Do your hobbies include reading, filling in countless crossword puzzles, and challenging your friends to an intense game of scrabble? Do you want to add unique character to a wall in your home or office? If you answered ‘yes’ to one or both of these questions, then this art project is for you!
Many home decoration pieces utilize the strength of words to portray a sense of family, welcome guests, or display the simple love of words. This project enhances the idea by putting the art directly into your hands. So gather those unused scrabble tiles and put them to use in a creative way – building a word art collage.
STEP 1: Choosing Words
You might be creating this piece for yourself or a friend who loves words, writing, and reading. It makes a great gift idea for teachers or someone from the office. Or maybe you just think it’s a unique way to decorate. In any case, the first step is deciding who the piece is for, where it is going to be hung, and which words to create. For example, if you plan to hang it by your front door, perhaps you could use the words “welcome” and “greetings.” For a teacher, you might choose “apple,” “desk,” “student,” and other appropriate words. For an office, inspirational words like “endurance” and “loyalty” might be best. In a home, you could use the names of your family members. No matter the theme, choose between two to five words to use. Keep in mind that these must cross in a crossword or scrabble pattern, so including a few longer words gives more options for the word layout.
STEP 2: Gathering the Scrabble Tiles
For this project, you will need scrabble tiles. These can be obtained from buying a cheap copy of the board game from stores or yard sales. If you have the tools and knowledge, you could also cut wooden pieces from flat plyboard and use black paint to replicate scrabble tiles. By choosing this method, it’s possible to create tiles of any size. It is recommended that they be no larger than 2×2 inches if it is your intention to frame the final product.
STEP 3: Positioning the Scrabble Tiles
Begin by laying out your tiles in the chosen words. They can be vertical and horizontal but not diagonal. The words should be able to cross in at least one perpendicular pattern. For instance, “welcome” could share its first “e” with the second “e” of “greetings,” thus “greetings” could lay vertical crossing through the horizontal “welcome.” Try to center the words on your piece of paper, cardboard, or canvas. You may mark the approximate placement of the letters with x’s where the tiles sit so that you may glue appropriately. (Centering and marking the placement are only necessary if adhering the scrabble tiles directly to your backdrop. See STEP 4 for options.)
STEP 4: Adhering the Scrabble Tiles
The simpler method of adhering the tiles consists of using a spray adhesive to permanently glue them in place on your sturdy piece of cardboard or industrial paper.
The more versatile method includes adhering velcro to your cardboard, paper, or canvas so that it acts as a backdrop to your tiles. Detach the opposing side of the velcro that is not adhered and cut it into squares matching the size of your tiles. Adhere these velcro squares to the tiles. Now you may velcro the tiles to the velcro backdrop in your chosen design. This method gives you the option of switching out the words and changing the design to fit your mood, the space, holidays, etc.
By embracing words in home or office decor, you can add inspiration, emotion, and character to a space. And what better way to accomplish this idea than being in control of the words and design in a do-it-yourself project? The scrabble tile collage is inexpensive, unique, and relatively easy to create. Finish off your masterpiece with a frame chosen by the experts at Frame Warehouse. We’ll work with you to choose the perfect frame to complement both your work and your existing decor.
