How do you print bubble letters?
Open the PDF, pick the pages you need, and print with Fit to page (or Scale to fit) turned on. The pages are A4, so on US Letter paper this setting stops the edges of the letter getting cut off. The letters are black outlines on white, so printing in grayscale loses nothing.
- Print only some letters. Type a page range in the print dialog. In both alphabet PDFs the page number is the letter's place in the alphabet: H is 8, M is 13, S is 19, W is 23.
- Print a word. List the pages with commas, such as
13,1,24for MAX. Repeated letters need the page listed twice, or set copies for that page. - Choose the paper. Copy paper is fine for crayons, pencils and tracing. For markers, banners and anything you will cut out and hang, use 65–110 lb cardstock so the letters stay flat and ink does not bleed through.
- Print bigger. In Adobe Acrobat Reader, the Poster option splits one page across several sheets that you tape together, which works well for wall letters.
- Print smaller. Set pages per sheet to 2 or 4 for flashcards, bunting or small cut-outs.
How do you trace bubble letters?
Put a thin sheet over the printed letter, tape both down, and follow the outline in pencil with slow, smooth strokes. Trace the same letter three or four times, then try it freehand next to your tracing. Tracing teaches your hand the curves; drawing it freehand is what makes the shape stick.
- Use see-through paper. Tracing paper, thin printer paper or baking parchment all work. Taping the stack to a sunny window turns it into a light box.
- Start in pencil. Go around the outer edge first, then the holes in letters like A, B, D, O, P, Q and R.
- Turn the paper, not your wrist. Rotating the sheet keeps curves round instead of flat.
- Find the skeleton. Draw a thin line through the middle of the traced letter. That single-line letter is what you write first when you draw bubble letters by hand.
- Ink the best one. Go over your neatest tracing with a black marker in long strokes.
For the full freehand method, with 3D and highlights, read the bubble letters guide. Each letter page, such as bubble letter G or R, has steps for that letter's tricky parts.
For younger kids learning to write, the alphabet tracing worksheets have A–Z handwriting sheets and bubble letters with a dashed outline to trace.
What can you make with printable bubble letters?
Printable bubble letters are mostly used for classroom displays, banners, party decorations and posters, because the big rounded shapes read clearly from across a room and are easy to cut out. Some ideas:
- Bulletin board and door titles. Print the words on colored cardstock, or print on white and let the class color them.
- Alphabet and word walls. Pair each uppercase letter with its lowercase partner so children see both forms.
- Birthday banners. HAPPY BIRTHDAY takes 13 letters, with A, P, H and Y each printed twice. Punch two holes at the top of each page and string them on ribbon. Add the age from the numbers PDF, or get the ready-made 13-page banner on happy birthday bubble letters.
- Name signs. A child's name for a bedroom door, cubby or locker.
- Posters and school projects. Cut out the letters and glue them on poster board for a title that stands out.
- Party and shower decor. Initials, "Welcome" or "Congrats" in bubble letters, colored to match the party.
- Scrapbooks and journals. Print four pages per sheet for smaller letters that fit a page.
Cutting tip: leave a thin white border around the black outline when you cut. The outline stays whole and the letters look neater on a colored background.
How do you color bubble letters?
Fill each letter with a light-to-dark fade, then add white highlight lines on one side and go over the black outline last. Bubble letters have wide open shapes, so they suit patterns too: stripes, polka dots, a rainbow or hearts give the cute look many kids want.
- Rainbow alphabet: give each letter of a name its own color.
- Pattern fill: draw stripes or dots inside with a fine pen, then color around them.
- Fake 3D: draw a shadow on the bottom-right of each letter in gray or a dark color.
For decorating ideas see cute bubble letters, for a full block see 3D bubble letters, and for the small-letter rules see lowercase bubble letters.
The graffiti coloring pages guide covers coloring tools, fades and age-by-age activities in more detail.
Print any word or name in bubble letters
For a whole word on one page instead of one letter per page, open the generator, type the text, choose the Bubble style and press Print as a coloring page. It downloads an A4 PNG of outlines on white that you print with Fit to page. Try it with Happy Birthday, a name, or a team. The graffiti name generator makes names in other styles, and the letter stencils page has an A–Z alphabet built to cut out and spray through.