Personalized Wood Blocks

 

Just like I promised….my homemade wedding gift to a special couple. These were so much fun to make with only a few steps to a great personalized present.

 

 

I had my husband cut two blocks for me. The larger is 7.5″ wide and the smaller is 5″ wide. I sanded them to have a slightly rounded edge on the front then painted with the new Americana Multi-Surface Satin. I first painted a base coat of Coffee Bean and then I dry brushed a light coat of Black Tie. Once the paint was dry, I lightly sanded again to give it an aged look.

 

 

The next step was to get the background paper on. I used a thin coat of Mod Podge to secure my paper. I love how it gives a melted in to the wood look. After about 10 minutes, I sanded the edges of the paper and inked them with Old Paper Distress Ink. Then another thin coat of Mod Podge to adhere the lettering. (side note: while looking at the picture above to write this, I realized I put the paper on in two different directions. I hope to goodness the bride-to-be doesn’t notice…DOH!!)

 

 

For the lettering, I used my machine and cut three different fonts out to see which one I liked the best. I settled on Cotton Candy by Lettering Delights. I was worried it may be a little too child-like for this project, but it goes very well. After I had the lettering on, another thin coat of Mod Podge. When I was sure all the previous layers were dry, I added two more, drying between each. That’s it, all done! I could have sprayed a matte or gloss sealer over the final layer, but this is not going to see too much action on a fireplace mantel so I think it will be fine as is.