Now that it's almost Christmas, I have to start thinking about gifts to give to people. One person I needed a gift for was my cousin. My cousin is a huge Minecraft freak, so what there was nothing better I could give him than something to do with Minecraft.
So I came up with this. I've made many photo stands before, but never thought of making it Minecraft themed.
I picked two blocks: the grass block, because it's the symbol of Minecraft, and the diamond block, because it's my cousin's favorite Minecraft block, and I think it just generally looks awesome.

Step 1: Supplies

Things you will need to make your photo stand:

Glossy varnish
Acrylic paint (white, black, blue, light green, dark green, brown)
Thick flexible aluminum wire
Modeling clay (I used the type that dries, and doesn't have to be burned)
Craft knife
Pencil
Fine permanent marker
Paint brushes
Needle noes pliers
"Cut and Paste Sticker Pad" - some sort of foil that you can cut out and stick onto the cube. Regular masking tape should work just as well.

Step 2: Modeling the Block

To model the block, get a ball of clay and model it into a cube. To get the sides straight, use a knife to cut them straight.
Then, get a length of wire long enough for the stand, and poke it through the block. To stop it from sliding back out, bend it a bit and press it into the clay.

Step 3: First Layer

Paint the dirt of the grass block or the stone of the diamond ore block first, before you add the detail. Don't do the grass block like I did -- paint it brown all the way around (except the bottom), not just the sides.

Step 4: Detail Painting

When I tried to make the grass texture for the side of the grass block, It looked really messy, and not very pixelated. Then, to make the edges straight to give it that pixel effect, I used a "Cut & Paste Sticker Pad". Basically it's a pad of huge stickers, that can be cut out and stuck on anywhere. Masking tape should work fine, too.
Draw the texture on the sticker, then cut it out with a craft knife. Stick it onto the side of the block. Now you can paint over it without worrying about messy edges. However, if you take it off and notice that there still are messy edges, or part of the lower layer of paint got pulled off, simply paint over it a little to correct it.