Double Duty Holiday Blocks

Happy Eve of Christmas Eve!  

I love this time of year.  I know it can get crazy busy, but there is just something magical in the air, IMHO.   

I wanted to make one more handmade gift over the last week or so. So, I decided on an ATB (Artist Trading Block) project.  

This is a great double duty gift.  By that I mean it can be displayed with all of your Christmas decor and continued to be loved until VALENTINE'S DAY! Yes, just rotate the blocks for a whole new look.  This is an all skill level project as well - bonus! 

With Altered Pages carrying everything you need from kits to embellishments, this is easily completed in a few hours (including drying time). 

   

In the above picture you can see that my blocks have been painted black using craft paint - you can use whatever color, sheen or finish you desire.  
Choose your background paper.  With your block as a template, cut paper to size.   I inked the paper a bit with a black ink pad.  Don't worry about being precious with this...go ahead get inky.  I think it adds a lot of charm.  

Give each block a bit of a sand or a lot of a sanding if you want more distress. Then add a coat of Tacky Glue or matte medium to the front of your block to decoupage and add your paper.  

   

Seriously, already come the final touches...letters, embellishments, etc. and you are almost done.  Altered Pages has so many papers and images to choose from.  Choose the digital collage option and you can easily resize to fit your needs.   Here is one... 

The JOY letters that I used were from a rich red paper that was run through my Silhouette.  I then added a few fussy cut holly berries, red, green and white twine and a few other details. 
Now, flip those blocks around and....
My LUV letters were printed on vintage text page run through my printer.  They were then glued to my base paper.  I used an embossed Kaiser Craft 6x6 paperpack.   Can you see those sweet little hummingbirds?  

   

With letters or images adhered to blocks with charms, crowns and wooden treats for extra sweetness you have a sweet homemade gift that can enjoy the spotlight for more than just one holiday.  

Flip side...

Thanks for stopping by.

I am honored to be included with this 

inspiring group of women and artists. 

I wish you all a very 

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanza. 

~Stephanie 

Supply list...

Artist Trading Blocks set of 3 

ATB Fall Blocks Kit with fall veggies

Glitz 6x6 paperpack - Hello December  this was used for the chevron Joy background. 

Twine Spools - red, green & white

Altered Art Pack for fun embellishments

KaiserCraft 6x6 paperpack - Hummingbird  this was used for the pink LUV background

Laser Cut Wood Keys 

Vintage Text Pages

Leather Bound Books  

Dimensional adhesives

Craft paints, inks, mists...

Many Uses Vintage Christmas Tree

Wow, December 2nd...how is this year almost over already?!?!  It truly is crazy how time flies, well, I guess it is easy to see that times flies when you are having fun creating.  That is what I have been doing lately, with the help of Alteredpages.com.  I actually had a little help this time around from Diydesignstudio.com as well.  Scroll along and see what I came up with. 

I grabbed one of the adorable wood and chicken wire trees from DIY Design Studio and gave the entire tree a coat of craft paint in purple. 

I then gave it a light dry brushing with chalk paint in cream.  The tree is 15 inches tall and makes a wonderful statement piece.   

   

I then gave the entire tree a bit of sanding to distress it and reveal the wood grain below.    I also added two coats of Dixie Belle satin clear coat sealer  from DIY Design Studio.

   

 Next, came embellishments consisting of lace, cup chain, jewelry pieces, beads and crystals.  

All embellishments were added using Crystal Lacquer.

The crystals and jewelry pieces came in a great jewelry pack full of all sorts of
goodies.  You could use rustic colors and embellishments too.   Maybe include wooden ornaments or beads.

   

I finished the piece by wiring the crystals and beads onto a beautiful trim. 

I also added a skeleton key that I had in my stash.

You can coordinate any colors to match your theme. 

I attached the trim to the back of tree where you won't see the mechanics of it.

   

These trees are a great starting base for many cute projects.

You could add mini clothespins to attach your Christmas cards  to the chicken wire and how cute of a display would that be?  You could choose white on white on white for a shabby look.  Metallics are always a great color choice for Christmas crafts.   They even come with a jute hanger already attached.

You can find everything you need at Alteredpages.com.

Thanks for joining me.

Have a great weekend!

~Stephanie