We were on the school run when Iris, Bertie and I spotted a plastic bag outside a house that said please help yourselves, well, it would have been rude not to have a little peek wouldn't it? Iris and Bertie found an unopened reward/sticker chart and Minions colouring set, so they were well pleased and I found a complete Jenga game, immediately thinking some sort of craft project.
Then I remembered that all the blocks have the Jenga logo embossed on both sides, doh! The idea I already had in my mind was to make hanging snowmen Christmas tree decorations that I’d seen on Pinterest. When I looked them up again, I could see that most people had just painted over the logo, but I knew that if I did the same and could still see the outline of the logo under the paint it would really grate on me, I needed to cover it up.
I tried all sorts of things, it was tough and I am fussy, but in the end I settled, weirdly, for a couple of light layers of Aleene’s True Snow (??? I know) because filled the embossing, where all efforts with other materials had failed. The texture was perfect for a snowman, so once it was dry, I gave the blocks two coats of ordinary white emulsion paint. I'd sorted it, it may have taken me two days of experimenting, but I got there in the end,
With the blocks painted, the rest was a doddle, using a short length of 6mm red gingham ribbon for the scarf, various sized, black, flat back domes for the eyes, mouth and buttons, plus a tiny scrap of orange card for the nose, with a little Ranger Glossy Accents for added depth and texture.
Admittedly the screw eye hook was a bit fiddly because the wood used for the blocks is really hard. Now, do I hang a small coloured jingle bell from the bottom?
I am thinking that as I have 54 of these blocks the snowman would make a perfect small, fairing gift to make en mass to send in place of a Christmas card this year, as they could go through the post as a large letter, we shall see. Now, what can I do for Halloween?
You can do more with a small block of wood than anyone else I've ever come across! These are really fun and festive and will look great on a Christmas tree.
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