Remembering Peter: Scrabble

For Christmas I made Zach a Scrabble Board shadowbox that I worked on for months. I thrifted two sets of old Scrabble games at various second hand stores here in TX, and bought a huge bag of tiles from an Etsy shop to fill in the missing pieces. I ended up with two complete Scrabble sets and a bunch of left over tiles for other projects. One completed Scrabble set went into our game closet, and the other became my art piece for Zach.

Zach loves games and I thought this would be a lovely tribute to him and our growing family to display in our home.

Supplies:

1. Scrabble board and complete set of tiles
2. Scotch restickable tabs- I used these so that I would be able to move words around in the future and add new names (future children?)
3. Scissors
4. Pencil and paper
5. Shadow box 16x20
6. Spray paint

Directions:

1. Set board up in an area where you can work on it and leave it up for longer periods of time. Decide on a theme and brainstorm words that you would want to incorporate. You can use various websites to help you think of words with whatever tiles you have left over.
   
2. Place words on board, adjusting as necessary to fit as many words on as possible, and using as many tiles as possible. When I had a grouping I liked and was done for the day, I would write down the words and arrangement in case it got bumped or the tiles accidentally moved.
   
3. Continue working until all tiles are used, or there are no other relevant words possible. Write down the final arrangement to use as a reference.
   
4. Using scissors cut each sticky tab into quarters to make four smaller squares. Attach one small square to the back of each tile and place tile carefully in place on the board to make your words. Press firmly to make sure it doesn't fall off later.
   
5. When all tiles are secured to the Scrabble board set aside. Take off the back of shadow box and spray paint color of choice for background. (I used black.) Let dry and repeat until covered evenly with nothing showing through.
   Note: You could also buy a extra large sheet of paper or cardboard and cut out a mat to put behind the Scrabble board to mount it on. Painting the back was easier and cheaper for me.
   
6. After the paint is very dry, use sticky tabs to mount the Scrabble board to the back of shadow box board. Press very firmly and use several sticky tabs. (The more the merrier!)
   
7. Stick any other leftover tiles around board with sticky tabs (or save to use in other projects). Make sure there is no dust or fingerprints on the inside of the glass and then close back of shadow box.
   
8. Hang shadow box up, and enjoy!

Found at Walmart.

Found at Hobby Lobby 50% off.

All the words.

Coat one of many.

Found at Walmart.

Add sticky tabs to back. (More than this! First attempt it fell off the mounting board.)

Leftover tiles added to edge of board for future use.

The final product!

I really enjoyed working on this project and making a homemade gift for Zach for Christmas. It was fun to solve the puzzle of finding words and making them fit. It is nice to have this as a reminder of our beautiful family, the goals we have, and the blessings promised.

I also look forward to using the rest of my Scrabble tiles for other projects in the future!


What words would you choose for your family Scrabble board?