DIY Faux Alphabet Blocks

Alphabet blocks are a staple in the toy box. This old school style has a retro vibe but are still loved by children today. Recreate these iconic classic toys for baby showers, first birthdays or school celebrations using foam board and cardstock. Grab the free SVG cut file and see how to easily create DIY faux alphabet blocks for your next party or celebration.

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This faux alphabet block concept works great both as a party centerpiece or a backdrop.

I previously created this alphabet block look for the Toy Story party I styled, featuring the birthday boy’s name on 4″ x 4″ x 4″ white cube boxes for the table centerpiece.

I bought these white gift boxes either at Walmart or Michaels, as I’ve seen them at both stores!

Truthfully I only added the alphabet block look to the front of the boxes, but I could’ve easily replicated it on the other 5 sides.

It still got the point across for the Toy Story party and it’s one of the party decor pieces I get asked about most!

I recently replicated this faux alphabet block look for another styled party, only this time as a background piece. Since they were not truly dimensional blocks, I achieved the block concept by mounting the frame and letters on pieces of foam core. Here’s how I did it using my Cricut machine!

First, grab the free downloadable file which features all 26 letters of the alphabet. The colors and sizes can be easily changed in your cutting program.

When you upload the alphabet blocks file to your Cricut design space, it will just look like solid blocks, but the letters are also there! These are sized so that you are cutting out an outer frame (not shown above as it’s the paper itself), and a letter. The space around the frame is the negative space you will be throwing away. This will be made more clearer in later steps.

Grab all the letters you need for your word and put them on your Design Space canvas. Next, you’ll need to use the “attach” function to attach each letter to the surrounding space. Again that surrounding (negative) space is something you WON’T be using on the final project. To do this select the block and the letter (in the case of the above, it’s the red outer area and the E) then right click and choose “attach.” In the example above, the red box and the letter “E” are attached together.

Once you go to send it to cut, you’ll need to manually center this combo on your paper before continuing! This will mean that it will cut out the square first then the letter inside. Again, you’ll be throwing out that piece around the letter.

You can see that I cut mine using my Cricut Maker, but you can also do this easily on your Explore Air 2 since it’s just cardstock! Again, you will actually weed and throw out that negative piece between the outside frame and the letter. That is the piece you see on the right side in the photo above. You only need the two pieces on the left for the alphabet block.

Here are all the pieces I needed for the name “Ember”. As it was being done for an Elmo party, I chose to do the title “E is for Ember” like the Sesame Street episodes.

To help create the dimensional effect for this faux backdrop, cut foam board to stick behind.

Adhere the cardstock frame and letter on the foam board pieces to complete.

To adhere to the party backdrop, I taped them up using painter’s tape. The foam board will help raise them slightly off the wall to give it some dimension. For a Sesame Street or Elmo party, pair these alphabet block letters with lots of primary colored decorations.

If you use this alphabet block SVG file or your party, I’d love to see! Please tag me on instagram or Facebook! I’m @Spotofteadesigns!