The Old Block House, 21 Days 'Til Christmas

Happy Holidays, everyone!

I'm Gertie from The Old Block House.

I'm so happy that Tammy has allowed me to guest post at Type A Decorating

for her 25 Days of Guest Bloggers.

I love blogging.  I love sharing ideas, meeting people, and making new friends.

The Old Block House is a combination of a bit of everything in my life.

I share my thrifty finds, Etsy shop, and diy adventures.

Our motto is, "The door is always open, and everyone is welcome."

People from such varied paths stop by and visit. I love making new friends.

Today I'd like to share with you one of my holiday crafts.

It's a project that you can use any time of year,

but today's it's all about JOY.

Who doesn't need a little more joy?

You'll need

old frames (a quarter at the thrift store)

sheet music (about 50 pages for $1 at the flea market)

paint ($1 for a sample pot of Martha Stewart Francesca at Home Depot)

twine (a huge spool from an auction for $2)

glue stick
hot glue

sand paper

wax

Did I mention I like my projects to be thrifty?

First you'll need to find some frames that you'd like to use.

Luckily, our thrift store always has frames.

Wash and repair as needed.

Next, sand the frames so that the paint will adhere.

When you sand the wood, it gives the paint a tooth to hold onto.

A couple of coats of paint should do the trick.

After the paint is dry you can seal it with some poly or wax.

I prefer wax.

Now you'll need to print out the letters you'd like on your computer.

Who needs fancy stencils or a die cut machine?

Your computer and printer can do wonderful things for you.

Choose the size and font for your letters,

print these out,

then cut them so that they can be used as a template.

If your frames had cardboard backing,

you can use the backing to adhere your sheet music to,

if not, then any stiff paper will do,

even a cereal box trimmed to the desired size.

Your paper is now ready for some JOY.

Trace the letters onto the paper.

Then paint them in with the color of your choice.

Your frames are now dry.

Your letters are painted and have dried on the paper.

Now simply slide the paper into the frames.

To attach the frames, I simply stapled them together.

Line them up to your choosing.

Stagger them a bit if you like,

depending on their sizes.

Then staple down the backs of the frames to keep them in place

Now how am I going to hang this?

Easy!

Just take a length of twine, three times the length that you'd like.

Tie knots in both ends.

Place the knots in the back center of the outtermost frames.

Staple.

Now you have JOY!

You can easily change up this project for any occassion or room.
The frames can be painted any color.
Any paper can be used for the backing.
Letters can be painted, die cut, or printed.
The most important thing is to have fun.
If you don't have the exact materials,
just use what you have and make it your own.
Here are a few more of my holiday crafts.

 I'd love if you followed me on Facebook or Twitter. A huge THANK YOU to Tammy for allowing me to be here.Tammy has such a wonderful blog,great ideas,and is super sweet.