Recycled Blocks

My children had all kinds of cute baby toys.  Key rings, dolls, stuffed animals, and of course, stacking blocks.

I have this horrible confession to make.  I actually bought these block a little over two months ago....and it wasn't for one of my own children.  But the point is, they were bought before I made the challenge and they have been cluttering my craft room.   I saw this idea on http://www.twelvecraftstillchristmas.blogspot.com/ and fell in love with the idea.  Follow me along as I take you step-by-step through my creative process.

Following my rules, I can't purchase anything for my projects.  I have to only use what I already have on hand.  So, I gathered my blocks, some pictures, modge-podge, a paint brush, and a paper cutter.

For my pictures, I used some old cards I had.  They had gorgeous pictures on the one side, and a great saying/quote on the other.  I purchased them YEARS ago and thought they were too great not to have.  Well, as great as they were, they remained in the pocket pouch they were purchased in.

Next, I placed just one of the pictures on my blocks to see what the best fit would be.  I found that the cards were just a bit bigger than 2x3 blocks.

 Knowing that each block measured 1 1/8 inch, I cut my pictures to measure 3 3/8 inches longways and 2 1/4 inches...and trimmed.



I did this with 6 seperate pictures.  Then I cut each picture into 1 1/8 inch squares.

Each picture was now 6 separate blocks.  I put each picture set in a stack and set aside.

Using my paintbrush, I generously brushed modge-podge onto just one side of my block.

I then pressed one of the picture squares firmly onto the glue and held for ten seconds. 

 I brushed a layer of modge podge on top of the picture and did the same with the remaining 5 blocks (using the squares from the same picture). 

I repeated this process (usually a different side of the block) for the remaining 5 pictures.  I love my final product, a 6 sided puzzle.

You might want to take a picture of your original pictures before cutting them up to use as a guide when putting the puzzle together; it can be quite tricky otherwise.  I didn't think of that ahead of time. 

I have done this project using scrapbook paper and the pictures on the back of calendars (they were about 2x2 in size).  Whatever you have works.

And if you're wondering what I did with my scraps.  Not to worry...I put them in my recycled paper stash ready to go to the depot.

There you have it!  Recycled block project.  Can't wait to see what's next.