How to Cut Chipboard Letters

Cut your own chipboard letters to add to your scrapbooking project.

Chipboard letters add an intriguing, three-dimensional pop to any scrapbooking page. As with many other craft items, though, these pieces can become expensive to purchase continuously each time they are needed. Use your own templates as a convenient and resourceful cost cutter and create chipboard shapes with your existing materials. Homemade chipboard letters can be derived from cereal boxes, cardboard boxes or other household materials, and will prove to be just as functional as store-bought letters.

Things You'll Need

• Chipboard material
• Computer
• Printer
• Paper
• Scissors
• Repositionable adhesive dots
• Dry point cutter
• Sandpaper

Instructions

1. Lay out your chipboard material. Use actual craft chipboard or repurpose old material such as food boxes or cereal boxes. Make sure any used food materials are clean and dry before use.

2. Create letter templates on your computer in the font and size you wish to cut. Print the templates. Cut around each letter to separate it from the rest; leave white space around the edges to ensure the outline of each letter is clearly visible.

3. Temporarily secure a letter template to the chipboard material with a repositionable adhesive dot. Trace the outline of the letter with a dry point cutter; press just hard enough to indent the chipboard. Repeat with all letters.

4. Remove printed templates and adhesive dots to reveal letter-shaped indentations. Retrace a letter's outline with the dry point cutter, pressing continuously harder each time until you break through the material completely. Pop the shape out of the chipboard. Repeat with all letters.

5. Trim letters to remove any excess chipboard pieces if necessary. Smooth edges by rubbing gently with sandpaper.

Tips & Warnings

• Place adhesive dots as far as possible from letter edges to be cut in order to avoid being caught by the dry point cutter.

• Print outlines of letters only to conserve ink.

• Use a sawing motion to cut the corners of the letters.

References

• Obsessed with Scrapbooking; Even More Chipboard Cutting Info; April 2009
• Simply Scrapbooking Now; How to Make "Chipboard" Letters from Polystyrene Pizza Bases!; Sunday Lamdin