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DIY Autumn Wood Block Home Decor

Although it maybe August, I’m already thinking about the autumn. As we move from working in our garden to indoor projects, I want to continue my theme of a “homemade home” with decor and touches around the house that I have made. One item that I have always wanted to create is a shelf or mantle, that I somehow can add seasonal displays to, with wooden blocks as the feature. With some experimentation, I made this wonderful Home Decor DIY. You can follow along and create your own Autumn Wood Block Lettering using Photoshop Elements 15. How to make your own printed wood blocks using your ink jet printer with step by step instructions on creating the letters and transferring to the wood.

This post is sponsored by Adobe Photoshop Elements 15

Using Photoshop Elements 15 for crafts

Photoshop Elements 15 is an easy to use photo editor, but it’s also great for crafts. Combined with our home inkjet printer, there are so many different ways that you can use the software. Last month, I shared a tutorial on how to create your own personalised lunch notes for Back to School using the Photo Text Guided Edit, and this month we’re going to be using another of the step-by-step Guided Edits within Photoshop Elements to create some patterned letters to place on wood blocks. The Custom Frame Guided Edit allows you to easily convert shapes, letters and your own drawings to a frame or filled shape that you can then adapt further. It makes what could be a complicated procedure simple, and even the kids can join in. We are using digital paper image backgrounds to create filled letters and leaves, making sure our Wood Block Lettering perfect for our autumn home decor. Find out how we used Photoshop Elements to create a Halloween Burlap picture as well.

Materials needed to create your autumn wood blocks

Wood cut into square blocks – ours are 8.9cm x 8.9cm x 3.8cm and were cut by the Timber Cutting Service at our local DIY store Photoshop Elements 15 Autumn Digital Papers Inkjet Printer Freezer Paper – I have a roll but you can buy sheets of freezer paper which will save you a little time. Sand Paper Scissors, Ruler Clear Gloss or Varnish

Wood Blocks

Before starting the project I decided to make it as affordable as possible – so instead of buying cubes or blocks already cut from a craft store, I headed to our local DIY store and purchases a length of Pine which I then asked the timber cutting service in store to cut it down to size. The final set of letters will be the word A U T U M N with a 7th block containing an image of a leaf. Knowing that mistakes could be made, I asked for 10 blocks to be cut, which still leaves me with more wood to use in future projects. Each block was cut to the same length and width to create a square, which in my case was 8.9cm. You can adapt this and have different heights and widths if you wish. You just need to record the measurement of each face to create your letters in the photo editor. The wood cost me £3.45 and the cutting service was free.

Creating your Letters and Leaf pattern in Photoshop Elements 15

How to make your own printed wood blocks using your ink jet printer with step by step instructions on creating the letters and transferring to the wood. To find out how to make the letters in Photoshop Elements 15, watch the full tutorial below. This will walk you through the steps using the software and will also quickly take you through transferring the image from the computer onto your wooden blocks without any special equipment needed.

Preparing your Wooden Blocks

Before you can transfer your images to the wooden block they need a little preparation – keying. It’s simple to do and does produce a bit of dust so I would recommend doing it outside.
  1. Using a coarse sand paper, sand the wooden blocks
  2. Using a middle-grade sand paper repeat the process
  3. With a fine sand paper, finish off making sure that the blocks have a rough texture to them. This will make it possible for the ink to take into the wooden block.

How to transfer your Image to the wooden block

This is the process for transferring an image using an Ink Jet printer – DO NOT FOLLOW THIS IF YOU HAVE A LASER PRINTER. How to make your own printed wood blocks using your ink jet printer with step by step instructions on creating the letters and transferring to the wood. How to make your own printed wood blocks using your ink jet printer with step by step instructions on creating the letters and transferring to the wood.
  1. Either use freezer paper sheets, or cut a piece of freezer paper to the size of paper that your printer accepts as standard, in my case it is A4.How to make your own printed wood blocks using your ink jet printer with step by step instructions on creating the letters and transferring to the wood.
  2. Now place in the printer so that the ink will fall onto the shiny plastic side.
  3. Print out your letters in the highest quality you can – make sure that you have flipped them horizontally before you print!How to make your own printed wood blocks using your ink jet printer with step by step instructions on creating the letters and transferring to the wood.
  4. I print one letter at a time – and then put each one onto a block before moving to the next one. Don’t worry, when it is printed it will look a little strange as the ink is a coating on the plastic and not absorbed as it would be on normal paper, or as it will be on the wooden block.
  5. Once printed, there is no rush. The ink will stay wet.
  6. Carefully place your letter face down on the block – keep it in place or you will end up with the image transferred wonky.How to make your own printed wood blocks using your ink jet printer with step by step instructions on creating the letters and transferring to the wood.
  7. Then use the edge of a ruler to rub the image into place, making sure not to move it out of alignment. How to make your own printed wood blocks using your ink jet printer with step by step instructions on creating the letters and transferring to the wood.
  8. Leave to dry.
  9. Repeat with the other letters and the leaf.How to make your own printed wood blocks using your ink jet printer with step by step instructions on creating the letters and transferring to the wood.
  10. Once dry, use a clear varnish or sealer paint. This will make the letters stand out more. How to make your own printed wood blocks using your ink jet printer with step by step instructions on creating the letters and transferring to the wood.
  11. Leave to dry and apply an additional layer of varnish if needed.
How to make your own printed wood blocks using your ink jet printer with step by step instructions on creating the letters and transferring to the wood.

Getting Crafty with Photoshop Elements 15

If you have enjoyed this Home Decor Craft made with Photoshop Elements then keep an eye out we will be using the photo editing software again in September to create some more home decor DIYs for Autumn.
Author
Cerys Parker

Cerys is a marine biologist, environmental educator, teacher, mum, and home educator from the UK. She loves getting creative, whether it is with simple and easy crafts and ideas, activities to make learning fun, or delicious recipes that you and your kids can cook together you'll find them all shared here on Rainy Day Mum.

One Comment

  1. I didn’t know you can print on freezer paper. Thanks for the tutorial!

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