Thrift-Store Blocks Re-Do

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I came across these old blocks at the thrift store a few months ago and I knew exactly what was in store for them.

I popped off the wooden letters, painted the front black, and printed off some letters in various fonts.

I liked the way the black letters on white looked so much that I painted white over the black background. I then traced the backs of the letters in pencil, put each letter on a block, and rubbed the front with a lead-less mechanical pencil to transfer the letter outline onto the block.

I got some Craft Smart paint from Michaels that almost doubled my painting time (on the right). Do not get this stuff if you are trying to do this project, it covers like watercolor, so it makes an already time-consuming project take a lot longer. Luckily I had some of the Liquitex (on the left) leftover from another project, and that filled in the letters easily with only 1 coat.

I then sanded the letters and corners, painted over the whole thing with an antiquing glaze and wiped it off. Ta da!

I realize that glazing flirts with the fine line between making your project look antiqued, and making it look just plain dirty. I'm hoping my technique will continue to improve with time.

The black paint under the white background paint ended up coming in handy, because when I sanded the edges and corners, the black just popped right out. It didn’t even need the glaze.

What do you think? A pretty good thrift store re-do, right?

I'll be linking up to some great parties at these links, so check them out.

Have you entered the Cutting Edge Stencil giveaway yet? If you need some inspiration, check out Patrice's post here, or click and leave a comment here to enter. You don't want to miss it!

See you next Monday!!

Erin