Summer Blocks

These cute little summer blocks are so simple.  They just take a little time and you have a wonderful, reusable decor piece year after year.  I found that spring, winter, and summer all have six letters in them. Plus autumn does as well.  I had planned on using the word fall instead, but now that I've found a six letter word I'm tempted to change my planning.  But I'm getting ahead of myself.

First you have to decide what size block you want.  When I first cut these, 2 inches seemed so big.  I couldn't imagine having an entire foot of blocks on my entertainment center.  So I cut mine about 1.5 inches.  Honestly two would have been just fine.  I like mine, but they are a bit small.  

Then I started thinking about what word I wanted to put on them.  As I said, all the seasons can be summed up in six letters.  So I'm planning to put all the words on these blocks, just different sides.  And if you want to get really creative, you have both ends as well, giving you the possibility of six words.

For summer, I wanted some rich color so I went with the green paint.  Not sure why since it's so hot here that my lawn turns brown.  Anyways... I started by lightly sanding the surface, paying close attention to the edges.  Then I went through and painted each of my blocks, giving them two thoroughly dried coats, painting with the grain.

Then using my Cricut (or any stencil you'd like), I cut out the letters for my word.  I wasn't sure about the color, but I like the way the white stands out on the green.  I simply used Mod Podge to adhere the letters and embellishments.  Then after that dries, I added another layer of Mod Podge to seal them.

I think they look pretty cute hanging out by pictures of my babies.  (No that wasn't intentional, but they sure look cute in the background, huh?)

Let me leave you with a final word of warning.  If you do plan on flipping them and changing the sides, don't do what I did.  I added tiny seashells as embellishments on Summer.  They look so cute and I really do love them.  But when I flip the blocks to another side, they don't sit level.  Although it's not much of a different, it is a slight one and it might just drive me crazy.  So keep your embellishments flat.

And there you have it... super easy, super cute, and super affordable.  The wood was leftover at my mom's, and the Mod Podge, paint, and embellishments were all stuff I had on hand.

Hope you like them!

*Linked to Frugal Friday