The alphabet was originally invented so that babies wouldn’t realize they’d been tricked into thinking a few crummy wooden blocks were toys. However, it can also be used to string letters into words, as this Groupon proves.

$59 for $135 Worth of Customized Letter Art

Ideal for holiday gifts, all pictures are printed in black-and-white or sepia tone. Products include:

• Framed Name pictures ($135–$155)
• Wooden Gallery-Block pictures ($135)
• Signature Boards ($155–$200)

The standard and deluxe framed names can accommodate up to 11 characters in the word or name while the gallery-block and signature boards can only hold up to nine letters. With each shipped order, Frame The Alphabet will include a $75 gift certificate for a future purchase.

Frame The Alphabet

When photographed just right, the bend of a wrought-iron beam or the curve of a stalk of wheat can look just like a letter of the alphabet. This creative observation captured the attention of photographer Crystal Copeland––a graduate of the New York Institute of Photography––who became inspired to seek out more outdoor features that could double as letters. With the help of her business-savvy husband, Lee, Copeland strung these letters into words and began selling them at an online store—Frame The Alphabet.

The site’s interactive letter bank houses a vast collection of Crystal’s photos, which can be used to spell out names and words. You may wish to work in visual thematics, crafting names entirely out of sports images for the family athlete or creating an ironic counterpoint to words such as nature with images of city signs, industrial faucets, and spinning cogs. The selected word is then encased within a brown or black frame made from real pinewood or printed onto a single, wooden gallery block, which comes ready to hang. The signature-board option further customizes the piece with a blank matte board and an 8″x10″ space where you can insert a personal picture.