I wanted to share these really cute blocks I made as gifts a while ago. Then I realized that at least one of the recipients reads the blog and I didn’t want to give any surprises away, so I waited. Then the Christmas craziness came and went, and I’m just now getting around to it. The good news for you is, it’s not a distinctly Christmas gift, so if you love it and want to make one, you still can : )
This is just one of the ones I made. I actually ended up making three. Let me start by saying, this is not original to me!! Back in November I found something very similar on Pinterest and LOVED the idea. I immediately thought of one of my husband’s aunts. She has 10 gandkids and they all live super close to her and are always at her house. Perfect, right?!
Well, I decided that if I was going to make one for her, I was also going to make one for my mom and grandma. On the rare occasion that we get back to my hometown, my kids love getting together with their cousins!
The only problem was, the grandmas I wanted to make the blocks for, each went by a different name! I needed a Nanny, a Nina and a Grandma! I do have a cricut, and yes, I’m sure I could have cut the vinyl on my own, but I have never tried and I didn’t really want my first time trying it out to be for something I was supposed to be giving as gifts! So instead, I called on my friend Ginger, who is the vinyl queen!! And she was gracious enough to work her magic and get it cut out for me. In fact, if you follow Ginger’s blog (which you should b/c it rocks) you have probably already seen the blocks she did. But even if you did, hang with me because there are a couple of things I did differently.
So, are you ready to make one?! All you need is a scrap piece of 2×4, black paint (I used spray paint), some sandpaper (to distress it), ribbon & a cabinet knob (both are totally optional) and the vinyl quote. Once I had all the stuff I needed, this literally took me less than an hour to make all 3 (that includes drying time)!
If you have a cricut or a silhouette (or a friend that does) you can cut the vinyl yourself. If not, I’m sure there are plenty of etsy shops that would do a custom cut for you although I don’t have one in particular to recommend. Or, this is the original link for the block I saw on Pinterest. It looks like you should be able to order it from there as well.
To start, cut your 2×4 down to the right size (it’ll depend on the size of your vinyl), and paint it black. I only gave mine one good coat because I knew I was going to distress it later anyway. Once it was dry I used my little sander (I think it’s a Black N Decker Mouse) and sanded the edges some.
Next you will apply your vinyl to the block. This can be kind of tricky on the wood, so just take your time and go slow! At this point you’re pretty much done! Or…you can pull out a knob and some of that ribbon and add to the cuteness!
I didn’t have any knobs on hand, but you can find them pretty much anywhere these days. I bought this pack of two, brushed nickel, knobs at Walmart for just a few dollars. I hemmed and hawed about how I was going to attach them and finally just decided to go with my trusty E6000 industrial strength adhesive, and it worked like a charm. Just a dab will do ya! I centered the knobs right on top and when the glue was dry I tied some ribbon around them!
For the last one I decided to try something a little different and left off the knob. I had some inch and a half wide ribbon that I had just bought and really wanted to use on something so I cut a piece long enough to wrap the whole way around the edge and tied it off in a knot on the top.
I really like both styles! The nice thing about ribbon is that it can be changed out as much as you want. You could go seasonal/holiday or something to match your decor.
Well there you have it… a great gift for grandma! You could wait for the next holiday to give it to her, or just have something special to take the next time you get to see her!!