Transforming Alphabet Blocks into DIY Decorations for a Party

To create these unique decorations, one can utilize affordable supplies such as alphabet blocks, paint, and other basic crafting tools. The author began by taking their saw and carefully cutting a slit into the top of each block. This took some time, but the result was worth it, as the cut allowed for a piece of paper to stand upright in the block without flopping over.

After completing the cut, the author used sandpaper to smooth out the edges of the blocks, removing any sharp corners or rough surfaces. This step added an extra layer of visual appeal to the decorations, making them more comfortable and inviting to use. Optional, but useful, was cutting off a few of the corners and sanding those down as well. However, this detail can be skipped if one prefers not to spend additional time on it.

Next, the author turned their attention to painting the blocks themselves. With white acrylic paint, they were able to cover up the existing letter graphics and create a fresh, blank canvas. Multiple coats of paint were necessary to achieve the desired level of coverage, but with some patience, the results were well worth it. After allowing each coat to dry completely, the author moved on to adding additional color and texture to their decorations.

For a touch of geometry inspired by Meg, the author used pink acrylic paint to add casual, paint-dipped patterns onto the bottom of each block. The opaque quality of this paint required multiple coats, but the end result was well worth it. Letting these layers dry overnight allowed them to set firmly and added depth to their designs.

To complete their decorations, the author employed a fun touch – cupcake-themed stickers! With dollar-store staples like this, one can create an entire world of colorful, whimsical decor without breaking the bank. To add an extra layer of detail, the author used black cardstock to cut out individual cupcakes and layered them onto white card stock with clear tape holding everything in place.

Using a silver marker, the author carefully wrote out names on these tiny cupcake decorations, adding a personal touch that made each one special. These miniature treats were then inserted into wooden block placeholders, filling the room with an air of fun and celebration. The result was nothing short of magical – delicate decorations that seemed to spring from nowhere.

But there's more! To create an additional visual element for their display, the author used squares of fake grass (dollar store finds) as a green backdrop. This artificial foliage added an eye-catching pop of color to the overall scene and allowed the cupscake-themed blocks to take center stage. The vase on the table held even more decorations – pink flowers from real arrangements, added along with some extra greenery plucked off the fake grass. Last but not least, there were items that the author already had in their collection – sunglasses, straws, mason jars (already decorated on a video for another project). With no need to invest in new supplies, this setup felt effortless and perfectly suitable for displaying photos or memorabilia.

For those interested in tackling similar projects at home, consider giving wooden blocks like these a try! Not only are they affordable, but also versatile and easily adaptable to suit any occasion. Who knows what other creative possibilities can be unlocked with just a few simple supplies? The author certainly appreciates the fun and challenge that came from working with these humble alphabet blocks – a true DIY triumph for 10 dollars.

If you'd like to explore more DIY projects similar to this, check out our recent thrift store challenge. We all redid some sort of piece of furniture in just one week's time! You can access that entire playlist below and stay tuned throughout the rest of the Dollar Store party decor challenge week to see what other unique ideas come next.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enhi everyone so I apologize if I a bit of a sweaty mess today but it is so hot in here but anyway this week is going to be another challenge week here on HGTV handmade which I know all of you guys always love our challenge weeks and so the challenge this week is a dollar store challenge only we have to make party decor out of the things that we get from the dollar store so each of us are going to go to our local Dollar Store buy a whole bunch of inexpensive supplies and then show you a party decor DIY now I'll be totally honest with you when I went shopping I kind of forgot about the party decor part so I bought a whole bunch of just random stuff that won't necessarily work for that theme so it was definitely a challenge coming up with a DIY out of all the random supplies that I came home with but I think I came up with something really cute so let's get started so I decided to make wooden place card holders for a dinner party or you could use them for whatever you want maybe labeling dishes out of potluck or just holding photos for a fun decoration so to make them I'm actually going to use alphabet blocks that I got at the dollar store fabric paint that I got at the dollar store a paint brush I already had a saw I already had and a piece of sandpaper that I already had if you don't have these supplies you can definitely get a paintbrush and sandpaper from the dollar store but a saw is something you'll probably want to go to the hardware store for and you'll probably want to pay a little more than a dollar since you don't want to be messing around with cheap versions of tools like that so these alphabet blocks are the cheapest alphabet blocks I have ever seen I wanted to make a fun Montage spelling out words but there was wasn't even a why to spell out DIY so I do not feel bad transforming them so the first step is to take your saw and just cut a slit into the top of the block this does take a little while but just take your time and try to go about a cmet down so that a piece of paper can stand up in it without flopping over so when you're done with your cut just use sandpaper to sand the edges to get rid of any sharp edges and then to bring a little more visual interest into the mix I also cut off a few of the corners and sanded those down as well but that is an optional step so if you were going to host a baby shower you could totally just use these as they are and they would be so cute but I want to make them a little more versatile so I'm going to paint them I opened up the white paint that I got from the dollar store and it is totally transparent I tried to build up a few layers but there was just nothing happening so I kind of cheated and I used white acrylic paint that I already had and that worked so much better I put on a few coats of the white paint to fully cover up the letter graphics and then I let that dry completely and then to give them a little geometry inspired by Meg I used the pink paint that I got at the dollar store and I painted on a casual paint dipped look onto the bottom this paint was opaque enough I had to do a few coats and layered on pretty thick but it worked in the end so I let those dry overnight and then to dress up our replace cards a little I grabbed this fun cupcake tape that I picked up from the dollar store I cut off a piece and stuck it onto a piece of white card stock and then I used a craft knife to cut out the cupcakes and then I just cut down a piece of black paper and I used some tape to attach the cupcake and I used a silver marker to write out the names and then I just put them into the wooden block placeholders and I think they look so cute this would be perfect for maybe a teen teenager's birthday party or any kind of party where you're serving cupcakes which let's be honest that's the best kind of party but let me just break down this entire scene that I styled The Greenery in the back is actually squares of fake grass that I got at the dollar store I thought they would make such a fun and colorful background and they're fake so they're not going to die like real plants would I also used a vase that I got at the dollar store and I filled it with some fake flowers that I already had as well as some of the greenery that I pulled off of the backdrop the rest of the stuff in the scene are things that I already had but the sunglasses are super cheap on Amazon the straws are available for just a few dollars from places like Target and the Mason jar is just a plain mason jar that I painted the rim of for a video on my main channel so if you're not throwing a party you can of course use these to display photos or memorabilia or whatever you want in a more casual way than framing everything I just love how they came out and nobody will ever guess that they used to be alphabet blocks so that was probably the most challenging challenge we have done yet on this channel I am so curious to see what the other girls are going to come up with let me know in the comments if you have any other ideas for projects you could do with wooden blocks like these because it was A1 for 10 of them so for 10 cents each it's a pretty cheap and versatile craft Supply so if you want to see another challenge week like this we recently did a thrift store challenge where we all redid some sort of piece of furniture I'll link that entire playlist down below and make sure you stay tuned all week long to see the rest of our Dollar Store party decor challenge thank you guys so much for watching I will see you all again next week bye everyonehi everyone so I apologize if I a bit of a sweaty mess today but it is so hot in here but anyway this week is going to be another challenge week here on HGTV handmade which I know all of you guys always love our challenge weeks and so the challenge this week is a dollar store challenge only we have to make party decor out of the things that we get from the dollar store so each of us are going to go to our local Dollar Store buy a whole bunch of inexpensive supplies and then show you a party decor DIY now I'll be totally honest with you when I went shopping I kind of forgot about the party decor part so I bought a whole bunch of just random stuff that won't necessarily work for that theme so it was definitely a challenge coming up with a DIY out of all the random supplies that I came home with but I think I came up with something really cute so let's get started so I decided to make wooden place card holders for a dinner party or you could use them for whatever you want maybe labeling dishes out of potluck or just holding photos for a fun decoration so to make them I'm actually going to use alphabet blocks that I got at the dollar store fabric paint that I got at the dollar store a paint brush I already had a saw I already had and a piece of sandpaper that I already had if you don't have these supplies you can definitely get a paintbrush and sandpaper from the dollar store but a saw is something you'll probably want to go to the hardware store for and you'll probably want to pay a little more than a dollar since you don't want to be messing around with cheap versions of tools like that so these alphabet blocks are the cheapest alphabet blocks I have ever seen I wanted to make a fun Montage spelling out words but there was wasn't even a why to spell out DIY so I do not feel bad transforming them so the first step is to take your saw and just cut a slit into the top of the block this does take a little while but just take your time and try to go about a cmet down so that a piece of paper can stand up in it without flopping over so when you're done with your cut just use sandpaper to sand the edges to get rid of any sharp edges and then to bring a little more visual interest into the mix I also cut off a few of the corners and sanded those down as well but that is an optional step so if you were going to host a baby shower you could totally just use these as they are and they would be so cute but I want to make them a little more versatile so I'm going to paint them I opened up the white paint that I got from the dollar store and it is totally transparent I tried to build up a few layers but there was just nothing happening so I kind of cheated and I used white acrylic paint that I already had and that worked so much better I put on a few coats of the white paint to fully cover up the letter graphics and then I let that dry completely and then to give them a little geometry inspired by Meg I used the pink paint that I got at the dollar store and I painted on a casual paint dipped look onto the bottom this paint was opaque enough I had to do a few coats and layered on pretty thick but it worked in the end so I let those dry overnight and then to dress up our replace cards a little I grabbed this fun cupcake tape that I picked up from the dollar store I cut off a piece and stuck it onto a piece of white card stock and then I used a craft knife to cut out the cupcakes and then I just cut down a piece of black paper and I used some tape to attach the cupcake and I used a silver marker to write out the names and then I just put them into the wooden block placeholders and I think they look so cute this would be perfect for maybe a teen teenager's birthday party or any kind of party where you're serving cupcakes which let's be honest that's the best kind of party but let me just break down this entire scene that I styled The Greenery in the back is actually squares of fake grass that I got at the dollar store I thought they would make such a fun and colorful background and they're fake so they're not going to die like real plants would I also used a vase that I got at the dollar store and I filled it with some fake flowers that I already had as well as some of the greenery that I pulled off of the backdrop the rest of the stuff in the scene are things that I already had but the sunglasses are super cheap on Amazon the straws are available for just a few dollars from places like Target and the Mason jar is just a plain mason jar that I painted the rim of for a video on my main channel so if you're not throwing a party you can of course use these to display photos or memorabilia or whatever you want in a more casual way than framing everything I just love how they came out and nobody will ever guess that they used to be alphabet blocks so that was probably the most challenging challenge we have done yet on this channel I am so curious to see what the other girls are going to come up with let me know in the comments if you have any other ideas for projects you could do with wooden blocks like these because it was A1 for 10 of them so for 10 cents each it's a pretty cheap and versatile craft Supply so if you want to see another challenge week like this we recently did a thrift store challenge where we all redid some sort of piece of furniture I'll link that entire playlist down below and make sure you stay tuned all week long to see the rest of our Dollar Store party decor challenge thank you guys so much for watching I will see you all again next week bye everyone\n"