Alphabet Cards

Hey! Here’s how I made Aplabetong Pilipino: A set of alphabet cards for parents and teachers to aid their kids with while they are learning letters and words!

First off, here are the materials that were used:

• MDF boards (preferably thicker than 3mm, but not too thick or it'll be bulky !)
• Sandpaper
• Sticker paper
• Wood varnish

Other programs/ services needed:

• V-Carve
• CNC machine
• Drawing/Photo-editing program (optional)
• Colored printing

You can make your very own alphabet board with your preferred words and language following these steps:

I used Vcarve for designing the cards. The size I used for the cards was 11 cm by 6 cm. The letters cut are about half the size of the board.

As for the paths, the board was a profile path set at 4 mm deep, while the letters were pocket paths cut 1 mm deep for a 3 mm board.

If you're still new to Vcarve, check out these tutorial videos, they may help you :)

How to draw text on Vcarve: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebppWHrW7Ss

A basic walkthrough: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khh5p7BKGfU

Once you have the CNC file ready for cutting, save the paths to a file format the CNC machine you are using can read. You may need to ask help from the operator or lab technician for this part--make sure to have a thick enough board and the correct settings so that the drill bit won't cut all the way through your letter pockets!

I used a 3mm thick board, and some letters got cut through, so I recommend you use a thicker board :)

Alright! Here's the labor intensive part--you need to sand all the rough bits of the cards, especially the letter pocket part. Keep in mind that a kid will use this card, so try to smoothen out all rough or sharp areas!

This part took me a while, since I drew and colored all the illustrations myself. Feel free to look for and save non-copyrighted pictures that you think would suit your language and target age. After you've decided a word and illustration for each letter, print them on sticker paper.

It should be noted that kids can be very visual learners, so you may go crazy with the colors ! And do choose simple words that the kids you aim to teach are familiar with.

Almost there! Cut the illustrations and words and stick them onto the smoothened mdf boards. Place them right beside the letter.

If you want the cards to maintain good shape and to prevent them from being too damaged when wet, add a coat or two of wood varnish.

And there you have them! your very own set of alphabet cards :D