WORDS with Friends...

Kelly here...I'm back!  Thanks, Amy.  Slowly digging out from the snow and cold in MinneSNOWta.  The kids are on spring break this week and the fam is taking a little road trip to visit one of my favorite places to get some R&R.  But, enough about me.  That's not what you're here for. 

Okay, more about me...I love decorating with words & letters.  My last name starts with an "E" so if you come to my house you get to spot all sorts of random "E's" in various locations.  Very fitting that Amy shared this pretty link from The Black Chandelier with me a few months ago.

Ten blocks...60 words!  So cute!   How fun are her music notes? 

I had some girlfriends who also showed interest in this little project so we are having a girls night with blocks...aaaaannnnd probably some wine...but, mainly blocks.  I decided before the few of us dive into this little experiment I should give it a whirl first.  Nothing like telling everyone to come on over and then spending the night with the blind leading the blind.  Just kidding.  My friends are smart.

The basics for this project are: A piece of wood (I used a 2x2"), Modge Podge, sponge brush, decorative paper, solid paper or stickers (for letters) and sandpaper. 



I had everything else, I just had to buy the wood...a whopping $3 at the Home Depot AND the piece I got was long enough to cut like 60 blocks.  Wood overload.  I am assuming craft stores carry blocks.  I'm also assuming my super long piece of wood was cheaper than pre-cut blocks.  Thankfully, I have a very nice father-in-law that was willing to cut everything for me...because I don't do saws.

PSA: MEASURE THE SIDES OF YOUR WOOD TO MAKE SURE YOU ARE CUTTING EVEN LITTLE BLOCKS.  Turns out, I am not well-versed in wood and the basics of wood cutting & measuring.  I will leave it at that.

After my 11 blocks were cut (I cut an extra in case I happened to mess something up) I did a quick sanding on the edges.  These are going to be covered with paper & depending on how clean your cut is, you might not even need to sand.  Your call.

I cut the paper to fit the size of the blocks.  So, because I had 10 blocks with 6 sides, I had to cut 60 little squares.  I cut a little more just in case.  I used a very pretty Damask pattern I had laying around that was begging to be used on a project in my home. 

I used Modge Podge to adhere the paper onto the blocks.  I did have to do a little trimming here and there.  No big deal.  For the most part, everything fit.  Pretty, huh??





Let's talk letters.  I cut mine on my Cricut using the SchoolBook cartridge.  I was able to cut all the required letters from one 12x12" piece of paper.  I played around with sizing a little bit in order to get my letters to fit perfectly. Make sure you pick a color for the letters that will really stand out against your background paper.  You can also use stickers, rub-on letters, or even stamps...whatever you think you have the patience for.  The letters go in this order so you can get the maximum number of words: 

Block One: H Y E D
Block Two: A C R S
Block Three: R P E T
Block Four: V N L O
Block Five: E O M D

Block Six: S M K I
Block Seven: T F B W
Block Eight: U A G L
Block Nine: P J I H
Block Ten: F P S C

Then, I used Modge Podge again to stick all the little letters onto the blocks...


The color for the letters turned out to be a little too bold for me.  I used some brown eyeshadow (yes, eyeshadow) to darken them a bit and make them look a little more distressed.  I was too scared to try paint and I didn't have the right color chalk.  You just never know when all that eyeshadow will come in handy. 

I then did a couple more coats of Modge Podge and let everything dry overnight. 



I put them on my wine rack...



You can spell:  Harvest, Welcome, Faith, Family, Spooky, Friends, Winter, Freedom, Bless, Snow, Home, Hope, Monster, Mother, Dream, Easter, Lucky, Love, Santa, Glory, Romance, Pumpkin, Frosty, School, Autumn, Spring, Summer, Father, Fall, Happy, Merry, Fairy, Fairies, Jolly, Flower, Wishes, America, Birthday, Flake, Hearts, Christ, Jesus, Bloom, Flag, Irish, Sun, Swim, Pool, Ghost(s), Witch(es), Vampire, Fright, Thanks, Leaf, Treats, Turkey, Jewels, Cuddle, Party, Heart, Smile, Wonder...and MUCH MORE! 

My kiddos already played with their names. 

I also played around with what I could do...



Don't worry, in the end I stuck with the "SMILE" layout. 

So, there you have it.  Pretty simple.  I am really looking forward to trying this project again with friends & making a night of it.  I hope you have as much fun creating this as I did. Be creative with your sizing and letters!  As always...Enjoy!!