DIY chunky alphabet flash cards in Spanish
Without much effort on our part, and perhaps thanks to the educational videos Joaquin watches every day, our almost two–year–old bollito has moved on from learning the numbers 1 to 10, to now show a huge interest in the alphabet, and as of today, he knows the letters A, B, D, G, I, K, M, N, O, P, Q, T, U, and V.
And when your child is thirsty, you give him something to drink. So, I got him an ABC book, and mom gave him an ABC toy, and every time we read, he demands emphasis on letters, so we teach and show him letters with every–day things, but the crafter in me also wanted to make Spanish ABC flash cards — chunky ones, so they could withstand the wear and tear inflicted by an almost two–year–old who still manages to bend pages on board books.
The set is not complete, but because the length of the project was hurting my creative energy and bringing me down, I decided to finish the ones I had started and put them in service ASAP.
The project started by taking photos of favorite toys and things that are very familiar to Joaquin. I designed each card with Photoshop, and printed them in glossy photo paper (four cards fitting in a letter-size sheet). I rounded all corners with my sweet little punch.
Then I cut matting board (the thickest and sturdiest thing I could find at home) to each card size. Because Kiki is always focusing on the largest letters he can see, I thought of a double–sided design, with capital letters displayed large in a not–too–ornate serif font, on the back of the photos. I fit several letters in a single sheet of self-adhesive paper, then I cut each letter and affixed it to the matting board.
I wish I had thought of self-adhesive photo paper too, but I’m always coming up with the best shortcuts after the fact. So I had to spray adhesive on the back of each photo card and bind it to the mat boards. I rounded the corners of the matting board with scissors, and then smoothed them with a soft file. And finally, I did an extra step I wish I hadn’t done… I applied a coat of “Preserve It”, a spray product meant to protect photos… I’m still smelling the chemical on my baby’s cards. Ugh!
Now I must take a break before making the second batch. Operating the mat cutter takes a lot of muscle, and I ended up with a sore right arm and shoulder (I’m in such great shape!) Of course, self-adhesive photo paper will be the material of choice for the letters missing. Thank you very much messy spray can…