Hello again!  It’s Suzanne back on the blog with a special guest this week – my sweet hubby and Rebecca’s dad Paul.  He’s going to be putting together part one and helping on part two of this week’s two-part block party.

A while ago, to save storage space, I removed most of my rubber stamps from their wooden blocks.  I kept a few of the blocks to use in future craft projects and today, I’ve got two quick and easy projects that can easily be duplicated with any small block of wood you might have available.
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First up is Paul’s idea.  We are going to make a small sanding block that is the perfect size for the small sheets of sandpaper that are sold at the dollar store.  This quick project takes one block, two small binder clips, two washers, and two screws. 

​First, position your binder clips at each side of the block with the openings facing out.  Mark where the handle of the binder clip lands so you know where to drill a pilot hole for your screw.

​Once the pilot hole is drilled, screw a washer over the handle of the binder clip to hold it in place. 

​Repeat on the other side and clip your sandpaper in place. 

​You now have a perfect little sanding block for small craft projects.  

​The second quick project today is going to make use of more blocks and these picture holders that I’ve had in my stash for so long that I can’t remember where I got them.

​I started by marking a spot on each for Paul to drill a small hole in each of the blocks. 

After peeling off the label and giving the block a quick sanding with my new sanding block, I gave it a coat of faux stain with a furniture repair marker.  These markers are a quick and easy way to mimic the look of stain on a small project without having to pull out a can of stain.

​While the block was drying (which takes only minutes), I cut some squares of cute and colorful paper and layered them together.  I picked papers that matched some adorable cutouts I picked up recently.

​Using hot glue, I added the paper squares to the front and back of the block and wrapped some baker’s twine around the block.  I added one of the cutouts and then secured the picture holder in the pre-drilled hold with gel super glue.  As a final touch, I added a knot of the same baker’s twine around the base of the picture holder.  In honor of Paul’s contribution to this week’s projects, my first finished product features Slowhand himself, Eric Clapton.  I have nine more blocks ready to go to make more.

Thanks for stopping by!

Rebecca here! A big thank you to my parents for the great ideas today!

Today's photo on the homepage is from Pexels user FWStudio: www.pexels.com/photo/brown-wooden-panel-172277/

Hello everyone! I don't have anything crafty to share today as I've been on vacation! My husband and I were finally able to go on a honeymoon after getting married in 2020. We went to Hawaii, specifically Oahu, and I thought it would be fun to share some of the photos from that trip in a little mini blog. If you guys enjoy this more lifestyle-oriented blog, let me know!

So let's start off with some lovely pictures of the ocean. My husband and I were staying at a hotel right across the street from Waikiki beach which was beautiful!

Now for some food we got at various places across the island. The pig you see was for a luau we were a part of at the Polynesian Cultural Center (I would highly recommend a day here if you ever go to Oahu).  PCC shares so much wonderful information about the history and culture of Hawaii, Samoa, Tahiti, Fiji, Tonga, and Aotearoa (New Zealand).

And here are a few bits and bobs including some wonderful dancers from the Polynesian Cultural Center, the Hawaii state capitol building, a statue of King Kamehameha who was the original ruler of the Kingdom of Hawaii, and an anchor from the Pearl Harbor memorial site. 

Those are a few of my favorite memories! Clearly I am just a tourist who spent one week on one specific island of Hawaii so I am by no means an authority on anything at all, but I can say it was a wonderful time. It was fun to experience both the "touristy" side of the island, but I also loved seeing the more rural side; it was very clear how important it was for people living on that side of the island that it remain undeveloped. It's easy to just think of Hawaii as a tropical paradise totally untouched by any of the issues of the mainland US such as high housing prices, homelessness and economic distress still going on due to the pandemic, but these issues are still present even there. If you ever go I hope you have a lovely time and just remember to be respectful of the people and natural environment that you have been welcomed into. I'd love to hear about some of your vacation experiences in the comments below!

 - Rebecca

P.S. The blog homepage photo today is from my camera roll! No stock photos needed today :)