Holidays

Minecraft Jack o’ Lantern Blocks for Halloween

Kids these days and their obsession with Minecraft…. You know what they say? If you can’t beat them, join them! So we decided to craft some wooden blocks that look like Minecraft jack o’ lanterns just in time for Halloween. The gamers in the house will definitely approve.

Supplies to make wooden block Minecraft Jack O’ Lanterns

square (sanded) wooden blocks (our’s are 3.25 x 3.25 inches)
Mod Podge or white glue
a paint brush
our handy printable (find it below)
scissors

Wooden blocks are a very useful crafting material. I’ve used them in all sorts of crafts. I usually walk into a hardware store and buy a six-foot long “4×4” as they call them. (They are actually 3.5 x 3.5 inches and by the time you sand them down they end up being closer to 3.25 x 3.25 inches) You can even have the hardware store cut them down for you if you ask nicely.

Now you are ready to start crafting!

How to make wooden block Minecraft Jack O’ Lanterns

Before you print out your printable, make sure to measure your blocks. The printable is designed for 3.25 x 3.25 inch cubes but I found that my blocks were even smaller than that and the edges were rounded, making the paper roll over the edge and creating some overlap which didn’t fare very well as you’ll see below (FUTURE PINTEREST FAIL!). To fix that problem I printed my printable out at 95% and it came out perfectly (see below how I troubleshooted this problem).

Click Here to Print the Minecraft Jack o’ Lantern

Click Here to Print the Creeper

Cut out all the squares on the printable. You’ll notice that you have one pumpkin top, two faces and three pumpkin sides which is one too many if you use both faces. I did this so that you could choose if you wanted your Minecraft jack o’ lantern block “lit” or not. Or you can make your Minecraft jack o’ lantern two-faced and put one on each opposite side. Choices!

Once all your squares are cut out and you feel good about how they fit on the wooden blocks paint a layer of Mod Podge over the top of your first side (see picture above on the right).

Then gently place the paper down on the Modge Podge and paint another layer of Modge Podge glue on top. Now the next step is really important: LET IT DRY. You will be tempted to want to do all the sides at once but this will make for a very sticky block that is impossible to pick up and handle and if your finger sticks to the paper too much it will rip like below:

If that happens have no fear. You can always print out another printable, cut it out and slap it right on top of the old messed up one. But just keep in mind that patience really does pay off and your blocks will look best if you take your time and allow each side to dry before you move onto the next. Maybe create an assembly line and create a bunch of blocks to keep you busy between drying times, that way you’ll have a bunch of blocks to play with later!

When you’ve finished all sides of your Minecraft Jack O’ Lantern, it might still be a little bit sticky so I would wait to stack and play with your blocks for another day. Or you could varnish them with a clear layer of shellac if you expect they will be played with heavily.

Then go forth and create your own 4-d mod with GIANT jack o’ lanterns for all your Minecraft action figures!