This blog post may contain affiliate links for your convenience.
Monday, April 3, 2017

How to Make a Wood Block Calendar From Dollar Tree Blocks


Turn brightly colored child alphabet blocks from Dollar Tree into a perfect modern farmhouse block calendar. 

Happy Monday!  It was a good weekend around our little house.  My daughter had her gymnastics performance on Saturday night and Sunday could not have been more perfect.  The weather was beautiful and we were able to work on a few projects, including hanging our new dining room light.
Before I can share which light we chose, it's time for another Dollar Store craft.

This month, I gave brightly colored wood alphabet blocks a modern farmhouse makeover, perfect for creating a desktop calendar or welcoming notes to guests.  
Upcycled Dollar Tree Blocks turned desktop calendar


Supplies needed for Dollar Tree wood block calendar
Affiliate links have been used.
(Side note: If you have been following along for awhile then you probably notice a theme with my supplies.  I tend to use the same products over and over making these simple DIY makeovers easy and affordable)

Did you watch my Dollar Tree haul Facebook video a few months ago?  Do you remember these little wood alphabet blocks?   
Dollar Tree alphabet blocks before
As soon as I saw them I knew exactly what I wanted to do.  I gave each block a quick coat of DecoArt Relic before applying my new letters.
Painting Dollar Tree alphabet blocks

Painting Dollar Tree alphabet blocks
I used PicMonkey to create letters in the font and size I wanted then cut them out using my paper cutter.   You can find the printable HERE if you want to make your own letter blocks.
Alphabet printable letters for Dollar tree desktop calendar

Cutting letter for wood blocks
After I had all my letters cut out (I printed two sheets of A-S and one of T-?) I added them to my blocks using Mod Podge.  Pay careful attention of which letters you place on which blocks, especially if you plan to use them as a calendar.
Gluing letters to painted wood blocks
I didn't take a picture of this next step, but after my letters were dry I lightly distressed them then added a coat of matte Mod Podge over each one to protect the paper.  

You can stop here or you can make a super easy ledge to display your blocks.  You'll need a small square dowel and 1/2" x 1" piece of wood cut down to 12 inches.  
wood supplies for display ledge
I applied glue to the dowel then added it to the top of my larger piece of wood.  Once everything was dry I added a coat of espresso stain. 
building display ledge

Staining display ledge
I had a few buttons leftover from a previous project and decided they would make perfect feet.  I covered them in Rub 'n Buff then glued them to the bottom of the wood.
Adding rub 'n buff to wood buttons

Updated Dollar Tree block and Display Ledge
You can make your ledge shorter, but I figured if I spelt out a word using all eight blocks I would want the extra space :)
Dollar tree alphabet blocks turned desktop calendar
 You can also use these cute little farmhouse letters and wood display ledge for a date calendar.
 Dollar Tree wood blocks turned desktop calendar

Upcycled Dollar Tree Blocks and DIY Display Ledge

Dollar Tree blocks and DIY display ledge

Dollar Tree letter blocks and display ledge
Easy enough, right?  Sometimes it's nice to do a mindless craft and updating these little Dollar Tree wood blocks was exactly that.

Anyone else update Dollar Tree alphabet blocks?  If so, I'd love to see your project! 

Easy upcycled wood Dollar Tree blocks turned desktop calendar
burner cover turned captain mirror

Dollar Tree drawers turned farmhouse storage


      

Would you like to comment?

  1. What a great little project! Thanks for sharing 😀

    ReplyDelete
  2. Adorable! Love the little display ledge to keep the blocks organized.

    ReplyDelete
  3. LOVE this! It's amazing what you've done with some $1 blocks, wood, paint, and stain. I've pinned it so I remember it for later!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Such a simple, yet really effective project. I am totally in love with the calendar idea! Of course, we don't have the dollar store here in the UK, but I'm sure I could find some baby's building blocks to create this - I may even spot some in the charity shop. Love it. Sue ~ The World of Suzy Homemaker

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thank you for sharing. Great idea! Love it!

    ReplyDelete