Monday, November 19, 2012

DIY Christmas Gift: Wooden Memory Games



As promised, here are a few pictures and tutorial of a fun Christmas gift- or anytime gift- that can be unique as you want it to be.  I have been Miss Procrastination lately as I feel pulled in a million directions with the baby coming, homeschooling and such, so I didn't get a chance to take as many pictures of the finished projects as I wanted since they were finished late at night or the very last minute before rushing out the door to give them away.  But I will provide all the resources and instructions you need.

1. Order the wooden blocks for the correct size of picture you want on them. I settled on 2 inch squares, so I ordered 2 inch square blocks and 2 inch square pictures.  I also did a set of 2 inch round blocks with the 2 inch round pictures, but decided with the game of memory, it's better to have squares that circles. Here's where I ordered mine: http://www.etsy.com/listing/113001126/50-2-unfinished-wooden-squares-2-inch-5

2. Order the download-able collage pictures in the correct size. I was able to request to have a set resized to two inch. Most people will do this for you.  Here are the collages I settled on, after hours of searching for the right look. There are so many different themes and styles- it was too fun to look through them all!  adore the charm of the vintage, so I picked these three:
 3. Print out the downloaded collages. Pick 12 images and double them up so you have 12 pairs for the memory game. I made one extra and drilled a hold in the extra one to tie a string on it and put it on the outside of the bag where they are stored. It made a pretty tag/label for easy identification.  Here are the bags I purchased: http://www.nashvillewraps.com/organza-bags/cotton-drawstring-bags/sku-83410.html

4. For the complete vintage look, I antiqued the squares before I decoupaged the images onto them. You can easily do this by taking a brown stamp pad and swiping the edges of the squares across it. I also did this to the images that I thought needed some antiquing- like the circles pictured.  In theory, you could skip a step and antique the images and the edges of the wooden block after you glued them. However, I didn't feel like testing any theories. I'm not sure how the ink would look over the glue or if it would look quite so neat.

For my vintage animals, I used a rust colored ink for the edging instead of the brown.

5. I also used the ink pad to stamp a simple design on the back of each square. For the religious ones, I used a Fleur De Lis and for the other ones, I used a pretty sunflower. 

6. Decoupage the image onto the wood. Put two layers of decoupage on top the image and one layer on the back and sides for a finished look. I have not tested the durability of the decoupage...get back to me in six months- these are Christmas presents, so I should know by then.  I think they will be fine, though.

7. Place them in your cute bag and put your tag on them (see #3). Finished! Depending on the cost of the collage, how many sets of each design you use and how many of the supplies you already have on hand, the estimated cost of the project is about $13.00- $15.00.

2 comments:

Lena said...

darling! i make tiles but never thought about transferring that idea to wood for a child's game. this is a great gift for Godchildren. thanks for inspiring!

noreen said...

How beautiful Sarah! They turned out so clear too!