Technically, there’s almost an entire month left of summer, which means you have plenty of time to make this adorable summer tic-tac-toe game! Make it with your kids, or as a solo crafting project. Either way, it’s a fun summery twist on a classic game.
What You’ll Need:
three 12 x 12 squares of foam (pink, green and blue, or substitute the pink and blue for the colors of your choice)
white puffy paint
pencil
scissors
ruler
5 wooden X’s (2.5 inches tall)
5 wooden O’s (2.5 inches tall)
yellow acrylic paint
yellow puffy paint or fabric paint
pink puffy paint or fabric paint
two small paintbrushes
cup of water
You’ll notice that I have mostly black letters, which I do NOT recommend. White or natural wood-colored letters work best. The black letters need several coats of paint, but the white and natural letters only need two or three coats. Unfortunately, this was all I could find at Michael’s the day I went.
Start by painting the O’s yellow and the X’s pink. Painting the X’s is actually optional since you’ll be gluing flip-flops on them. It depends on what color you want the edges to be.
Draw the tic-tac-toe board while the first coat of paint is drying. Use a ruler and pencil to draw 9 equal square quadrants on the blue 12 x 12 foam. Then trace over the pencil lines with white puffy paint.
Once the first coat of paint on the letters is dry, add a second. Cut out the foam flip-flops while the second coat dries.
Draw a 3-inch flip-flop shape on the pink foam (or whatever color foam you chose). I drew several before I had a shape that I liked. Cut out the flip-flop and then use it as a stencil to cut out the rest, so that there are 10 total flip-flops. To make a flip-flop pair, simple turn five of the flip-flops over. Draw straps using the pink puffy (or fabric) paint.
Keep adding coats of paint to the letters (letting each coat dry before painting another) until you’re satisfied with the color. Then use the yellow puffy (or fabric) paint to draw little x’s on the O’s to make a pineapple pattern.
Glue the flip-flops on top of the X’s in a crisscross pattern.
Use a ruler and pencil to draw five 1.5-inch squares and ten 1-inch squares. Cut out the squares, and then cut little slits down two sides as shown below. Trim the corner of the square that doesn’t have slits. These will be the pineapple leaves.
Glue two 1-inch pineapple leaves to the back of an O, as shown below. Once that dries, glue on a larger leaf. Continue for all five Os. Once everything is dry, you’re ready to play tic-tac-toe!
Tag me @rosesandwhiskers on Instagram if you try this summer tic-tac-toe tutorial and use the hashtag #rosesandwhiskers. Happy crafting!
