Joy

I blogged a few days ago about Hope. Joy is another word I love, especially at Christmas time. I was asked to speak at a women's church gathering last month about Christmas and traditions that make Christmas special. Since creating is such a huge part of my Christmas I wanted to come up with a craft that the ladies could do while I spoke to give them the same sense of creating with their hands that I have come to love. I chose to use the word JOY for the craft (let's face it because it fit on what I was trying to do) but also because I wanted to remind the ladies that JOY should be a big part of our Christmas.  Unfortunately I did not take any pictures at the event, nor did I take tutorial pics when I created my own, but it is soooo, so simple I don't think you need either...and best of all the craft was nearly no cost...I was able to create 30 kits for about $12.

I used a 5 inch piece of 2x4 (I was able to get the wood for all 30 kits for $2.50 by raiding the scrap wood pile at Home Depot). Whitewashed it. Then I used a scrap piece of jute that I had ordered online a while back, (a piece of burlap would work just as well) and stenciled on the word JOY. I created a stencil out of vinyl, you could cut out your own from cardstock or a standard one from a craft store. Last step was to adhere it to the block with upholstery tacks from Walmart. Just $1 for 30 pieces. Easy and inexpensive, would be fun to mass produce for token gifts for teachers, service workers, etc. 
Linking to Centsational Girl Link Party