"Lucky" Wood Blocks

Hey, hey! It's project time. Whee!! And just in time for St. Patrick's Day, how about another piece of holiday decor? Are you keeping track here? Because this makes two pieces of decor for St. Patrick's Day. Whoa. I'm totally getting out of control.

You might remember that I made a set of Trick or Treat wood blocks for Halloween. I like them quite a bit, so they're now becoming a series thing. You know...like I'll have sets for all of the major holidays. Why not? They're easy to make and I have wood floating around. Sounds like a plan.

So, to make these yourself, you won't need a whole lot of stuff. In fact, all you'll need is:

* 5 wood blocks cut from a 2x4. All of the wood blocks I use for these holiday blocks are cut at lengths between 3 and 5 inches. I like to mix and match them. I sanded the edges of my blocks to keep my super accident prone self from getting any splinters. Unlike my Halloween blocks, I didn't paint these ones before getting going. I didn't feel like these ones really needed it.

* Patterned paper. The thinner paper works the best. Cardstock works, but the coated cardstock is a bit of a pain. It doesn't deal well with the ModPodge, since ideally you want the paper to soak up the ModPodge to some extent. You can use just one pattern of paper for all of the blocks, or you can mix it up and use a different pattern for each block like I did.

* Letters. I cut all of my letters out from sparkled black cardstock using my Pazzle. You could also use stamps, stickers or chipboard. Whatever floats your boat.

*Adhesive for your letters. Again, you can go a lot of different ways here. I like to use my Xyron Sticker Maker, but even a glue stick will work just fine.

* ModPodge and a paint brush. For these blocks, I used Gloss ModPodge. I use foam brushes, but any brush will work.

Alright, are you ready to assemble?

Measure the height and width of each of your selected wood blocks. I marked each block with its measurements and the letter that it would end up being so that I didn't get the block turned upside down or accidentally switch two similar blocks when it came time to adhere the paper.

Cut out your paper to the dimensions of each block. When in doubt, cut just a titch smaller. It's easier to adhere paper that's a little smaller than the wood block than it is to mold the paper over the edges...especially if your paper is a little on the thick side.

Adhere letters to their corresponding papers.

Attach the paper to the wood block using the ModPodge. Now...it typically works out better to put the ModPodge on the paper and then attach versus putting the ModPodge on the block. Both options will work, but putting the adhesive on the paper will result in less of a wrinkled appearance when you're done.

Let the blocks dry. Make sure you wait enough time in between ModPodge applications in order to prevent excess bubbles or wrinkles in the paper.

Coat the papers with a thin layer of ModPodge. Make sure you get fully over all edges. Repeat this process two to three times until you get the finish you're looking for.

And that's it! You can finish them off with clear coat, but it's not necessary if they're going to stay indoors and dry.