I feel like I’ve been hibernating and now that the sun is out I’ve got many, many pages on my to-do list. This tic-tac-toe game is a project I’ve had in mind since late December.
Forget the boring X’s and O’s, it’s time to add some life to the tic-tac-toe game with some insect-inspired stones. I went minimalist with simple stripes and spots to represent two of my favorite insects.
Bumble bees and lady bugs just make me happy, like fields of dandelions and my dog. Luckily for all of us they’re easy to represent with a basic paint job!
Ladybug vs. Bumble Bee Tic-Tac-Toe Game Supplies:
- large, rounded river rocks (I found mine at Dollar General)
- Red, Black and Yellow paint
- Paint Brush
- wood round (or something for your board)
Instructions:
Painting the rocks is super simple but it may take a while if you need lots of coats. I needed about 5 coats for the yellow, 3-4 for the red and 2 for the black.
The goal is to make happy little insect-like stones, no need to go crazy here! It’s simple enough that even my mom could do it (she banned Pictionary from our home, that’s how much she loves drawing) so I promise that you can!
Decide which end will be the head and leave about 1/4 for the total length unpainted.
For the bumble bees start painting yellow stripes across the top and down the sides. The number of striped you need will depend on the side of you rock and the width of your stripes.
For the ladybugs paint about 3/4 of the stone red, after a few coats add the black dots on top. I like the look of an odd number of spots myself but it’s up to you!
I free-handed the lines on the wooden disk in paint but if you were more motivated a wood burned game board would last much longer.
I can’t wait to get to use the game this summer, I love how fast the games go. My kids are really into tic tac toe all of a sudden, I’m just happy this game doesn’t make noise!
Of course they aren’t playing the game but they are playing a game. These little painted stones have taken on a life of their own and have elaborate back stories according to my 2 & 4 year olds. Anything to keep them busy right?
Keep the game going this fall with a Halloween Tic Tac Toe!
Make sure you know your kids before you set them loose with this DIY board game. The painted rocks can obviously be a choking hazard so please, please, please keep an eye on any young children when allowing them to play with this game
Check out my Garden DIY page for more ideas or start here:
Jessie says
April 19, 2013 at 8:26 pmToo cute! Pinning 🙂
Sheila Miller says
April 23, 2013 at 7:59 amA perfect find at a perfect time! I will be working w/ a group of youth in 3 wks and needed one more project for their group….this is definitely IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Amber @ WhatAmberLoves says
April 23, 2013 at 9:06 amThis is absolutely adorable!
Elizabeth says
April 26, 2013 at 3:09 pmThis is really very cute! I’m going to start gathering rocks and do this for my granddaughter and I to play together!
amy says
April 26, 2013 at 5:59 pmWhat kind of paint did you use?
Alecia says
April 28, 2013 at 7:37 pmI used Apple Barrel High Gloss acrylic craft paint, it’s what I had around the house. I’m sure any acrylic paint would work
Sabrinna says
April 26, 2013 at 8:38 pmOne Thing that was left out, was how many? I Would Love to make this, but the number of bugs were Not specified
Alecia says
April 28, 2013 at 7:36 pmI made 5 of each, I’m not sure there is a set number but I’d guess 4 is the minimum.
Kelly @ IdealistMom.com says
May 12, 2013 at 1:33 pmAdorable! My 5-year-old girl is REALLY into tic-tac-toe lately – this would be such a fun project! Pinning now 🙂
Sam @ Thrive 360 Living says
May 14, 2013 at 6:33 pmJust had to tell you that your adorable Spring Time Tic-Tac-Toe inspired my project and post today. A good friend shared with me a pin of your idea and I knew immediately I had to create my own version. I absolutely adore your fun and creative take on such a classic game.
Maro's kindergarten says
May 15, 2013 at 12:19 pmHi! I loved the painted rocks ideas and I have featured you on my new blog post “Discovering nature: Painting & creating with rocks” .
You can see it here: http://maros-kindergarten.blogspot.gr/2013/05/blog-post.html
I would love your feedback! Have a nice day!
Lolly Jane says
May 26, 2013 at 8:49 pmLove this, too stinkin cute!
Jennifer says
June 5, 2013 at 9:21 pmThis looks so fun! I was trying to think of an End of the School Year/Summer Fun project for my 9- and 10-year-old students and if I can find someone to cut up a tree for me, I think this will be it. I like to encourage them to be creative, be outside, and limit their media time. Thank you!
Cathy says
June 6, 2013 at 12:24 pmSo cute – what a lovely idea! I’ve been painting loads of ladybirds and bumblebees the last few weeks – and love the idea of making a game board… now I got one to play on… all I need now is someone apart from the dogs to play with. Hahahah!
Liz says
June 19, 2013 at 1:11 pmHi, These are gorgeous! Did you paint the underside too?
Alecia says
June 19, 2013 at 4:13 pmThank you! No I didn’t paint the bottoms, the stones were black so I left them alone
Andrea says
June 30, 2013 at 7:12 pmWhere did you get the wood round? Or was it cut from your yard? What is the diameter?
Alecia says
June 30, 2013 at 10:14 pmMy brother-in-law is a park manager, the wood is cut from a cherry tree that fell down by a trail. If I had to guess I’d say it’s about 12-16 inches wide. The size of the wood you need will depend on the size of your rocks
VTMIM says
July 3, 2013 at 12:34 pmPerfect for Grandma Camp!
Linda says
July 6, 2013 at 6:45 amBest idea ever. What a fun summertime project!
Nicole says
July 15, 2013 at 12:02 pmThis is such a cute idea! Pinning 🙂
Margot @ Coffee & Vanilla says
August 1, 2013 at 1:02 pmAbsolutely lovely idea, my girls want me to make one like this as well 🙂
Heather - Chickabug says
September 5, 2013 at 9:36 pmYay! Those ladybugs are so cute! : )
Merry Rose Reyes-Ak says
April 18, 2014 at 2:58 amThank you for all your wonderful ideas.
Flying Kisses all the way from Turkey Antalya:-)))
Rhea says
May 31, 2014 at 9:52 amhow would you make them waterproof, i did this with my class using normal paint but we want them outside what would you suggest?
Anonymous says
March 19, 2019 at 4:25 pmTry a uratheane or polyurethane
oweneen says
June 4, 2014 at 2:40 amWell done, brilliant way to interact with the grandchildren, luvin it. Thnx for sharing
momof3 says
July 24, 2014 at 11:02 amI believe once acrylic paint dries it becomes water resistant
Heidi says
August 4, 2014 at 12:24 amI shared this same idea on my site a few months ago. I got the idea from my sister-in-law, but I wonder if she got it from you. Sorry if you stumbled on it and thought I copied. If I did, I didn’t know it. My sister-in-law brought all the stuff to do at our family reunion last year. Anyway . . . if the idea did come from you . . . thank you! We had a blast with it at the reunion.
susie anderson says
April 9, 2015 at 5:12 pmOoh! I’m going to try this with Mijnleiff. It’s played on a 4×4 grid, involves a little more strategy and still finishes up in 5 minutes.
krissy says
April 13, 2015 at 9:24 amHi! We used your cute idea in our camping activities roundup on our blog today. Just wanted you to know- Thanks so much for such a cute idea! I can’t wait to make it with my own little ones!
-Krissy
http://www.whymoms.com/kid-approved-camping-games/
Ann says
June 30, 2015 at 9:28 pmI’m not very good with paints ( worse than your mom) so I painted half red and half yellow and then made stripes and dots with a black sharpie. Came out great!
Brooke says
July 13, 2015 at 11:43 pmFeaturing your project in our studio this month. Will credit you as source in our project tutorial, with your permission!
Alecia says
July 17, 2015 at 2:37 pmabsolutely 🙂 send me a link when it goes up!
Mark says
July 29, 2015 at 3:25 pmAwesome project! And it looks great! I want to make one for a friend. Did you use a preservative on the wood to prevent it from cracking over time? What did you use? I have been researching this and I haven’t found a practical way to stop it.
Rachel says
December 22, 2016 at 6:07 pmI was wondering the same thing. I just made one, but with daughter and boyfriends favorite NFL team vs other team. I was going to modge podge it, but wasn’t sure how it would look.
Krista says
October 20, 2015 at 1:18 pmSo cute! What size wood round is that? Thanks so much!