I’ve always loved Design Mom’s tradition of handmade sibling gifts, so I was excited to work on one with Henry for his new baby sister this past Christmas. I loved how it turned out and have been excited to share with you the process! Blocks are a classic baby gift and you can buy natural blocks to dye at pretty much any craft store (or online).
I’ve seen a few tutorials on dying blocks with liquid watercolor which wood soaks up really well apparently, but it’s toxic! We needed something safe for chubby hands to grab and chew on.

Keep reading to see the non-toxic, super easy method we came up with…

PS Peppermint Candy tree skirt DIY from last year

Photography and styling by Liz Stanley

It was so easy, we experimented and plain old food coloring worked the best! We used boiling water (hence the rubber gloves), concentrated colors (not the grocery store kind), and a touch of vinegar. We just dipped blocks in and left them in for at least a minute. Just like Easter egg dying! It was messy of course but Henry loved the process. He was super into it, could have dyed blocks all day! I let them dry and then scrubbed them with hot water to remove any excess dye afterwards.

We tried writing letters on the blocks too by using a white crayon (again, like Easter eggs!) and then dipping the block in afterwards. So many fun varieties you could try here. Polka dots! Stripes! A full alphabet!