Christmas CREATIVE Mama... continued

Thanks for stopping by my blog today! I hope you had a wonderful and blessed Christmas. Maybe you are still enjoying your holiday! I have actually been able to use some of my holiday break (meaning not having to tote my children back and forth to school) to do some creative projects.
I am all about making and preserving memories for my family and others. It is one of my favorite things! Handmade things are by far the best. So I am sharing one of the small project I was able to do for Christmas this year.

Inspiration from Pinterest.

My creative ideas are usually inspired by something I see. This is why I LOVE Pintrest! Pintrest is like a candy store for creative people like me. You can pick and choose what you like, add it to your "treat bag" and create your own combination. There are so many ideas there! I love doing this because I will find two or even three ideas that I will combine and put my own creative spin on. 
I began a tradition years ago when I met my husband by giving him a Christmas ornament with the year on it. When our kids came along I continued this tradition with them as well. Now I'm sure you know most Christmas ornaments are not cheep. Early in the season I found my three ornaments,  for my husband my son and daughter. I really wasn't happy with them and I am pretty frugal. I always ask myself how can I make something like this cheaper (when possible). And this isn't just to save money but it makes it more meaningful and special. So I came up with my own project inspired by the the above photo found on Pinterest. And in the end I took the store bought ornaments back to the store.

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This is the completed project using mini child letter blocks found in the ONE SPOT at Target for $3 (score!). The reverse side I adhered a photo of each of my children.

Find it on Pinterest

I started by gluing the mini blocks together, spelling out my son and daughters names.

Then painted them with white craft acrylic paint.

I inked the edges with Chocolate brown to give it an aged look. Then used a bronze Sharpie marker to outline the letters. I use a stencil (you can hand draw) 2013 on the blank blocks next to their name (shown in the first photo of the finished project).

On the back side I added a strip of scrapbook paper using Mod Podge. I also added a wallet size (school) photo of each of my children (again using Mod Podge to give it a protective coating).

So my end result was a bit bigger than a ornament or an over sized ornament at least!  But non the less a great momento for 2013 and cost way less than a store bought ornament! 
I hope you found something to inspire your creativity this Christmas season!  

Creatively Yours, 
~Melissa 
OCD Mama