Reversible Thanksgiving / Christmas Blocks with 2×4’s

We made these reversible thanksgiving/ Christmas blocks from 2 x 4’s for the craft show.  Of course they are super easy (after the nasty cutting and sanding stage).  We color washed them and decoupaged scrapbook paper to the front and back.  This first set is free handed letters.

 

We also made some with letters cut with the Silhouette.

2×4 pumpkin blocks

But what I really fell in love with was the 2×4 block pumpkins.  I decoupaged all four sides and added a stem and burlap leaves.  The stem is a paper funnel wrapped with yarn or jute.  I painted my burlap with decoupage (actually I ran out of Modge Podge about half way through, so you will be happy to know I substituted elmer’s glue straight from the bottle with no noticeable difference).  The “decoupage” made the burlap stiff so I could cut out leaf shapes.  I wrapped a bit of craft wire with brown floral tape and hot glued the burlap leaves to it after wrapping it around the stem.  They were a little more work with the stem and flowers, but oh, so worth it!

2×4 pumpkin

Here is a taller large pumpkin in a 2×4 grouping.  I used the freezer paper transfer method to apply lettering and flourishes to the pumpkins and hot glued them together.  They don’t like to be dropped on concrete though.  I think I have dropped them about 3 times now and had to glue them back together.

4×4 pumpkins

These pumpkins are made from fence post.  I just used some scraps for the stems.

Have you used salvage wood for your fall decorations?  We would like to hear about it in the comments!

 

We purchased these paint cans for a ladies retreat in October.  They are super easy to class up with scrapbook paper, or fabric and ribbon.  New cans can be purchased from your local paint dealer.  Ours cost $2 and we decided it would make a great cookie/ treat tin for the holidays.  It takes two papers to cover each can.  You can remove the handles to make it easier to manage.  Punch holes where the handles go with a large hole punch or circle cutter. Paint cans are great because they have straight sides so there is no guess work getting your paper to fit.  You only need to hot glue the edges of the paper.  One thing to note is that the cans are metal which means they cool down your glue very quickly.  It helps to apply the glue to the paper instead of the can, but you still must work quickly before the glue cools. Add a contrasting belly band, a wide ribbon or a strip of burlap.  We added burlap and burlap rosettes.