What you need to make wooden I love you blocks:
• Sandpaper
• Red and white paint
• 1x thin paintbrush, 1x thick paintbrush
• Carbon paper
• Pencil
• Newspaper
• Stencils for "I", a "heart" and "U", or the designs on paper
• Aprons or cloths for cleaning in case you mess
Make sure you have a clean and tidy work surface. This is a messy craft and could cause damage
if you mess, so make sure you work through this craft carefully.
Step 1
Cut out wooden blocks from old offcuts of wood. In our case we used old wooden pallets.
Upcycling or re-using wood rather than having it end up in a landfill is a great way to help
save the planet. The bonus is you have a really beautiful gift you could give to someone or
for Valentine's Day. The blocks don’t need to be any specific size - so use whatever wood you
happen to have and just cut it into cubes.
Step 2
Using the sandpaper, sand the wood to a nice, smooth surface to work on this will ensure less
chance of getting splinters.
Step 3
Using the thick paint brush, paint the surface of the wood with your base colour. We have used
red PVA for the one set, but you can use enamel or Upcycle any paint you have lying around.
Remember that you need very little paint for this project so see what unused paint you have
lying around rather than going out and buying new paint.
Step 4
Once the blocks have been painted, leave to dry for approx.… 2 hours or so, and then give them
a light sanding to smooth the surface.
Step 5
Paint the blocks again - they'll look much better with a second coat of paint, and then leave
to dry.
Step 6
If you are using a stencil, simply stencil the designs onto the wooden blocks. If you don't
have a stencil, place a piece of carbon paper over your wooden block, place the design on top
of the carbon paper and then trace it. When you remove the carbon paper, the design will be on
the wooden block.
Step 7
Use your contrasting colour and a smaller, finer paint brush, and then paint the design onto
the wooden block. You might need to do two or three coats to get a solid, uniform colour
finish.
You could do the design on just one side and make three blocks to get the "I love U", or you
could make one block with I love you on the one block like a dice. If you do it on just one
block, make sure that the opposite ends have the same design.
Step 8
When you are done, you can finish off your blocks by painting with a coat of Dala hard varnish
or something similar. This will help protect the blocks from damage. These wooden blocks make
ideal gifts for Valentine's Day, or as a gift for someone special.
