I saw this fun idea on a post by Beth Kingston of Kingston Crafts and I knew I had to try it! In this post I am going to show you how to make the cutest custom holiday ornaments that spell whatever you want in scrabble tiles! The original post was from craftymorning.com and she has some fun videos you should check out. Ok so let’s get started…..
Supply List
Scrabble Tiles – I used amazon to search for bulk packs but you may be able to get them at a craft store too
Hot glue gun and glue sticks
Lots of pretty ribbon – I chose 7/8ths and 1 inch ribbon
Twine
A Lighter (I use the long neck lighters for safety)
Creating Your Custom Ornament
NOTE: You decide what colors you want to use, the sizing/width of the ribbon, embellishments, etc. Your possibilities are endless!
Before you start, make sure your glue gun is nice and hot!
1. Choose the tiles you want to use for your first ornament. In this case N O E L.
2. Lay out the tiles on a piece of ribbon to see where you want to place them. You can roughly judge how long your ribbon should be depending on the size of the word. You need to leave a large enough space at the top to place the bow and you need to double the length because you want to cover the back of the ornament too. See picture below.
3. Now that you know how long the ribbon needs to be, you can go ahead and cut the length. Before I add the tiles, I check to see if the ribbon edges are fraying where I cut it. Some ribbon, like the sparkle ribbon in the above picture, will not fray. Others will fray a lot. If you run a lighter along the edge, it will melt the loose strands and seal the edge of the ribbon. NOTE: you do not need to put that much heat on the edge – just a quick pass along the edge with the lighter should do the trick. If your ribbon has metal wire in it, keep in mind the wire will not melt. Just be careful with this step – it is not 100% necessary but it does clean up messy edges.
4. Now for the fun part – using the hot glue gun, glue on the tiles. Space them as close or far apart as you would like. There are so many options for the holidays, you can make a first name, last name, nickname, pets name, or use holiday words like noel, merry, holly, let it snow, jingle bells, etc. You can also embellish the bottom or the ornament if you want with bells or mini pom poms. Anything goes.
For this next step, you will need to make a loop with your twine. This will be used to hang the ornament, so don’t make it too small. I tied mine and trimmed off the excess edges. Once you have the loop made, you can place it at the halfway mark of the ribbon and put a little glue on the back of ornament and at the bottom. Glue the back piece down so that the loop hangs off the top. Refer to the pictures above.
Next you want to make the bow. Flip the ornament right side facing you and decide where you want to place the bow (make sure the loop is up). Use whatever method works best for you. I like the Bow Maker Comb. I find it makes the most consistent bows. Trim the edges on an angle or in a point. Lastly, glue on the bow and you are done!
I had so much fun with these. I made about 30 of them. I can’t share all the picks yet because I have not given them out yet! Please feel free to share your creations, and reach out to me if you have any questions. Happy Crafting!!
Cards By DeCaro 