Scrabble Tile Wall Art

I love playing Scrabble so I've been meaning to make some kind of wall art for a while with Scrabble tiles. After thinking about it for a bit I decided I wanted to write out a quote with the tiles and instantly the following quote by St. Augustine came to mind, "The world is a book and those who do not travel read only a page." To me it is perfect for the project for so many reasons. I love to travel so the quote resonates with me plus the reference to books reflects my love of reading and ties back to the word game of Scrabble.

With my idea set I bought some wooden Scrabble tiles on eBay and then laid out my quote design into an 8 tile by 8 tile square. I didn't have enough blanks so I just flipped over some letters that I was unlikely to use later (like Z and Q) for my extra spaces.

I also bought a piece of white textured scrapbook paper and a 12" x 12" picture frame. The frame came with a double mat about the thickness of a Scrabble tile so I knew it would be able to fit my project. I trimmed my paper to fit in the frame  and then measured to the center of the paper, drawing a vertical line just a bit shorter than the height of my tile design. I repeated the same procedure in the horizontal direction. This gave me guidelines to be able to make everything straight and centered.

I started by using a tiny dab of hot glue to adhere the tile that went in the corner of the upper right quadrant, aligning it with my guidelines. Working from the center out I then attached the rest of the tiles in that line. Next, I placed the tiles along the vertical guideline, again working from the center out. To finish up I filled in each quadrant in the same manner.  After that I just popped the paper in my frame and it was ready to hang.

I decided to hang my Scrabble tile quote over a bookcase that I have in my upstairs hallway. I paired it with a carved wooden vase that I picked up in the little mountain village of Batad in the Phillipines. Inside the vase I put my Chuukese love sticks that I bought when I was visiting Micronesia to go scuba diving. I placed my framed butterfly wings from Costa Rica on a small easel to finish off my display. I think that my new Scrabble wall art and display arrangement definitely perks up this little nook of my home.

Good Reads

Reading has always been an important part of my life. As a little girl I would sneak lights to read after my bedtime. When I lived in Japan I spent my hours on the train reading and gave Amazon Japan a lot of business sending me books in English. Although my schedule nowadays doesn't permit me to read as much as I would like I still fit it in when I can. 

Currently I am in the midst of reading "The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of Elements" by Sam Kean. I find science history really fascinating (yes, I am a nerd) and this book full of quirky tales involving the elements has me totally engrossed. I'm really enjoying it and can't wait to finish it.

I just finished reading "Baking Cakes in Kigali: A Novel" by Gaile Parkin. Set in Rwanda after the genocide, the book tells the tale of a Tanzanian woman, Angel Tungaraza, brought to the country through her husband's job at a university. Known for her cake baking and wisdom, Angel helps others while raising her grandchildren and dealing with the pain of having lost her own children. The book revolves around an apartment complex of expats and is full of colorful characters and stories and, as someone who enjoys baking, I loved the cake descriptions. Although the bleak realities of AIDS and genocide are present, "Baking Cakes in Kigali" is uplifting and I found it a wonderful read.

Another recent book that I enjoyed was "The Sharper Your Knife, the Less You Cry: Love, Laughter, and Tears in Paris at the World's Most Famous Cooking School" by Kathleen Flinn. The book is her memoir of moving to Paris with her new love to attend the famed French cooking school Le Cordon Bleu after leaving her job. Part of the reason I adore this book is because I am jealous and would love to do the same. The stories are about good food, adjusting to living in a foreign country and following your dreams. What more can you ask for in a book?

So, what have you been reading? Can you recommend me some good reads? I need to start planning some books to bring to Italy with me next week.