Crafts for Kids: Decoupaged Building Blocks

decoupaged building blocks tutorial (1 of 1)

Building blocks don’t always last as long as your kids do. They get scribbled on, or maybe they get discarded for LEGOs–how is a simple building block to stay relevant?!?

My kiddo used to be over her building blocks. Whereas she once spent hours building entire wooden cities, she’s into superheroes now. So I made these outdated toys brand-new again, kicked her building block play back into high gear, and totally thrilled the socks off of her just by decoupaging comic book images onto some of her blocks.

Here’s how:

1. Pick your materials. I killed two birds with one stone by sorting through my kiddo’s blocks and finding the ones that used to be painted but now were chipped, that had scribbles or stains on them, or that we’d bought as seconds and you could tell. This way, you’re not ruining your kid’s expensive, heirloom-quality building blocks–you’re making them better!

My kid’s way into superheroes, so all I had to do for inspiration is dig through our family’s giant collection of old comic books. But as for you… What are you interested in?

  • Want something decorative? Use scrapbook paper!
  • Want something Christmas-themed? Use wrapping paper!
  • Want something sweet? Use picture book pages!
  • Want something nerdy? Use a dictionary!

Any type of paper should work for this project, so go nuts!

decoupaged building blocks tutorial (1 of 3)2. Trim to size. Use a very sharp pencil to trace around the block, framing the image that you want. Cut inside the lines that you drew, and your image will be perfect.

If you’re using a block that’s not perfectly symmetrical, like my G.I. Joe right triangle-themed block in the photo, remember that you’ll need to flip your block over to fussy cut out the image for the block’s opposite side.

decoupaged building blocks tutorial (2 of 3)3. Glue the images to the blocks. Choose your favorite glue, just to get the images stuck down–you’ll be sealing them later, so don’t worry too much about the glue. Spray adhesive is probably the easiest choice, but Mod Podge is a more eco-friendly option.

4. Seal with your favorite sealant. You can paint on several layers of Mod Podge, or use a few coats of any clear top coat that you already have in your stash.

Once the blocks are sealed, they’re ready to be played with. And now your kid’s giant block cities will have plenty of heroic stuff for the Avengers to do in them!

2 thoughts on “Crafts for Kids: Decoupaged Building Blocks”

  1. Oh my gosh, that is so cool! Wish we had some blocks to do this with!

    Actually, scratch that. We don’t have the space for the amount of blocks we would want to play with. Maybe we’ll see what we can find at Gramma’s on the next visit…

    1. We do have what is possibly an unholy amount of building blocks, but to be fair, it’s one of those toys that even after the girls are grown and gone, Matt and I will still be on the floor playing with by ourselves.

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