DIY Holiday Wood Block Set

Holiday wood blocks are a fun and easy craft project that the whole family can enjoy. And they make great gifts too!

You can customize them for whatever holidays you want and you can choose from thousands of decorative papers to make them fit your style and personality.

Step 1. Cut your reversable wood blocks

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You will need some wood blocks. You can make them any size and shape that you want but I used an 8′ 2 x 2 board I purchased at Lowe’s for less than $2 and cut them into 3 different sizes. The largest was 12″long, then 11″ and finally 10″. That gave me enough to do 2 sets of 3 and one set of 11″ x 10″ x 9″ blocks.

Step 2. Sand your blocks smooth

Now that you have your blocks cut, or if you purchased them the size you want, you will need to sand them down and make them smooth. You can use a piece of sandpaper or a hand sander to do this. They are small enough that a piece of sandpaper works just fine.

You can also paint or stain your holiday wood blocks depending on the look you want. You will see a little bit of the boards edges when you’re finished. I kept my boards natural and sanded the edges after I finished the blocks to give it a rustic look.

If you do paint or stain let them dry completely before you attach your papers.

Step 3. Choose your holidays and coordinating papers

Now you must choose four holidays that you want to display. I chose Valentine’s Day, Easter, Halloween, and Christmas, but you can choose whatever holidays you want.

You could also do birthdays, anniversaries, Mother’s Day, or any other holiday or family celebration. I was just thinking that I should make one for my granddaughter. Each side could be one of her favorite things, favorite sayings, or even just pretty designs to coordinate with her room’s decor.

Now that you chose your holiday or theme, you will want to purchase a variety of scrapbook papers to coordinate with the holidays you picked.

You have 4 sides to your blocks so you can choose 4 holidays and you’ll need 3 different papers that work together for each holiday. Once you choose your papers you’ll want to cut them into strips just shy of the length and width of each side of your block.

Using a paper cutter will make this job very easy but you can also use a pair of scissors as well.

*Remember the measurement of the board you purchased isn’t the actual measurement. My 2 x 2 board was actually 1 1/4 x 1 1/4. I cut my papers 1 1/8″ x the length because I wanted to see some of the board around the edges.

Lay out your cut strips on the table so you can look at them together and see if you like the combination before you glue them on.

making a holiday wood block set — Use a paper cutter to cut your paper strips

Step 4. Glue papers with Mod Podge

To adhere the papers to the holiday wood blocks I used Matte Mod Podge. All you do is put some of the paste on one side of the board and lay your paper on it.

Smooth it out with your brush or fingers then let it dry a little. You need a few minutes to let it dry because if you put Mod Podge on top of the paper right away you may get bubbles and you don’t want that.

Attach all 4 sides of your paper then add more Mod Podge on top of the paper and all the way to the edges. This paste dries clear and it makes a nice seal on the wood.

If you do get bubbles, or the edges lift, just use your fingers to smooth it out. You may have to do this a few times while the glue is drying to keep it down, especially if your paper is thick.

Step 5. Print sayings and glue to your blocks

For the words, I used my Cricut with permanent vinyl to cut out the holiday names for my first set of blocks.

For the 4th of July block, all I did is type the holiday name in Word, printed it on my home printer, and then cut it out.

You can also use stencils and paint, stickers, or even a marker to make your words. Glue the words down to the board the same way as the decorative paper.

Step 6. Add final coat of Mod Podge

Once you have added all of your papers and names, add one more coat of Mod Podge to seal the whole block. Leave one side so you can set it down while it dries, then flip them and do the final side. Remember, while the glue is drying it will be cloudy, but it dries clear.

If you like the antique look like I do, you can take some sandpaper and scrape up each side a little to make it look worn after the glue is dried. But if rustic is not your cup of tea, your all done!