....if there is a lot dripping down, it will dry white!

7. I let this completely dry before adding embellishments (ribbon, flowers, rhinestones, etc.)

8. For the "I" ...I had them drill holes in the flower part AND the "i." I then took some of my craft wire, folded a piece in half, wrapped it around my pencil - to get the twisted look, and then trimmed it down to the size I wanted. I put some glue (from my handy glue gun) in both holes, and then stuck the wire in the holes....and held onto it until the glue dried. I then had to maneuver the wire a little until it looked JUST the way I wanted it to.

9. Add your ribbon, flowers, "bling, bling" where-ever you please!

10. Sit back, admire your craft, and make sure that everyone who passes by hears you say, "I MADE THAT!" Tee, hee!

Hopefully this little tutorial is enough to help some of you crafters out there do a little project like this one. Feel free to ask questions if you are confused! Good luck!