January Special Rock the Block: How to....

Rock The Block:  How to....


1.    Put a number 1 -54 on the corner of each square (in pencil) so you can turn the blocks easily to find all of the puzzle fronts after the blocks are assembled.

2. Sponge all edges of the boxes with a color that goes well with the paper pack you are using. (I choose Desert Sand)

3. Choose the colors for your background of your boxes. I used the Roxie paper pack kit. Make 6 inch squares of all the colors. (Before I used the final pieces I took 6 pieces of neutral cardstock  (6"squares) and tried all the stamps ahead of time, planning the layouts. I first scored the paper in a 2"grid. Since I was making the blocks into a puzzle collage I let the patterns run over more than 1 of the squares.

4. Using the plain cardstock as a guide I now stamped (and embossed) the images I liked best onto the final background papers. I used Versa Mark ink over the ctmh colors before I sprinkled the embossing powder over the designs.

5. Using a heat gun I set (melted) the embossing powder on all of the papers. I was careful not to mix the powders, (I used clear detail, cranberry and black embossing powders) but did not heat them till all 6 pages had powder on them. It streamlined the large amount of embossing that was done to less then a half hour of effort. Notice I used a bone folder to hold the paper in place because the heat gun gets the area very hot.

6.   I didn't put as many embossed images on the paper as my original patterns  because I left room for pictures. This picture is a bit blurry but it shows how the powder looks  before it is heated.

7.Now that all my 6 pages were stamped, I planned which pictures I wanted to include on my puzzle cubes.

8.   I cut out coordinating paper to cover the box that holds the cubes. I kept the design simple, but I noticed my upline choose to add a photo to the inside of the bottom box and it looked great. She displayed it on an easle when the blocks were in use. I used a ATC gun to secure the paper to the box.

9.   I choose to cut around some of the stamped images and slide photos under the edge before I attached to the blocks. The layered effect looked good.

11.   I attached the pictures directly on the six inch papers.  They were not cut into their final size till after all pages were assembled.

12.  Next I layed out the blocks in a numbered order.  The first 6 inch pages would be placed on blocks 1 - 9, the second on 10 - 18 and so on.

13.   Using a paper cutter I made the completed pages into nine 2 inch squares.

14. I layed them out before I used adhessive and used some stickease images to fill in some of the "white" areas.

15.  It is important to make sure that the blocks are in the correct numbered order and orderly as you attach the design to the cubes. I found that it was easiest to do all the blocks facing the same way and rotating them one turn before doing the sides of the blocks.

16. When you are done, put the blocks back into the base you decorated and use as a unique home decoration or a game for family members to enjoy.  If you have any questions feel free to contact me for clearer instructions. (Alayneswillinghands@gmail.com)
 

Always, Alayne