DIY Vintage Wood Travel Games + $200 Home Depot Gift Card Giveaway!

I received a gift card to Home Depot from Coupons.com to use for this project. As always, all opinions are are my own.

Today I have a really cute DIY vintage wood travel games I’m so excited to share with you!

I’m also thrilled to be part of a blog hop with 8 amazing bloggers, all of whom have some great summer travel tutorials for you today!

We are also giving away a $200 Home Depot Gift Card, courtesy of Coupons.com!! I bet you could put that to good use, right?!

Be sure to enter at the bottom of the post for your chance to win!! Also, be sure to check out Coupons.com Home Depot coupon codes, so you can save even more money while shopping at Home Depot.

I have always loved wood games. I love how nostalgic they are, and their vintage, classic look. I recently took a trip to Home Depot, bought some supplies, and set out to make my own “vintage” wooden games set for our family travels.

Tucked inside this adorable box case are 4 different activities I made, perfect for summer traveling. The activities include a vintage wood U.S. map puzzle, a chalkboard and chalk, a mini magnetic checkers board, and a magnetic board for play.

Would you like to make your own vintage wood travel games box set? Here’s how I did it!

Supplies:

1/4 8″ x 2′ oak board, cut into 2 1′ pieces (this will be the top and bottom of the case)
11/16 x 1 3/8″ 8 ft. furring strip, cut into 2 pieces that are approx. 5 3/4″ long & 2 pieces that are 1 ft. long (these will be the sides of the wood box)
4 of the 1/4 8″ x 2″ oak board, cut to fit inside the box (these are the game boards)
1/4 x 36″ (nominal) hardwood square, cut into 2 5 1/2″ and 2 9 1/2″ pieces (Optional- for the bottom side of the top of the box- to hold the lid securely onto the box when it’s closed)
Vacuum belt (for the hinges)
Small finishing nails
Screws
Drill
Small piece of rope
2 metal hooks
Small metal gate handle
Chalkboard paint
Red craft paint
Gorilla Wood Glue
Zinc plated sheet metal, 12″ x 18″
Tin snips
Stencils (optional)
Printed vintage map of the U.S., approximately 5 1/2″ x 10″ (I just googled and printed one I found online)
Mod Podge
Paintbrush
Vice or clamp
Sandpaper

To Make the Box:

1. Apply Gorilla Glue to the bottoms of the four sides cut from the furring strip. Place them onto the bottom 8″ x 1′ board to make the base of the box. Nail finishing nails to hold in place.

2. Glue the hardwood square pieces that you cut onto the inside lid of the box to form a rectangle that fits securely inside the box when closed.

3. Once the glue is dry, cut a vacuum belt into 3 pieces. Attach the pieces to the back of the box with screws, so that the box will open and close. Screw the gate handle onto the box. Use a metal hooks to attach the piece of rope to the box, and the other metal hook to catch the rope, which will wrap around the lid to keep it closed.

4. Optional- Stencil the word “travel,” or any other words, onto the lid of the box.

Vintage Wood U.S. Map Puzzle:

1. Apply a thin layer of Mod Podge with a brush to the back of your vintage printed map of the U.S., and apply to one of the game boards. Let dry, then use sandpaper to smooth out the edges and file off any excess paper.

2. Cut the game board into 6 equal pieces. Apply Mod Podge to the top and sides to seal the pieces.

Chalkboard:

1. Apply two coats of chalkboard paint to another game board, making sure to follow the manufacturer’s recommended time between coats.

Mini Magnetic Checkers Board:

1. Use the tin snips to cut a piece of sheet metal slightly smaller than one of the wood game boards. File all of the edges, and round off each of the four corners so they are not sharp. Use wood glue to attach the metal to the game board, and attach vice to secure the metal to the wood as it dries.

2. Draw a checkers board onto the OTHER side of the game boards with the metal attached to it with a pencil. We made our board 5 squares by 8 squares, to make 40 squares total. Label each black square with a “B” so you don’t get confused as to which square will be which color. Carefully paint the “B” squares black with a paintbrush and the chalkboard paint.

3. Paint 10 of the round magnets with red all-surface craft paint. Let dry.

Magnetic Board:

Kids can use the metal side of the board for the kids to play with magnets and paper and get creative! They can stick on any kind of magnets, like magnetic ABC letters, animals, etc…. the possibilities are endless! You can also use magnets to attach paper doll pieces, tangrams, and more. Get creative!

Now to the $200 Home Depot Giveaway!! Just follow the easy directions to enter below. Good luck!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Be sure to check out the summer travel projects that these bloggers came up with!