so much fun

My family is made up of very competitive bananagrams players. Probably too competitive. But we love it. We love the challenge. We love the brain test. We love the adrenaline when someone yells PEEL fourteen times in a row.

So last christmas, my brother Rob had the best gift idea for my mom. He made BIG BANANAGRAMS. Each tile is now 12"x12".

Of course my brother bit off more than he could chew, so he didn't finish painting all of the letters for Christmas. What better time to finish this amazing gift? Mother's day. Almost 6 months later.

But we are all so glad he finished. This has been one of the best ways to spend an afternoon. Here we are in my mom's backyard.

Now, you still get the mental challenge from the original game, with the added bonus of some exercise! And the best part? You don't even realize you are exercising. Well, until the game is over and you are covered in sweat. 

'ivy' by the ivy

Next, we are taking them to the beach!

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Update: This post has gone completely viral on pinterest and I'm so happy that you have clicked through. I hope you'll stick around! When I originally wrote this post, I didn't include a tutorial. So many people have asked in the comments about how we did this, and I have been answering them, but I thought it might also be helpful to put that info here, too! 

My brother cut 144 'tiles' from a big sheet of masonite. This material is very durable, doesn't bend and it can hold up to different elements. For those who want to make their own, we recommend luan because it's lighterweight. We love what we have, but if we knew then what we know now, we would have made them with luan. It really makes a difference when you are carrying those tiles to and from. We have ours in a wooden crate and don't move them all that much- probably because they are heavy!

Rob cut the masonite into 12 inch squares with a table saw. Then he hand painted the letters. We are a family of artists so it was easiest for my brother to just paint them himself, but if you don't have a steady hand or good handwriting, there are other options. Several people have left me comments saying that they used vinyl stickers or cut letters out with their cricut.

Here's the breakdown of how many tiles you will need for each letter.

2: J, K, Q, X, Z
3: B, C, F, H, M, P, V, W, Y
4: G
5: L
6: D, S, U
8: N
9: T, R
11: O
12: I
13: A
18: E

Also, we use our tiles for bananagrams because it's fast and exciting, but you could definitely use these for scrabble or even boggle! 

Again, thank you to everyone who has visited my blog and those who have left comments! They really do make my day. I hope y'all will continue to follow along!