7.20.2011

DIY Alphabet Blocks

Well, here I am, 36 weeks pregnant and covered in poison ivy! The best way to forget about this poisonous plant's irritating effect is to stay busy....
So! Yesterday I kept my mind off how itchy I was by creating alphabet blocks for Finn's room.


My inspiration came from these fabulous blocks I found on Etsy for $32.oo.
Via Tiny Giraffe


I started off with 1.5" wooden blocks from Michael's for about $1.50 a piece. I also thought you could purchase a piece of post lumber from Lowe's or Home Depot and cut it into cubes as well (I can't take credit for that idea, it was totally my husband!).

I painted each of them ivory using a sponge brush-so much better than a paint brush.

For the block lettering I used the font Toskanische Egyptienne Initialen from dafont.com
I love being able to cut adhesive vinyl from the Silhouette SD, but I have to tell you, I really struggled at first getting acquainted with how it all works. 
After toying with inch after inch of vinyl I realized that the only way I can get my machine to cut vinyl properly is using the blue knife cap, a speed of 1, and a thickness of 1. Anything faster or thicker and the blade would slice straight through the vinyl and the backing, resulting in a huge disaster.

I also had to learn the hard way that you load the vinyl roll directly into the machine, rather than cutting the appropriate length to load.
And don't be discouraged if the vinyl gets jammed while you're trying to load it, it usually takes me 3-4 tries before it finally feeds through. Just take it out, smooth it down and reload it. Eventually you'll be good to go!

Here I'm peeling off the excess vinyl from the transfer paper:

Since this font is so detailed, I had to use a sewing pin to take off the unneeded vinyl, leaving behind the skinny outline of the letter. Here's what the letter N looks like as it's stuck to the transfer paper:

Then I press the letter, vinyl side down, onto the block and smooth it over. The transfer paper is then removed, and yahoo! it worked!!

At this point I was already so proud of the outcome, but I wanted to add some Distress Ink to the edges and then seal them up so they last a good long time.

I love this stuff!

And here they are! I think I'm pretty proud of them! The only letter missing from this set is M. For some reason, the Silhouette couldn't take all the detail and never cut that letter quite right. Oh well, it'll be our secret!
The distress ink ended up drying more gray than brown, which I am totally fine with!
I'm going to have too much fun spelling random things out of these blocks...and even though they can't spell mom, because the M is missing, I made sure that words like dad, sly fox, and Finn would be possible! And forest, of course.

Even if you don't have a Silhouette or other cutting machine, you could definitely still make these guys with stickers or paint lettering on freehand or with stencils. Isn't this a great idea for something to pass on for generations?


Now if only this poison ivy would go away! (Can you imagine being in labor while covered in red, itchy, oozing bumps?!...me neither, because it's not gonna happen!)
I'm linking up with...

7 comments:

  1. Thank you for leaving a comment on my blog. I appreciate you stopping by and just have to say that these blocks came out great! I really like the font you chose! :)

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  2. These are beautiful! I love the font- so many possibilites! I'm sharing these on my FB Page :)

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  3. Oooh, these turned out EXACTLY like the ones on Etsy. Great job! Oh, the possibilities. ;)

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  4. you are going to have the coolest baby on the block! (pun totally intended.) cute idea! i like the burlap letters too. i might have to recreate these ideas for myself.

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  5. I need to check out this Silhouette thing. I've been looking for a way to make decals/stuff like that, and it looks like this is it!

    PS... Love the room.

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  6. this may be a really silly question, but how did you decide which letters to pair up on the same block? I'm having the hardest time deciding. Also, did you make some duplicate letters so he can make different words? Your blocks turned out great!

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  7. Great job. Why don't you just do a few extra W's and turn those upside down for M's???

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