3D Paper Block Letter Signs w/ Collage Design

3D Paper Block Letter Signs w/ Collage Design

As part of a volunteer community service project, we made 3D block letter decorative signs for the walls of the main library at one of the local elementary schools in our area. 

We created 3D block-style letters out of thick white cardstock and then made a colorful graphic textile design on the fronts of them. The colorful textile was created by collaging various images of book covers and maps.  

We made 3D block letter signs for 3 of the main library sections: Fiction, Nonfiction, and Travel.

You can definitely draw out the shape of the letters and then cut them out with scissors or a utility knife.  I loved the varsity-style letters and just ordered a set from Etsy since it was already set up as an SVG which is easy to resize and cut with the machines. 

I used a Cricut cutting machine for this project but you could definitely use scissors or a utility knife if you do not have a cutting machine.  I chose to use a cutting machine to keep the cuts precise, save myself some time, and to be honest I just love using my Cricut! Lol.

3d block letters

I’m including a list of the materials I used and any links I can find to the specific or similar products. But if you have similar materials at home, feel free to swap out and use what you have and let the creative juices flow!

 

Materials that I used: (I’ve linked what I can, some *affiliate links may be included). 

12″x12″ white cardstock

hot glue gun + glue sticks

Cricut Maker (or scissors or utility knife)

color printer (optional if you want to print out book covers or other patterns to do a collage)

(*I may earn a small commission on any purchase made using my affiliate links, it does not have any additional cost and in some cases, it may include a discount on your purchase. Any discounts or discount codes will be noted at the time of purchase and are controlled by the retailer.)

I used the block letters from this Etsy store and downloaded the SVG files. I cut out the letters that I needed and then folded them based on the instructions and used hot glue to keep them firmly in place.

 

 

travel 3d block letters

I printed out a collection of book cover images in small sizes and created a colorful collage on the front of the FICTION and NONFICTION letters.  For the TRAVEL letters, I took pieces of old maps and created a collage on the front of the letters.

3d block letters with map collage
Travel 3d sign

Once everything dried, we mounted them to a larger posterboard to be installed on the wall at the school’s library! This was a very fun project and was a joy to be able to contribute to brightening up the elementary school’s library. 🙂

3d paper letters
block letters in 3d
non-fiction 3d letters
3D Paper Block Letter Signs w/ Collage Design
DIY Christmas Ornament Trees

DIY Christmas Ornament Trees

It’s no secret at all that I love Christmas decor, like “big-vinyl-sticker-I-heart-Christmas” love Christmas decor. Lol, I’ve made so many Christmas crafts, ornaments, and decor pieces over the years but honestly, I’m sorely lacking in photos and videos of so many of them! I also lost a lot of footage and image files. I’ve already sulked and cried about it … moving on.

 

I’m going to do my best to share pics of the older projects that I’ve worked on, but, like this project, I do not have any before or step-by-step photos. But I will share what I have for this one and any other of the older projects, and for the more current and future projects – because let’s be honest we all know there will be more to come – I am much better at documenting with photos and videos. What’s that saying about repetition?

 

Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, let’s get to this blog post’s topic: Christmas ornament ball trees and wreaths!

 

Let’s start with the Christmas Ornament Trees, these were mini trees I had the best time making. I chose different color themes and sizes. These made excellent tabletop decorations, standing on the fireplace hearth, and great little gifts.

 

For the base, I tried out a few different materials: the cardboard spherical cones, and the styrofoam cones, and I even tried shaping leftover cardboard into a cone and stuffing the inside with craft paper (newspaper will do too) to keep the shape.

 

DIY Christmas Ornament Tree

For the balls, I gathered a variety of ornament ball sizes and glued them in a freestyle manner on the cone. I used hot glue and bravery because the fingertips did take an ‘L” or two, not going to lie. LOL.

For some of the trees, I added a little bit of tinsel or garland to sprinkle in and create a bit more fullness.

One note of caution, some of the ornament balls have glitter so be prepared for a glittery sparkly mess! 

Ornament Ball Tree
Red White Green Christmas Ornament Tree
soft white pink gold ornament christmas trees
diy christmas ornament tree
DIY Christmas Ornament Trees
DIY Christmas Pool Noodle Wreaths

DIY Christmas Pool Noodle Wreaths

Similar to the Christmas Ornament Trees post, I did not get step-by-step photos/videos for a tutorial of this one. But it’s a pretty simple project using basic materials so I still wanted to share what I worked on and maybe provide some ideas or inspiration. 

 

The wreath is made from pool noodles and tape. Yup, just regular old pool noodles! My crafty BFFs and I actually did this project as a volunteer giveback project at a local elementary school. 

 

So here’s what I did. I cut the pool noodle, curved it into a circle, and taped it there using heavy-duty Duck-brand tape. 

how to wreath foam noodle
Christmas ornament balls shopping

For the ornament ball wreath, I applied the ornaments with hot glue directly onto the foam pool noodles. There’s no exact science to how I placed the ornaments really lol. I just tried to make them as visually appealing as possible, separating colors, textures, and sizes. 

I also added a few decorative bows. 

How to make an ornament wreath
How to make a christmas wreath with ornaments

Once everything dried, I added ribbon with wire at the top so the wreath could be securely hung from a wall or a wreath hanger on a door! 

 

DIY Blue Christmas Wreath
DIY Christmas Ornament Wreath

One note of caution, some of the ornament balls have glitter so be prepared for a glittery sparkly mess! 

Snowman Wreath

The snowman wreath was my favorite and if I’m being honest, I really wanted to keep it. But alas, it was for a good cause and I did in fact donate it. 🙂  I may or may not be obsessed with snowman decor.

 

So for this guy, I took two pieces of pool noodles and folded them in two circles, one smaller and one larger. 

DIY snowman wreath
DIY Christmas Snowman Wreath
DIY snowman wreath pieces

Then I taped the two circles together. I added a piece of small firm cardboard between the middle of the two circles to help strengthen the tape joint that holds the two foam noodle circles together. 

 

From there, I wrapped the foam circles with soft white fabric and then strips of burgundy fabric.  I added a black piece of rectangular fabric for the scarf and made a hat out of cardboard and black felt. I added a spray of Christmas greenery to the hat, secured by hot glue, and voila! 

Christmas Snowman Wreath made of pool noodles

More Pool Noodle Wreaths

Here are a few more pictures of the pool noodle wreaths that my crafty BFFs and I made. These are all made with fabric, faux florals, ribbons, and little accessories:

DIY christmas wreath green and white
kitschy DIY christmas wreath
DIY christmas wreath white
DIY christmas wreath red white green
DIY christmas wreath colorful
moody color DIY christmas wreath
DIY christmas wreath red green colored