DIY Scrabble Tiles

     I love Scrabble. A lot. In fact, I not only own the big huge board that spins around, but also the travel size one. Yup, and you thought I couldn't be nerdier from my Valentine's post...

       The App versions like Words with Friends are fun and all- but it's too easy for opponents to cheat or look up words. There's nothing like sitting in a coffee shop with a close friend chatting and slowly playing a game of Scrabble on a rainy day. In college my friend Nick and I would meet at least once a week at the same coffee shop and play a game or two (or four) of Scrabble and just enjoy each other's company. We played so much we completely used up all the paper score sheets, back and front. Well, Nick moved to Michigan for grad school and I moved to Virginia with Michael so as you can imagine, we don't play too much anymore! I was using one of my DIYed scrabble coasters  the other day and decided to make some big tiles to add to our apartment. I thought a sweet little "L" and "M" would add a nice touch to the Valentine's decor! 

 If you're making some, here's what you'll need:
- Strip of Basswood or Balsa (I used 1/16 x 4 x36)
- Pencil
- Black permanent marker or paint- depending on how steady your hand is
- Box cutter
- Cardboard surface for cutting
- Sandpaper

 Step 1: Take your wood and mark out the Scrabble tile shapes on it..

Step 2: Place the wood on the cardboard surface and carefully cut out your tiles using the box cutter. Balsa (and Basswood) is ridiculously soft so cutting through it with a box cutter should be really easy. 

Step 3: Get out your sandpaper and gently sand the edges. Like I said- Balsa is soft so sand it with care!

Step 4: Either print out the Scrabble letter online to trace or freehand it like I did...

Step 5: Outline your letter before filling it in to see if it looks the way you want it to. I used a Sharpie because I was doubting my steady hand with paint- but I'm sure some acrylic would look great!

Step 6: Display and enjoy! The "L" turned out a little chubbier than I'd like it- but I have plenty of extra Balsa so I may just do it over again!

So there you have it, sweet, personalized Scrabble letters!

    Oh, and those coasters I mentioned? Well I made them before I had a blog, so I don't have pictures for the step by step process but here's how I made them and what I used:

- Basswood - Wood Glue - Mod Podge - Felt - Scrabble Tiles - Sandpaper

I bought the scrabble tiles on Etsy. Each coaster took 20 tiles- so I bought one of the 100 packs and used the extra tiles for random magnets and such. I laid out all the letters ahead of time in the drink theme and after sanding the Basswood I used wood glue to adhere the tiles to the Basswood. After the wood glue dried I applied a layer of Mod Podge over the whole coaster. Once that dried I glued the felt to the bottom of the coasters to assure they wouldn't scratch any table surface! 

Like I said, I used a drink theme: Seven & Soda, Pinot Noir, India Pale Ale, and Gin & Tonic

 So what do y'all think? Any fellow Scrabble lovers out there who would consider either personalized tiles or coasters for their abode?

 P.S.Michael would like to point out that since "M" is worth more he's more important... but his full name is only worth 29 and mine is worth 31...just sayin'