Homemade Holidays: Cornhole Boards

Well Since January is over, I figured I could sneak in one last post about our Homemade Holiday.

This is actually a bit of a trio to be honest.  TSG and I love being outdoors when the weather is nice and when the boat isn't beckoning, we really enjoy playing corn hole.  Now, to be honest, I actually find the name of the game to be a bit on the dirty side.  It just reminds me of Beavis and Butthead when they talk about bung holes and cornholio. 

Image courtesy of:
http://www.musicskins.com/category/tv-movies/beavis-and-butt-head.html

Sorry to put that image in your head, but I just feel like I should share my distaste for the name of "corn hole"  I much more prefer BEAN BAG TOSS.  However, no one else seems to agree with me when we're playing.

Anywho...sorry I got off on a tangent.  TSG and I made our first set back in September.  These were a set that we could keep ourselves. 

Go Panthers and Pirates!!

Bags to match ECU

Bags to match Panthers

We built these boards using the method outlined on this website: How to Cornhole
The designs were placed on the board by handpainting.  I located the decals online and blew the images up to the size I needed.  You can do this by selecting poster print on the printer properties.  I taped the numerous pages together and then transferred the design to the board using transfer paper that I bought at A. C. Moore.  And then it was as easy as paint by numbers.  And by easy, I mean it took us 4 days.

A close up showing the paint strokes

What we learned from our first try:
1. Handpainting is tedious and takes a lot of energy and effort, but it gives the best results
2. A cornhole bag will not stay together if you only use a single cotton fabric layer and basic thread
3. If you keep the cornhole bags in the shop outside and in a plastic grocery bag, mice will eat through the bags and get to the corn

Fast forward to November and our second set:

Now, it literally pained me to make these, but they were for a very good friend and we enjoyed making a second set

We made two identical boards for this set

As a Carolina Tarheel fan, I had a difficult time not "accidentally" destroying the decal

For this set, we used vinyl decals that we purchased at the Murrell's Inlet Flea Market while on a mini-vacay.  They were a little expensive, but the ease of using them made it worth the money.  A few notes about using vinyl decals:

When you put the lacquer on, the vinyl bubbles up and makes you freak out.  But if you let it completely set up, the vinyl will lay back out.  We don't know why, it just does.  It will continue to do this for each layer of lacquer you put on.  We were putting on at least 3 and sometimes 4.  Make sure to LIGHTLY sand between each layer of lacquer.

The bags for this set also caused a minor issue:  Apparently the licensed fabric for NCAA schools comes in only 1 style.  So, getting creative, each bag had one side that was Duke fabric and the other side was the differing fabric.

One side Duke fabric / One side solid blue on all 4 bags for team A

One side Duke fabric / One side white with black polka dots on all 4 bags for Team B

This set was being made for a couple, so I chalked up the polka dot fabric to being the slightly more "girly" fabric, but I don't think they cared either way.

The bags for this set were made to be a lot more sturdy.  I made them with 2 layers of fabric, one canvas and one cotton.  BE CAREFUL NOT TO SEW THE COTTON FABRIC INSIDE OUT.  Trust me, I had to restich the same bags sometimes 2 or 3 times.  Also, I used a heavier canvas grade thread.  Unlike the first set of bags, the hole for filling in the bags with the corn was placed in the center of one side and not at a corner.  It was easier to double stitch on the outer part of the bag instead of whipple stitching them closed.  They held together better.

After realizing that, I went back are re-made the bags for mine and TSG's set.

And last but definitely not least, the ultimate in custom corn-hole boards!

Deer with a fall theme

The second board matched this one, the leaves were just placed falling down the other side.  The deer was also a vinyl decal.  The "W" was placed on the board using the tracing paper method that we used for our personal set.  The leaves were placed on by finding various leaf images on the internet and creating stencils using cardstock paper and then painted on with a stenciling sponge.

I used the same stencile multiple times.  Just make sure each layer is dry before starting the next and place all the stencils for a single color down before you begin painting, a "dry fit" so to speak

This is what I mean by sponging the paint on.  The bubbles tend to disappear after a few minutes, but lightly blowing on them helps too.

Here I am putting on the "W"  Notice the backwards "W" on the board to the left..Yea, I had to fix that several times.

This is what the leaf pile looked like when we thought we were done.  We decided it didn't look authentic enough and went back and freehanded in the veins.

BTW: This is what TSG does while I work...sexy huh?

This is what the Shadey 1 does while I work...if you look hard, you'll see the squirrel that she's stalking

Lessons learned while working on this set:
1. spray paint looks like crap, so take it from me, and just use the latex crafting paint.
2. don't try to construct these when the person that will be getting them for their Christmas present is visiting.

The bags for Team A

The bags for Team B

My sewing machine and I were in the middle of a heart to heart when I ultimately forego the top stitching and just kind of winged it.  Here's what you get.  It worked better than expected, it's just not as pretty.  

Oh, and it turns out, I didn't know how to properly thread my machine.  Lesson learned.

And now, for your viewing pleasure, BEAN BAG TOSS in action!

We like to call this the drunk man's horseshoes...no one gets hurt with hard metal objects and you can still hold a beer.  PERFECT

Or hold a drink...with a lid

All my love,
Meredith

Homemade Holiday -- Part 2

The Dwyer Family Crest

My family has a love for our heritage.  We keep misc. items around our homes that have special meaning to us and to those that have passed them onto us.  For example, I have my great-grandfathers binoculars from when he was detective in Des Moines, IA and my father has the handcuffs.  We profess to anyone who cares that we have firefighters, detectives, servicemen, Olympic athletes and hunters in our family.  So, to the say the least, we are VERY proud of where we came from.  

My mom and dad each have a tattoo of our family crest.  My sister has the lion from it and some day VERY VERY soon, I will also be getting one of the lion.  I already have one tattoo and as much as that teeny tiny one on my foot hurt, I’m not racing to get the lion placed on my spine at the base of my neck.  It just sounds painful, but alas, that is where I would want it.  I think I’m also scared that the tattoo artist won’t do as good as a job on my tat as he did on my sister's.  Sorry I don’t have a picture of their tattoos, but trust me, they’re done very well.

But anyways, since my family is so proud, and I’m so cheap creative, I decided that my ‘rents needed a way to display the crest that would be visible as soon as they bring you to the house.  And thus, here is the second installment of Homemade Holidays.  So I made them an authentic family crest for Christmas.  TSG was helpful as always.

                                                 

Here’s how it breaks down: 

1.     Use piece of plywood that you erroneously purchased for another project and fill in any imperfections in the wood with wood filler and sand

See the imperfection?

 .       Print out a poster version of the crest and cut and tape it to size.  Measure the size of the outline of the crest and meticulously draw same onto the ply wood and very carefully cut with a jig saw.  Have the paper poster taken from you by your ‘ol so smart future hubby who lays the poster on top of the ply wood and cuts through everything (meanwhile, you’re trying very hard to hold it in place for him since jig saws vibrate the paper out of place every ½ inch)

The wood filler has been added and sanded and the shape cut out

 

3.   Paint the now crest shaped cut out with white gloss paint and let dry.  Repeat until the ply wood seems as smooth from paint as you prefer.  We did two coats

4.       Lay your chewed up poster print out on top of the painted crest and trace the lions outline using tracing paper.  (This truly is my secret to intricate designs on our projects, yep, I cheat!)

a.       Only trace the outline because you’ll need to paint the lion red all over and will go back for black outlining and shadows afterwards

This is a horrible picture, sorry, but this is the printed out poster prior to cutting/chewing it with the jigsaw

5.       Paint in your lion in red and let dry

6.       Touch up the white areas of the crest with paint where the graphite from the tracing paper smeared

7.       Carefully outline your lion and add details for additional tufts of fur and shadowing.  Be careful not to go overboard!  A little goes a long way.  This is also where you should paint in the black things (I have no idea what they're called) on the top corners and bottom center portion.  I cut out a cardstock template for the longer piece and used a cap to crafting paint for the circles to trace onto my crest.

8.       Add two eye lag screws and wire to the back so it can be hung up.  Again, be careful not to get a screw that is too long and will come through the front of the board

VOILA!  You’re done and now you’ve created a true family crest that replicates how crests and shields were made in ancient times.  Well probably not, I’m sure they made them out of precious metals and intricate carvings, but you get the idea.

The Dwyer Family Crest

All my love!

Meredith

Homemade Holiday - Part 1

Since Christmas 2011 has come and gone, I can FINALLY share what consumed my December.  I literally mean, consumed every bit of it.  TSG was being awesome and even offering to help with the sewing projects (even though he has no clue how to work the sewing machine….Bless his heart!)

My first priority was to totally spoil my twin sister.  We had many projects on the list to get done for her, and obviously did not accomplish all of them.  However, we were able to do the biggies!

Sis was gifted with wine cork wall art.

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Now she just needs to hang it up

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The bottom was painted prior to adding any corks in order to hid the ugly wood color

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Sorry for the bad depth of field.  It was bad lighting and TSG was in a hurry that day

I was inspired by this:

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Sorry I don't know the original source for this, I found it and saved the image long before I started writing this blog or before I knew what Pinterest was

I wanted the corks to touch and not leave all the space in between. 

I started out by grouping my small circular corks in the center of the spheres and gluing those down and worked out from there.  It took some moving and grooving to get them all to fit and look symmetrical, but I think it came out ok.

Also, I thought the edges needed to be finished.  So I cut some 2x4’s down to size.  All the corks were hot glued on and the edges were CAREFULLY trimmed with a circular saw.  True Southern Gentleman (TSG) nailed everything together for me and after what seemed like a month (read, approximately 5 hours), we were done with Melinda’s first Christmas craft!

This is where we dry fit the frame and before paint was added

I think this craft cost me a little over $7.00.  I know, I know, she’s wicked expensive!  The cost included the sample can of paint from Lowe’s ($2.50), remnant pieces of 2x4 left over from other projects, nails and hot glue.  The corks were given to me over the last year.  Originally they were to be used for our wedding, but then we discovered wine isn’t exactly our poison of choice and might not match our personalities very well.

Next up for my beautiful sister was a wine rack that she could call all her own.

I used this tutorial from This Old House  I just decided to spruce up the look a bit with paint and thought I would get really creative and add an accent color to the front brackets. 

                What I learned:

                                Nailing those SOB’s in was a real pain in the arse for TSG

                                I wish I would have painted the interior of the box

                                Primer was an unnecessary step, as it still took 2+ coats of the white

                                I really need to invest in a 4-6 inch circular drill bit

See what I mean about painting the interior?  Just would have added that finishing touch, I think

This project was a tid bit more expensive:

                Painter’s box: $30

                Necessary Primer: $6

               

At first, I thought I was going to be really creative and Mod Podge some fabric to the front brackets for a really cool finish.  No go on that idea.  It was my first attempt at Mod Podge, so it was more of a learning experience.  1. Mod Podge is messy for me and I didn’t work quickly enough.  2.  The brackets were entirely too small and had too many curves for a beginner.  3.  I think I bought the wrong kind of Mod Podge.  I have other plans for this stuff though, so stay tuned

More Homemade Holidays post to come!

Linking up today...my first proper link 
The Shabby Nest

Love as always!

Meredith