Halloween blocks tutorial

I've been seeing these decorative blocks all over the place so I thought, how can I make these an upcycled craft instead of having to cut wood blocks. Here's what I came up with using what I had around the house. The only thing I bought was the Halloween paper- which was on sale at Michael's last week- and only cost me $1! I love super bargain crafting!! I'm pretty new to doing tutorials so I hope this makes sense. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask!

Step 1: Gather your supplies. You'll need some Halloween paper, 2 sheets of solid paper (for back), boxes (i used frozen dinner boxes because they seemed to be a good size), mod podge (or glue), a paintbrush, scissors, a jack-o-lantern picture, and some letters

Step 2: I placed the box in the center of one of the sheets of paper (which will be the background) and cut out the corners. I covered the front of the box with mod podge (watered-down a little), smoothed out any air bubbles, and then did the same for the sides of the box. The picture on the right is what the front of the block should look like.

Step 3: Now it's time to cut out any shapes or borders that you want to decorate your blocks with. I cut apart the striped Halloween paper and used the different stripes for borders and as a background for my letters. I found the template for the jack-o-lantern online (try googling pumpkin templates or clip art for one). I traced the template onto some printed paper and cut it out. I originally printed out letters to use but they were too small to cut out, so I improvised by cutting letters out of an old magazine to spell out happy halloween. I actually like the way these letters look a lot better than my original idea!

Step 4: Here's where it all comes together! I brushed the mod podge on the back of the borders, the letters, and the jack-o-lantern pieces and placed them on the blocks. I let them dry for a little bit and then brushed two more coats over the entire front and side surfaces of the block.

Step 5: To finish the back (and cover the part of the box that the patterned paper didn't cover) I cut out a piece of solid paper that was about a little smaller than the box (about a 1/2" less on all sides than the size of the box). I attached it with mod podge, let it dry, and then brushed another coat over the back of the box.

Step 6: Ta-da! They're finished! All that's left is to find a place for them, and maybe add a pumpkin or two! Here's a link to make this little pumpkin- it's super cute and only took about 5 minutes to make!
http://eastcoastmommyblog.blogspot.com/2011/09/5-minute-felt-pumpkin.html
I really love the way these blocks turned out, and the best part is that they're lightweight and small- perfect or storing! Well, actually the best part about them is that they were an upcycled craft. Really, who would ever guess that these were made from frozen dinner boxes! Hope you enjoyed my tutorial and it inspires you to make your own. These would be great for any holiday, kids' names, favorite sports teams, etc., etc. The possibilities are endless! Until next time...Happy Crafting!!!