Photo Letter Blocks

I saw these photo message blocks over at the Stories by Me! blog on Pinterest, and thought what a wonderful surprise they would be for my Best Buddy who lives out of state. The poor girl ends up with all my craft attempts. This one, however, turned out pretty slick, even if my photos don't do them any justice. (Maybe she'll take a photo of them for me in their natural setting and share it.)


Pinspiration: Letter Blocks

What I used: 

• 3 to 6 blocks depending on your word(s). I found blocks measuring about 1.5 inches, but these are a little small.
• 3 - 4 coordinating scrapbook papers to match your theme
• ModPodge Matte Decoupage Glue - (Or make your own)
• Laser Printer - Inkjet colors will smear if they get wet! Most home printers are Inkjet.
• Scissors
• Foam Brush
• Sandpaper/Sanding Block
• 9 to 18 photos formatted to fit your blocks. 
• Photo editing software, such as Adobe® PhotoShop® (Gimp a downloadable program or Pixlr, an online photo editing program would work as well)

Optional:

• Finishing Spray
• Distress Ink or Chalk
• Letter Stencils
• Acrylic Paint

How To:

1. GET ORGANIZED. Figure out what you want to spell. I wanted to have two words on opposite sides of the blocks. I chose F-A-M-I-L-Y and F-R-I-E-N-D. Then I picked out some bright and summery colored paper that I knew my friend would like. Then I sorted through a bunch of photos to narrow down which ones I thought were worthy.
   
   
2. I used PhotoShop to re-size my images to what I needed and printed mine in black and white on the laser printer. You could use real photos though, printed from a photo lab.
   
   

3. I printed my letters out onto scrapbook paper that I had to trim to 8.5"x11" in order to run through the printer. Another option could be to paint or stencil your letters on to the paper. You could also cut your letters out and glue just the letters on your blocks like this example from Berlin Patch.
   
   

4. Trim all your images and letters to fit whatever size of blocks you have.
   
   
5. Paint a coat of ModPodge on the cut ends of your blocks, as they will soak up and absorb more of the glue than the other sides. Let this dry before continuing.
   
   
6. Paint a thin layer of glue to the first side of one block. Place your first photo or letter square over glue and press in to place, removing any air bubbles or crookedness. While the glue is drying, continue to repeat the process for your other blocks and squares of paper. Try your best to WAIT for the glue to dry before trimming or sanding any excess paper.
   
   
7. Once the glue is dry, sand the EDGES of each block and avoiding scratching the photos or letters. Optional: If you want an aged or distressed look, rub ink or chalk along the sides of the sanded portions of the blocks. The idea is to darken the exposed wood and disguise any white paper edges. (I chose not to do a distressed look.)
   
   
8. To protect the photos, spray a few layers of finishing Acrylic paint or a few more coats of ModPodge.