DIY Building Blocks From Scrap Wood - A Work In Progress

The last time we were at Living History Farms in Urbandale, I noticed these wood blocks in a room they had set up as a 1870s child's playroom. They were so simple, and the kids who played with them could really use their imaginations to turn them into anything. I quickly snapped a picture just in case I wanted to make something like this of my own one day.

When I spotted a few small pieces of wood leftover from a friend's new deck project, I could easily picture them as blocks like the ones I had just seen. She gladly handed them over, with a hug as her only required payment.

From there, I made my first set of house blocks! There are three large sides, so there will be houses and storefronts on each of them. I'm so excited to play with them already!

Because they were the rough cuts from larger pieces of wood, they needed to be sanded on every side. Please note: a belt sander can take off layers of skin in a heartbeat. While I have never experienced it for myself, Danny is the voice of experience and says to be incredibly careful if this is what you use.

 The belt sander will also round the edges, so all I had to do was use a finer grit sandpaper by hand to get rid of the last rough spots.

Back inside, I drew my houses lightly in pencil.

Look at my little neighborhood!

Using my finest wood-burning tip, I traced my pencil lines (for the most part) and erased where I needed to.

 And there's one finished house. The heat of the pen combined with the fibromyalgia in my hands means I can't do very many at a time, so this is going to be a work in progress for a few days. I look forward to showing you the finished product - houses and storefronts to make an entire city! Stay tuned.