Toddler Blocks

This is WAY late. But the beginning of June I came across this shop on Etsy. Really cute shabby chic toys and decor for your little one. And I'd been wanting blocks for Allie to play with so she could stack them and of course throw them around a little...ya, NOT! LOL That's probably the only bad thing about them. Giving her the ability to throw in 2" blocks everywhere. And then of course trip over them when you've got a arm full of laundry! ;-)

Unfortunetly, I wasn't really happy with the seller. It took me alomst a month to get my order. :( I wrote her about 2 weeks after i put my order in and she hadn't even shipped them yet but didn't let me or any of the other buyers she had she was very overwhelmed and couldn't pay attention to her shop. So another 2 weeks later I finally got my order. BUT, I really like the blocks and the fact that it came in a cute little kit so I'm not really complaining to much. The wait just stunk. ;-)

Anywho, I thought I would do a little tutorial on how I did them. Because they were SO easy! And you can probably get everything you would need at Micheals or a local craft store.

Here's what you need:

- 2" Raw wooden blocks. (I got 12)

- 72 images to make your set.

(You can use anything from family pictures, to the letters of the alphabet)

- Glaze and Varnish

- A sponge brush to apply the Glaze and the varnish

- A file to sand the edges

Now, before you get stared lay out all of your images. And put together what you want on each block. I messed up and just started putting what I wanted on the blocks and so i have like 3 blocks that just have numbers on them instead of a mix of numbers, letters and pictures.


Then take just a little drop of some of your glaze and brush it onto your block. Then place the image you want onto the surface. Rub until all of the bubbles are gone. And repeat on all 6 sides. Let the blocks sit for a good 30 minutes before you continue.



Once you're done with that set your blocks should look like this:

Now from here you can just leave the paper the way it is and add the varnish onto it a couple of times. Wait a good 15 mintues in between each layer of it and then you would be done. Or you can follow these next directions:

Take a regular nail file and file the edges of the paper away. I liked mine file off a lot but you can do it just a little bit too. File each 6 sides and repeat on the other blocks.

Once you're done this is how your block should look. I even filed a little on top of the picture to "age" it even more. Wipe excess dust off with a dry rag and clean your work area a little.

Okay, ya with me so far? ;-)

So the last big step! You'll take the Varnish and add just a little drop again, (I would wrinse the brush out you used with the glaze first) and apply to all sides. Let sit for a good 30 minutes between applications. I applied the varnish 3 times just to make sure the paper was good and covered...

And here's your final product!

Aren't they so adorable? Well, I love them. And we've used them a lot since I put them together. This was a really fast project. Once I had everything it just took me the day. And I mean "day" by: put the varnish on, wait 30 minutes, do a load of laundry, then come back and do it again "day".

Happy Craft Day!

Courtney