DIY Gift Idea- Make Your Own Board Game From An Upcycled Cabinet Door

 

Is there anything better than giving a handmade gift, knowing the recipient loves it and then seeing them use it in the future? I can think of one thing– seeing a whole family use the gift! 

Awhile back, I chalk painted my kitchen cabinets and decided to have a few open cabinets. I was really excited about having extra cabinet doors to make a chalkboard out of or put an inspiring quote, however they sat in my garage all sad and lonely for quite awhile. 

Then I came up with a spectacular idea!  I decided to turn one of them into a holiday game board with multiple game options for the holidays– Chess, checkers, tic tac toe, and that peg game no one knows the name to all on one board!

Read on to learn how to make your own board game from an upcycled cabinet door!

I started by filling in the holes from the handles with wood filler. I thought about putting handles on the top and bottom of the cabinet so I can easily move it out of the way when not in use. Another idea would be to make a box for it to sit on and be the lid. (more on this later)

I then painted both sides with a white chalk paint I had left over from a previous project. I make my own chalk paint and love it. Chalk paint dries quickly (hardly any waiting between coats) and doesn’t require prep work on the surface you are about to paint. You don’t have to use white, you can actually make chalk paint with any color you want!

You do need to sand the chalk paint smooth but this required very little effort. I decided to antique the surface which just means I sanded to the original surface in some areas and used stain to look like a dark wax was applied. After sanding your surface you will want to apply a finish. You can use a furniture wax or a wipe on poly to protect the surface. 

I used a vinyl cutter to create the checker board, Christmas tree peg board, and tic tac toe vinyl cut outs. You don’t have to use a Christmas tree, you can just use a triangle and then the game board can be used year round. I just thought it was fun and festive. I purchased the Chess board from the Silhouette store, the tic tac toe board is actually a number sign, and the tree is also from the Silhouette store (I just added circles for the game).

The way you play the Christmas tree game is to start with pieces on all the dots but 1. The goal is to get rid of all pieces but one by skipping pieces over another piece and then removing the piece that was skipped over. It’s a peg board game that has many names like peg board game (so creative) or peg solitaire. 

I just love the idea of having games for family to play during the holidays. It’s so much fun to make your own board game! I picked up the game pieces at my local dollar store and I’ve also picked up a few games like Connect 4 and Chutes and Ladders. We typically sit around and catch up when family is in town but the games are a bonus.  

On My DIY Envy I wrote a post on how I keep all those pieces out of the kids mouths! After making this game board my kids wanted to play games all day long and I needed a way to hide the pieces and keep them from getting swallowed or broken. Check out my solution here.

Want to learn more about chalk paint? You can check out my tips for using chalk paint on my website My DIY Envy or visit my FAQs page.

And don’t miss my 7 Tips for Decorating Your Home on a Budget!

Tell us…What fun activities does your family do during the holidays?