"The Magic of Christmas" Glass Block

A couple of years ago we made a Christmas glass block that we absolutely loved. It is really easy to make, so we thought we would share really quickly how we put ours together.

Lowes had a sale going on their pre-drilled glass blocks awhile back, so we picked up quite a few at the time, knowing how much we love glass block projects! If you can get them on sale, pre-drilled is definitely the way to go! We like to start with the clear version (with no texture), and if we want a frosted look, we just spray it with a little frosted glass spray paint like the kind shown below.

We sprayed our block, waited for it to dry, then applied our vinyl. We've seen this quote around quite a bit on vinyl websites, but we wanted to change the fonts up a bit so we made our own version. Then we put a small set of white lights inside and tied a pretty bow around the block! We love how it looks, whether it's daytime and the lights are off...

...or nighttime and the block is all lit up. So simple, but so pretty!

{Lil' Frankie Stein}

We love all of the glass block projects out there, and while we have vinyl cutters, we also think it's nice to have projects that don't depend on everyone else having one. This cute Lil' Frankie Stein is made without using any vinyl at all. We love our goofy little guy and hope some of you get a kick out of him too! 

{Supplies}

Mod Podge {both gloss and sparkle}

glass block {with pre-drilled hole}

Lil' Frankie pattern {download here}

green paper

black paper {card stock will work, but it is harder to use, it's not flexible.}

sponge brush

scissors

grey craft paint

spray varnish

light set: green or clear {I found green at Walgreens for $3.99.}

cork “bolts” {for side of his head, NOT pictured, I hadn’t gotten to JoAnn's or Michaels to buy some.}

strong adhesive {to attach the bolts}

freezer paper: optional {it made a great work surface while I was creating... the project didn’t get glued to my working surface. And it cleaned up nicely!}

PDF of Instructions w/ Pattern {download here}

1. Print pattern and trace onto black paper and cut out black shapes - set aside for later. {side note- all I had was black card stock... probably could be found at craft store in the scrapbook section, but the paper would need to be completely black not white in the core of the sheet.}
2. Clean/dust the block and remove any adhesive from the label.
3. With the gloss Mod Podge, glue torn pieces of the green paper over the entire block, glueing only the backs down.
4. After green has had time to dry, {doesn’t take very long} mod podge the hair and face onto the block. After face is dry, finish the rest of his hair/head by using the same torn pieces method that you used with the green. I didn’t think to take a picture, but I applied his hair half -way down along the sides and about half-way down the back of his head, so all sides meet up nicely and look like a head of hair.
5. In between coats of mod podge, take a minute to paint the corks grey.
6. After all paper has been mod podged with the gloss formula, cover entire surface with the sparkle Mod Podge. I laid mine down face up and did the sides and top first. Then when the front was dry I turned him over and did his back.
7. Attach “bolt”s with adhesive.
8. Spray with varnish.
9. “Stuff” him with his lights and enjoy!