• wood dice diy wood-burned dice
    Crafts,  DIY

    How to Make Wood-Burned Dice

    I have the most satisfying project for you today. How to make wood-burned dice from wood cubes. Do we need them? Need is a relative term. Do we want them? Of course. They are so cool! Are they satisfying to make? Oh, heck yeah. And that, my friends, is the best part. It’s not so much what we create, but the act of creating that’s the reward. Let’s get started on how to make wood-burned dice. How To Make Wood-Burned Dice Step #1: Cut Cubes Cut cubes out of wood using a table saw. Our cubes are 3/4″ square, but you could adapt your size if you want larger or…

  • mountain themed pool ball rack art
    Crafts,  DIY

    Mountain-Themed Pool Ball Rack Art

    I found a pool ball rack at an antique shop and turned it into Mountain-Themed Pool Ball Rack Art because why not? It seemed like the inspired thing to do even if creating this Mountain-Themed Pool Ball Rack Art (Say that five times fast!) was a creative accident. I was going to turn the pool ball rack into a leather-lined tray, but in the process of laying out the leather, I realized the leather shapes looked like mountains. Hold onto your hot glue gun, folks! With that “aha” moment, this project climbed in an entirely new direction. I’m not sad about it! The creative process can be a long and…

  • DIY board game coasters
    Crafts

    Board Game Coasters

    Need a cool way to repurpose old board games? Turn them into board game coasters! We probably all have at least one board game that is missing pieces for whatever reason. I’m blaming the kids or maybe the vacuum. Either way, it’s hard to play a board game that’s missing pieces and it’s not helpful to donate a board game that is missing pieces.  It also feels really terrible to even think about throwing one away. I don’t need that type of guilt in my life!  Instead of throwing that board game away, turn the actual game board into coasters. The board game coasters you’ll be making won’t last forever since they are a paper…

  • online game budget form for kids
    gift and learning

    Online Game Budget Form For Kids

    We recently set up an online game budget form for our kids and it has helped reduce the amount of family drama around here so much. One of my kids always wanted to spend their money on in game purchases for online games like Fortnite, RoBlox, and Minecraft. To be fair, this child didn’t ask to spend mom and dad’s money. This child had money. However, this child was always asking to spend money. “Mom? Can I buy Robux?” “Mom? Can I buy V-bucks? Please, please, please?” “Mom? Can I buy them now? Now? How about now?” AGH!  As a parent you know they would blow through their life savings (or yours) in a month on in…

  • Vintage Game Gallery Wall
    decorating

    Vintage Game Gallery Wall

    While I’d like you to think I have a grand design plan, some of my favorite spaces in our home happen by accident. The cat’s out of the bag now! Take the vintage game gallery wall in my son’s room. I didn’t set out to create a vintage game gallery wall (say that five times fast) when we moved into the Colonial Farmhouse. In fact, I thought we’d continue with the automotive theme he’s had for quite awhile. Why fix something that isn’t broken? Then one day in a fit of “we must use this or lose this,” I decided to hang a vintage Carrom board on his wall. Carrom…

  • Five Board Games Handy Husband Recommends
    gift and learning

    Five Board Games Handy Husband Recommends

    There are five board games Handy Husband recommends you all try this holiday season while you’re home hanging out with your loved ones. He says these five board games are guaranteed to help you pass the time more enjoyably. Guaranteed, huh? That’s a pretty strong word coming from someone who is not going to give you your money back. I asked Handy Husband if he would write this blog post himself, so you’d get a first person account of why he recommends these particular board games. After all, he’s the person who appreciates how well a game is designed, how often it can be played without getting predictable, the quality…

  • Crafts

    Painted Acorn Tic Tac Toe

    Acorns seem like the bridesmaid of autumn. They always play second fiddle to pumpkins, don’t you think? Well, not anymore! Let’s give acorns their moment, shall we? Besides, I’ve already written about pumpkins a million times. My son and I painted a tic tac toe board when he was 5 years old and in kindergarten. He’s in 3rd grade now and learning multiplication and I’m in denial. The original tic tac toe game pieces were also made by my son…out of perler beads. I have ranted waxed poetically in the past about my feelings on perler beads here and here. You should really read those tales. My melodrama was solidly…