My new addiction...

Anagram tiles. What the heck is an anagram tile, you ask? Well, it is a beautiful piece of art in a small package. This wood tile, about 3/4 inch square, has the nicely aged character marks with a letter of the alphabet. It has texture and some even have an added carving on the back side. Such bliss!

How I discovered them was innocent enough. I went on a weekend trip with some moms from last year's Kindergarten class to Cedar Creek Lake. Is wasn't a cabin on the lake. This was a very gracious lending of a beautiful home on an inlet of the lake. Tricky to find after dark, but nice, nice, nice.


Aside from being with ladies I enjoy a great deal, and a weekend away from mommyhood, part of the allure of the weekend was a trip to Canton. OMG. Shopping mecca. Especially for a rusty junk hunter like myself. I found hammers, an anvil, texture galore and these anagram letters. I went right to them. They called me over with a subtle whisper. The letters were obviously vintage, at least, but mainly these had it all. They are old, textured, have character and peeling paint. What more could a girl want? Right?

But you want what for each letter? Really? Joanne and Karen were telling me they would buy a necklace with one of these letters on it. I have witnessed the scrabble tile rage. I like them, but frankly, scrabble tiles aren't hard to come by.

Click here to find this in my Etsy shop

Direct to Etsy listing, click here

So, the tile lady at Canton explained why they were so bloody expensive per piece. I bought 40 on the spot thinking for sure, bargain babe that I am, could not only find more, but get them at a better price. Ooo, not so much. Anagram tiles aren't so easy to find and people are proud of their tiles. But you can find 600 scrabble tiles on e-bay.

Anagram pre-dates the scrabble game. I have been busy obtaining more of these tiles and have discovered no two shipments have been alike except for their individuality. This is trouble for me. It is a challenge of sorts. Plus,crazy ideas fly through my head like making word braclets... my favorite being, "make me". Isn't that great.

So, you see my quandry. I have too many half finished ideas all over the house. But, I can't help myself.  An idea is a bolt of lightening that moves me to create no matter the circumstances.

I have listed some of these individual letters on Esty. Give me an A S, D, E, R, G, K, and a V

K tile  http://www.etsy.com/listing/92883217/upcycled-vintage-wood-anagram-tile
H tile  http://www.etsy.com/listing/92882372/upcycled-vintage-wood-anagram-tile 

The see the Etsy listing, click here

And here is the Etsy language I use to explain each one:

Each of the cream on black tiles are 20 mm square, just short of an inch. Each piece is made out of wood and is sealed with a spray lacquer and then I re-sealed with varnish to ensure the coloring will not bleed onto skin or clothing. The charm is super duper lightweight. I drill wee small holes and inserted a screw eye with wood glue so it will stay put.

Must I be so in love with everything vintage and jewelry making. Guess so. Not a bad addiction. I have had worse!

History

Reputed to have originated as a Victorian word game, Anagrams have appeared in many published versions in the last century. Anagram tiles were used in a game in which players would flip tiles over one at a time and race to take words. They can "steal" each others' words by rearranging the letters and extending the words.
The first modern version seems to have been the game The Game of Letters and Anagrams on Wooden Blocks published by Parker Brothers around 1890. Another game called Anagrams was published in 1934 by the manufacturer Selchow and Righter, who would later publish Scrabble in 1953. Spelling and Anagrams (a set incorporating two distinct games, Spelling and Anagrams) was also published in the 1930s. In 1975, Selchow published the Scrabble Scoring Anagrams version which featured tiles with point values similar to the familiar Scrabble system. The Embossing Company, formerly Halsam Products Company, also produced a yellow-on-black Eye-Rest set. Many other versions have been produced and used sets can still be found on internet auction and specialty sites.


Information was found @ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anagrams




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