what materials should i use to make letters?

[crunchycrafts]

i need help, i want to make my son letters out of something so he can put them together to make words (for a christmas present) I was thinking of cutting them from cardboard papermache' them and paint them unless you have a better idea, i originally wanted to sew them but i have no clue how i would do that and stuff them.

i saw felt stuffed letter but i cant afford the 50$ they cost but they are worth it.

anyway im looking for any other ideas you might have.


also i did see a knitting pattern for them but i just dont have the time for that i have other things that im knitting right now.

[Contrariety]

I made a sign for our house recently by printing out the letters, tracing them on cardboard and cutting them out. Then I cut tons of different patterns and colors out of old magazines and covered them using mod podge. It's really cute, if I do say so myself. DS loves them and knocks down the letters every chance he gets to play with them. : I've been thinking about making him his own set for christmas.

[crunchycrafts]

how sturdy are they my son needs something almost indestructable

[Ruthla]

How about cutting out letters of brightly colored felt, and then making a board (glued to cardboard for stability) of white or black felt so the letters stick to it easily?

You just need a large piece of felt for the "blackboard" and then one good contrasting color, or several contrasting colors, for the letters themselves. I would simply cut them out of felt- no sewing or gluing needed. A stencil would make this a lot easier- trace letters in pencil, then carefully cut out. I'd make duplicates of the more common letters. Cheaper but more work is to write out the letters yourself in "block letters" and not spend money on a stencil.

[Contrariety]

Originally Posted by crunchycrafts

how sturdy are they my son needs something almost indestructable

The decoupage kind of reinforces it. Pretty sturdy for what they are.

[crunchycrafts]

i have thought of the felt idea however all i can picture is the letter getting lost or sucked up in the vaccume that why i liked teh bigger cardboard idea. however the felt would be much easier

i think if i did it i would have to think of a wahy to keep them like an attached holder for them

the more i think about the felt though the more i like the idea im much more likley to make a lot of them and now im thinking one of those craft organizers with all the square spaces would be a good place to organize the letters and keep them safe.

[wombatclay]

You could also make an "envelope" out of felt that was large enough to comfortably hold all the latters (make it extra big... once you start making felt cut outs for a felt board you end up doing it a lot ). Then punch a hole in the corner of the larger felt "board" and another hole in the corner of the envelope... use some yarn or string or ribbon to attach the two and you've got built in storage.

If you're feeling really crafty you could sort of fold a larger sheet of felt into itself and connect the corners to create an envelope that could be unfolded to lay flat (take each corner of the square and punch a hole in it, fold the corners to the center, and lace a ribbon through the hole)... it's a storage envelope as well as a use anywhere travel felt board).

Have fun!

[sunanthem]

Something that wouldnt be too hard, IF you or someone you know could cut wood. Take a large sturdy, straight branch or dowel and just slice it. Then you have wooden discs or coins. You pick the width, but I dont know what ages this is for, so be careful around lils. Then sand the disc, paint or stain them (I use food coloring) with letters on each one. Then finish with a little natural beeswax polish. Make a pouch or glue a magnet on the back of each disc for playing at the fridge.
Could also be done for numbers.

If your really cool and own a dremel, you can kind of engrave the letter or number etc, very easily.

[Ideesmom]

I love the idea of the disc cut out of branches. What a cool set of fridge magnet that would make. And... I do have a dremmel tool

[delly]

Could you make the stuffed felt letters yourself for any cheaper? It should be fairly simple sewing, you wouldn't have to turn the edges under since they shouldn't ravel (and you could fancy up the edges when you cut them if you want to use pinking shears) and you could cut the pieces in whatever size you choose.
Now I think about it, I think I want to make some! We have some bought stuffed letters (a gift) that my kids LOVE but would be too much work to make identical ones, but maybe felt ones to go along with them would be acceptable...