Supplies needed- Wooden blocks, printed art or drawings, Mod podge or watered down school glue, old brush, scissors, ruler, pencil, paint.
I picked up one of those grab bags at the thrift store. I wanted the craft supplies in it, new paint, brand new brushes and card stock papers. I use those grab bags for the kits we make and hand out. This particular grab bag had some old wooden blocks that had 1990’s style country folk art letters painted on them in hunter green and maroon colors.
I usually put all my weird items from grab bags into one large plastic container to use for art and craft repurposing projects later. After I redo them I usually donate them back or gift them to someone…if it isn’t one of those nail it moments. You all know how that goes. I think it’s so important to keep creating and using our brains to work on new things. It’s also very calming.
Anyway, I had these block and didn’t know what to do with them so I decided to paint them with some left over primer paint I have from house renovations. It worked really well, covered up all those dark country colors from th past, just updating an recycling.
I made some paper copies of some art and then I used the blocks to trace over the printed art to decoupage onto all six sides of the block. When cutting out the prints make sure to stay as close to the image for the puzzle you are making. I trim a little away to fit the block better but not too much as it will interfere with the puzzle picture you are making.
Once you have your paper pieces cut out then decoupage onto your blocks.
This is a very easy craft project and you can use just about any image. You can use your own art work if you like. I only had four HUGE blocks to cover but you could use as many blocks as you like depending on size of your paper print.
This also would be a fun project for children with Autism spectrum disorders. Having 4 puzzle pieces keeps things simple and less frustrating for early learners. You could have a whole varriety of these sets,. You can have one side be a number or letter to put together when teaching numbers and letters, or even colors. You could make emotion block puzzles where one side has a sad face expression and other side of the puzzle has a happy face. It’s endless what you can do.
For family members who are showing signs of memory loss, you could print up paper photos of family members to work on to help with memory skills and puzzles. I’m adding that part because I have noticed more and more dementia cases coming up. I had an aunt who passed away from this and it is so devastating for everyone when this happens. I might do a post on memory games and tips to help us all exercise our brains too. Just learning a new skill is a big deal when it comes to our brain health.
So, remember…those odd items in grab bags can be turned into something fun to create. Happy crafting everyone.
Our Little Red House 
This has brought back a vague memory from childhood. I can remember either having something like this myself or I had seen these elsewhere.
Making your own, even better.
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I had block puzzles like this as a kid and I would buy hand made sets for my children when they were little. I like that it includes pretty art, it would look nice on a book shelf or a table.
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Wow this is an amazing project! I am very impressed you actually made something from those yummy grab bags at the thrift store rather putting them away for a “someday project” like I have in the past, ha!
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That is so funny, I have a box of unfinished projects and on a slow day, or just a day off every now and then and when I feel like creating something, I grab something out of that plastic bin. I usually donate the items back, it’s like putting together a puzzle. Those grab bags are dangerous, have to be careful with clutter. Sometimes I will open the bag there in the store after I buy one and take the items I want out of the bag and leave the items I don’t want back to the store, donating it back. I’m still looking for a bag of tiny Steiff teddies, that would be a fun bag to find.
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I do the same thing – I buy the bag for what I want and leave behind at the counter what I don’t for them to repackage and resell 🙂
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Those bags of surprises are fun. I love opening them up to see whats all in there. I hate it when there are good bags hanging up with broken pieces inside that were not broken when put in. That’s so sad…the bags fall down all the time.
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My favorite find was for $3.99 a bag of beautiful Japanese little bowls (like for Sake) that they could have easily sold each for $3.99!
Oh yes – bummer when you find broken things!
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That’s the best, when you find many treasures in one little bag.
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This idea inspired me. ☺️ I’m excited to try this for my daughter who is currently enjoying puzzles.
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Thank you, that will be a fun project for you both and a great way to exercise that beautiful brain too. Have to remember to be creative with our brains too, so healthy for us all.
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Love this and yours came out wonderful.
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Thank you.
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You have a very creative eye – turning wooden blocks into refined luxury!
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Thank you, that is really kind of you to write. This is such an easy project, and fun too. It would be a nice gift for toddlers too.
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