Spring Chick Tic Tac Toe

Hi Everyone! I’m excited to be here again on the SNAP Creativity blog – I’m Mandy and I blog over at Sugar Bee Crafts. I am also eagerly anticipating Spring! During recent night-before-snowpacolyse, I was heading to the craft store to stock up while everyone else was out stocking up on bread and milk 🙂 – – I was drawn to spring decor and found these adorable tiny spring chicks – everything is 10 times cuter when it’s tiny! So I knew I wanted to use them in a Spring Craft:

I like to keep my home very child-friendly and encourage fun activities and play. I try to make sure the decor fits into that philosophy as well. I love having something sitting out that is decoration but also interactive and fun. I have an ottoman in my formal living room where I often keep seasonal books, or display a game of checkers – so for spring I thought it’d be fun to mix up the decor. I made a simple Spring Chick Tic Tac Toe to have on display. It looks cute, and it’s completely kid-friendly!

These tiny chicks are so cute! Everyone loves to pick them up, position their little bodies, and stand them around. By creating a gameboard, we’re taking the interaction another step. See, so cute:

The board is simple to make – – you will need an expensive terra cotta pot saucer (yes, you can buy just the saucer – it was about a dollar), some chalkboard paint and chalk.

The chalkboard paint works great on terra cotta. You could experiment with other surfaces as well. Per the bottle instructions, paint on one coat, let dry one hour, and paint on a second coat. After the second coat, let cure for 24 hours.

After the paint has cured for 24 hours, you will need to “season” the chalkboard surface before you write on it. Simple rub chalk all over the surface, then wipe it off.

Now you are ready to draw your gameboard. A tip for getting nice dark lines is to dip your chalk in water before you draw. If you are drawing intricate lines, you can also sharpen your chalk, just like a pencil.