At the beginning of 2011, we moved into our new office on 606 S. Church Street in Murfreesboro, TN. Our new building was ripe with possibilities for decor and customization.
One of our favorite “new office” projects is our DIY Scrabble Wall Art. Anyone who visits The Bug Man office will catch a glimpse of this three-dimensional work of art. Here are a few pictures and a brief explanation of how we made it.
1. First, we brainstormed a few pest-control-related words to use in our Scrabble puzzle.
2. Then we found a free crossword puzzle maker online and used that to create our layout.
3. After considering how to make the tiles look authentic, our office manager discovered a lovely company called Woodworks Limited. She counted up how many tiles we would need and then ordered them off CraftParts.com. In a few short, yet seemingly long days, our materials arrived in the mail!
4. Continuing on the path of authenticity, we then stained the wood tiles to make them look more Scrabblesque. They were left to dry over night.
5. Another key element to this project was finding the right font for the numbers and the letters. We used Chatty Walls’ Will & Grace uppercase font because we thought it looked the most like the font the game of Scrabble uses. (www.chattywalls.com)
6. After the stained tiles dried, we stuck the vinyl letters and numbers onto the tiles. The stickers were measured and placed at the center of the tile. Each little number had to be cut out individually and then affixed to the wood. If you look closely you can see the measurements in the photo.
7. To get the shiny, glossy look on the tiles we used a clear glaze spray. After the glossy finish was complete, they REALLY looked like Scrabble tiles!
8. The next task was to find a way to affix the tiles to the wall, while also keeping the 3-D effect. Initially, we were going to use paint stirrers. However, we ended up using trim. Putting all of the letters on the trim helped us to line up everything as a complete word, instead of as an individual letter.
9. To preview our masterpiece, we used reusable adhesive putty.
10. And then, in all of its wonder and glory…it was complete! Now we have a beautiful, fun, pest-themed Scrabble game on our office wall.
