I am getting into the Valentine’s Day spirit and I wanted to do a fun woodworking project for my mantel.  I didn’t want to do any other pallet wood sign project, and I am starting to feel like Marquee lights are played out.. so I went for something a little more whimsical.  Oversized Game Pieces!

Making them was so easy.. I could whip up an entire games worth in no time.  I used my vinyl cutting machine to make the letters, but you could hand letter them in sharpie or even just cut the letters out by hand, since they are so simple.

Supplies:

Plywood (I used 1/4 inch birch)
Table Saw or Circular Saw
Permanent Vinyl Letters (I cut mine on my Silhouette machine)
Contact Paper or Transfer Tape
That is it!

Instructions: 

STEP 1:  Cut Plywood Squares
I first cut my plywood into 5 1/2 inch squares (I just cut strips with the table saw fence at 5 1/2 inches and then turned them 90 degrees and cut them again without moving the fence). If you have rough edges you can sand them, but mine were alright.

STEP 2: Create Scrabble Letters
I just wrote out the letters directly in my Silhouette software.  The font for scrabble letters is News Gothic Standard (which is a preloaded font from Adobe, but you can also download it here for free)

STEP 3: Cut & Weed The Letters from Vinyl
I cut the letters on my Cameo and weeded them using this probe set I got at Harbor Freight (way nicer than Silhouette’s own weeding tool)

STEP 4: Transfer Letters to Tiles
Using clear contact paper I transferred the letters to the tile. Since it is only one letter and one number you could transfer them by hand.  If you don’t think contact paper is sticky enough or is difficult to work with you could also use real transfer tape.
And that is all there is to it!  It went so quick.  If you wanted to create your family’s names or other longer words it would be easy. 
 I used foam mounting squares to attach the tiles to the wall as part of my Valentine’s Day mantel. 
The other fun craft I made for this year’s mantel was the little pink burlap garland.  I had found these teenie-tiny clothespins at Tuesday Morning and thought they would be perfect to hang the burlap pennants.

I glued on some velvet paper hearts (since I already had words on the wall in the form of the scrabble tiles I didn’t want additional words on my banner.. which is what I would typically have.) The rest of the mantle is simple stuff I had lying around. An old wine bottle I painted and wrapped in baker’s twine. 
My book page glittered hearts (which are repurposed from last year’s banner) and of course cake stands!  I love cake stands!  

I thought it was a cute mantel and a fun way to display this quick and easy power tool project!