Mission Countdown Blocks {tutorial} + Growing Up with Conference Blog Tour

I was given the e-book Growing Up with Conference to help me out with this post.

Good morning! As many of you know my oldest son left on his mission this past June. In 8 days he will hit the 5 month mark! Eek! I can’t believe I have survived this long! haha! I know he is doing good, and I am so proud of him. I want him to savor every minute of his mission. (You can follow along on his missionary journey right HERE.) Of course, I want to keep track of how many more days until he’s back, too! So I made these super cute Missionary Countdown Blocks to help us keep track. I’m also going to tell you about an amazing resource for LDS families, Growing Up with Conference. So let’s get started!

First, let me share some pictures of my missionary! Here we are at the MTC on June 15th. Ugh….it was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done! I think I cried the whole rest of the day. It such a bittersweet, happy, sad & proud momma moment all at the same time. There is nowhere I’d rather him be at this time of his life though. I can already see such a growth in him already. It’s truly amazing! For those you who are not LDS, you can read a little bit about what a mission is & how they call missionaries {HERE}.

Here are some of my favorite pictures Elder Bowie has sent me since he’s been out.
(He’s serving in the Salt Lake City West Mission by the way.)

Let’s get to that tutorial!

For this project you will need:
4 wooden cubes (I found these at Hobby Lobby.)
a 2×4 cut to fit 3 of the blocks
vinyl lettering (I used My Own Topher & Smiley Monster fonts. The bike is from the Silhouette design store.)
2 colors of paint
foam paint brushes
Mod Podge
sand paper

First, I painted my blocks the darker color. Let dry. Then I applied my vinyl. I then gave it a good coat of Mod Podge to seal the edges & prevent the paint from bleeding underneath. Then I painted the 2nd color of paint on top. Let it dry. Then I removed the vinyl lettering. I then distressed my blocks. That’s it! For a more detailed stenciling with vinyl tutorial (with more pictures) go {HERE}.

When I was deciding what numbers to put on which blocks I followed this countdown tutorial right {HERE}. 🙂

When I think back on what influenced my son to serve a mission & helped him gain a testimony, I think it was all the little things we did as a family. It wasn’t anything big or profound. It was the little things like going to church every Sunday, going to our activities, spending time together, reading our scriptures, having family nights each week & praying together every day. One of our favorite traditions as a family is General Conference. We always try to make it fun (and to eat lots of yummy food!). If you are struggling with ways to make General Conference fun all year long I would recommend the new e-book Growing Up with Conference. 🙂 I’m so excited to take part in this fun blog tour today.

From the creators of the Sweetly Made (Just For You) website comes a new book filled with fun and creative ways to get your family excited for General Conference, including crafts, recipes, FHE lessons, and more! With this book you will get: