The zombie apocalypse is coming!

If you haven't heard already there will be a zombie apocalypse in the near future.

In celebration of that and the awesome show "The Walking Dead" I present to you....zombies

I learned that I have mad bloody intestine and blood spatter skillz. One side says "zombies" and the other side says "brains". I would have totally made a clay brain but I couldn't find any brain molds. The blocks also have dripping blood and bloody fingerprints. I tried to put teeth marks in the blocks to make it look like a zombie bit the wood. Well, let's just say that I didn't want to break my teeth. I took one for the team and tried biting it but the wood was just too hard. Maybe if I had used balsa wood it would have worked. That's just how dedicated I am.

These blocks are actually for a friend but I totally might make a set for myself :)

Christmas Projects Galore!!!

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas. Our weekend was full of family and friends and lots of presents. My grandma had knee replacement surgery so we visited her at the rehab center since she couldn't be home with us.

Even kitty joined in on the Christmas fun. What cat can't resist a big wad of wrapping paper?

Here are a few projects I did over the past month. Ideas came from the various blogs I subscribe to and others came from pinterest. All were given as gifts.

First up...cinnamon candles for the daycare/preschool teachers

These candles were pretty simple. I had to cut the cinnamon sticks down to size, added a little dab of hot glue, and glued them to the candle. I cut a 1 inch strip of burlap and wrapped it around the sticks, tied together with jute and stuck in a sprig of winter berries.

My next project was these little magnets.

I cut 1 inch circles with my Martha Stewart circle cutter. BEWARE: I learned the hard way that the blades are SUPER sharp. But that's another story for another time....

I glued the circles into the bottle caps using Glossy Accents. Then I carefully poured Mod Podge Dimensional Magic on top of the paper. It looks all murky at first but eventually dries to a clear epoxy-like finish. Once they were dry I put little magnets on the back.

Next up...cute holiday votives

I started out with a snowflake stamp. I used Versamark ink and carefully stamped the images on the glass votive. I sprinkled clear embossing powder and hit it with the heat gun. When stamping/embossing on glass it is very important to clean the glass with alcohol and avoid touching the glass. The oils from your skin will leave marks on the glass and the embossing powder will stick. It's also important to remember that glass when heated is HOT.

After embossing I made a mixture of glitter and epsom salts and stuck a tea light in the bottom. Voila!

Up next...FAMILY blocks

These are my standard blocks covered with patterned paper. I painted grungeboard letters and glued them on. The silver background is from a flourish stamp inked with versamark ink and brushed over with Perfect Pearls Pewter powder. I like the subtle effect it gives the blocks.

Whew! Those were just a few of the many gifts I made this year.

The weekend in review

It was yet another relaxing weekend. The boy took a lllooonnnggg nap on Saturday so I used the time and finished up a paper for school. That left my entire Sunday free to do whatever....and you know what that whatever was!

[craft table in disarray]

Here are some "santa" blocks that were made by special request. I even used some of my new paper :)

Instead of inking the edges I used white acrylic paint to make it look like ice/snow. The letters are covered in star dust stickles but the camera doesn't do the glittery goodness justice. I threw on another layer just for good measure.

Then I finished up a christmas present for my mother in law. I only have pictures of the front of the blocks but the paper covering the other sides is really great.

And do you think I could figure out how to flip the picture around? Oh well. I've been a little "technically challenged" these past few days.



I love fall

I love fall. I love the smell of falling leaves. I love the colors of the trees. I love the cool weather (except it hasn't been too cool this week!). I love fall colors. I love that Halloween is just around the corner.

Here are some blocks I made for fall. They will be listed on on my etsy page tonight.

I had some scrap paper that looked fall-ish to me so I used up the rest of the paper.

Set 1:

Set 2:

Set 3:

I took the pictures outside on my deck which I thought was fitting today since the farmers are harvesting the beans and corn across the street.

Harvesting crops = unhappy sinuses and LOTS of dust!

Harvest Blocks Part 2

Ok, so the site is acting really weird and wouldn't let me type any text beneath the picture.

Next I painted a thin layer of paint on a rubber stamp and stamped the image on a square of paper.

I inked grunge letters with forest moss distress ink then covered with peeled paint distress stickles.

Then I put the whole shebang together. I cut the squares a smaller size so that you might see the distressed technique but I think I should have made them a little smaller. They aren't terrible by any means but they aren't my favorite set either.

Please ignore the dirty dishes in the background. It is Sunday and yesterday was house cleaning day. I would end up doing dishes twice a day if I let it bother me that much. :)

Project: Disney is finished!

I met up with my friend halfway between our houses yesterday to deliver her darling daughter's birthday blocks. We live in different states and the halfway point isn't too far for either of us. We had a wonderful lunch and spent a few hours just walking through the mall and visiting.

Here is a peek at the final product with a few "action" shots:

In my previous post I had put a base coat of white and pink on all of the blocks. The next step was to trace the letters on the blocks. I downloaded a Disney font and printed out the letters. In order to keep the spacing right I just cut the letters out of the paper and traced them on that way.

 Lots of cutting...

tracing and painting

I traced the letters and went over them with a paint pen. Then I filled in the spaces with acrylic paint and a brush. It would have been easier to just use the paint pen but the fumes were giving me a major headache.

The next step was to trace circles on the birthday block. I used the caps of both of my white and black paint pens. 

And...viola! I'm so happy my friend liked them :)

We also decided she can reuse the base blocks over and over and just repaint the top block every year. 

Despite a few "issues" I think they turned out really well.

Long time no blog

I'll admit...I haven't even cracked open my laptop since Thursday night. Friday night was spent grocery shopping. Saturday we took a trip to Menard's so I could buy some wood for a project I'm working on for a friend (details to come later). Yesterday was spent cleaning my entire house. It is so clean and smelling good!

Now I sit in front of my old friend, eating cereal and staring at the huge stack of wood CB cut for me. My living room smells like wood LOL!

I'll start by posting pictures of some blocks I made for my BFF, otherwise known as Tiki Laru.

They are my basic blocks except I chose not to ink the edges. I think it gives them a more "weathered" beachy look.

And I also made another set of spooky blocks for my friend B...and am working on another order of the same blocks for my mom. Boy, those sure are popular! If you want a set you can get them on my etsy page.

That's all for now. I have more pics from the campground weekend and the circus but I'll leave that for another post.

More blocks

Little buddy has been running a fever again which means we stayed home today. He slept forever so I finished up another set of halloween blocks that I've been working on.

Tutorial:
1. Paint blocks with black acrylic paint
2. Cut paper to size (1.5 x 1.5 inches)
3. Adhere paper to wood  blocks using mod podge
4. Stamp with spider webs, bats, cat
5. Go over spider webs with diamond stickles
6. Paint grunge letters with black acrylic paint and cover with diamond stickles
7. Adhere letters with glossy accents
8. Ink the edges with black chalk ink
9. Cover the blocks again with a final coat of mod podge.

Like them? They are for sale in my etsy shop.

Boo! to you

I heart Halloween. It is probably my favorite holiday (with Christmas following in a close second). Anyway, I've seen various versions of these blocks over the years at Spoon River Drive and thought I'd make my own. Of course I also listed these at my etsy shop.

Quick tutorial...and sorry no pics. It's hard to take a picture one-handed while working on this stuff.

1. Paint wood blocks with black paint.
2. Cut paper squares to fit each block. These are 1 1/2 inches so my creative memories square punch cuts the perfect size.
3. Attach paper using a thin layer of mod podge.
4. Trim any paper that is hanging over the edge and gently sand.
5. The letters are tricky. I cut out the letters using my Slice and Spook Alley design card. Then I traced the letters on the blocks in pencil. I used a black paint pen to fill it in.
6. Ink the sanded edges with black chalk ink. This gives it a "spookier" feel.
7. Add another thin layer of mod podge and let dry.

These are very quick and very easy to make. You could also use painted chipboard or stickers instead of hand-painting the letters. It would probably be easier and I should do that to weed through my letter sticker stash but I never think about it until I'm finished.