Kids heritage blocks as FHE activity

My boys had been asking for so long to have their own blocks, after I created the ones with our wedding pictures, so we decided  it was about time I would not only do it for them, but with them.
My husband went and got another 2x4, cut it, sanded it, and tonight for our FHE(Family Home Evening), we talked about genealogy and how important our children are to us, and as activity, we painted the blocks and put their pictures on them.

The boys were so thrilled!

 

Since they are still so young, and the blocks were so inexpensive, I gave them a set of extra block to just express their creativity, while I was doing most of the work..

Still, I wanted these blocks to have their touch, so I let them paint the sides a little:

 

and they got to put their own picture on their block:

I finished gluing the pieces of scrap paper that I had created with the Studio online software, and let them dry for about 30 minutes, while we were talking a little more about how important families are and how much we care for each of them. I wanted my boys to remember, each time they will look at these blocks, or play with them, that we care for them, and these are a symbol of our love for them.
Once our boys went to bed, I applied the coat of modge podge on each side of the blocks with glued scrap paper, and let dry.

I can't wait to see my boys' faces in the morning!
I know they are going to love them!

You can create these blocks with your own children too, for your FHE, family night, or simply when you desire to have some fun and constructive time together. They are easy to create, and being so durable, they will be a precious memento for your kids for years to come, not to mention that they are another great way to sparkle their interest in genealogy, since they have info on their birth and their parents, and if desired, more blocks can be created with pictures and info of parents, grandparents, and so on.
You could practically end up creating a genealogy tree out of these heritage blocks!
Wouldn't that be priceless?

Count down blocks!

Look what I found in the template gallery!

 

A great idea for this Holiday Season!

Super cute squares to modge podge on 2 wooden cubes to create your own countdown blocks personalized with your pictures!

Why didn't I think of it first?!;)

You will find the instructions on how to create it on the template itself when you choose it to create it with your publishing account.

 Just drag and drop your own pictures, and you will be done!

As you can see this template will make 2 sets of countdown blocks, but you can choose to make just one, or also to change embellishments, backgrounds, anything, since our templates are completely modifiable!
This can be also used as a timeless calendar to show off in your family room!
How about this for a special Christmas gift idea?^_^
You will find this and many other ideas in our template gallery, every day it's a surprise!

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These blocks rock!

Have you ever tried creating something you have never done?
I had been wanting to create these Heritage blocks, but kept pushing the idea aside since I had many other projects to create, either for my family, a client or an event.
Finally I decided that it was time to try.
So, here is how I did it:

I used one of the templates in the Template Gallery, dragged and dropped my pictures, changed the text, clicked publish and had it shipped to my house.
I sent my husband to Home Depot to buy a 2x4, and have it cut in 3.5 in  and 7.5 in pieces.
I then nicely asked him to sand them for me^_^
I put together all that I needed:

I started painting the corners of the blocks with a paint that was as close as possible to the main color on the paper.

While the paint was drying, I cut out each of the elements and had them lined up for each block.
I used a brown marker around each piece of cut paper to make sure that the white of the paper wouldn't stand out once on the blocks.
I put a layer of modge podge on the back of each  piece of paper and glued each paper to each side of the block, as per the template.
I let everything dry for about 15 minutes and then applied a layer of modge podge and let it dry again.

This was my very first time doing something like this, and everybody loved it!

I must say I am pretty proud of it!
I now have a classy home decor that tells about my wedding and my heritage and my kids can play with it any time, without hearing me screaming "Don't touch it!!!" since they just cannot break them!^_^

How cool is that!

Update: my children love the blocks so much that I had to promise to make one for each of them with their own photos to play with... I might end up getting some decent pictures soon, if I remind them they are for their block;)