A reusable game

12 April 2016





I have a love hate relationship with Pinterest, well maybe hate it too strong a word but I don't love it as much as some.  My boards are minimalist, I think Marie Kondo would approve have you read her book?  I picked up a copy at my local library, I didn't realise what it was until I got it home and started reading it.  I had to laugh at some of what she wrote (a lot of it is very wise advice) about only keeping the things that bring you joy,  I know that if I asked Alice that about some of the items in her room she would give me a now thats a stupid question look.  I note she had a baby last year, perhaps she will change her tune a little on that one, in relation to children and their possessions, in the years to come.  But back to Pinterest, it is now so popular that often when I am searching online the top of the search is dominated by it, but clicking on the link takes you to an entire board rather than exactly what I am looking for.  Of course those boards will always be popular ones, but I don't really want to wade through all the pins* to find the relevant one, the links are so often dead so are of no help to me.  Please tell me I am not the only one frustrated by this?

I get how it works and see its use but it doesn't work for me, I prefer to bookmark, it makes you keep things minimal otherwise you cannot find anything when you need it or I just use the little grey cells, as Poirot would say.  A long time ago I read a blog post about a game that I thought was such a good idea that I stored in my memory as something to make one day.  I needed the right child to gift it to, and this year I do.  This one was made for a birthday in March and another will be made for June.  Cameron has requested one too.

It is an amazingly simple idea, based on a very old game much loved by children the world over.  A small bag with some ribbon sewn on the front, a few pieces of marked wood, the play is endless and portable, you will never run out of space on the paper or lead in the pencil.  I made this entirely from materials I already had, the bag is made from an old work t-shirt of my husbands which had hardly been worn but a change of business name rendered it no longer suitable, lined with a piece of cotton that I buy in sales when I see it (plain cotton which is always useful to have in a fabric stash).  I love ribbon, it is one of the few things that I buy just because I like it, it rarely stays in my drawers for long I always find a use for it, or Alice takes it to use for 'something' as she so charmingly puts it.  This one was a perfect match for the fabric.  The counters were made from the end of a length of dowl that my husband had in the garage, cut into thin slices, sanded, marked and coated in a little wax.

Sometimes the simple things are the best.

Joining Nicole
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*One board I clicked through to recently had over 750 pins!

52 comments:

  1. I agree with you about Pinterest - I have a few boards (including one with funny sayings by Minions, which is somewhat pointless, but very funny!!, but I have never really got into to it. I'm the same with Facebook, Twitter, social media generally. My blog is enough for me, and reading a very limited number of blogs, unlike some folk I know who read dozens and dozens every day ...... I would rather be doing than reading!
    Love the game - ideal for popping in a bag to keep children occupied.

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    1. I guess we all fill our time with what we want to, I agree I would rather be doing!

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  2. This is a great gift. I'm sure the recipient will love it. I have a project at school where they are making this game using stones instead of wood. I love ribbons too. The children are drawing the lines on the bag, but I think I prefer the idea of ribbon. A wonderful use for preloved material too.

    I like Pinterest. I tend to use it more for visual ideas, rather than clicking through. I have found a fair few dead ends and unrelated pages, when I have clicked. I like the idea of putting my own flair to a project and finding my own making solutions, so I really don't click through that often.

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    1. Your version is good for a group making it, getting out sewing machines might be a little impractical!

      I have tried using Pinterest for visual ideas too but I forget what I have pinned. I find myself looking things up as I need to ;)

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  3. What another wonderful gift. I love the ideas you come up with, they're always things which a child will really enjoy receiving. I've never used Pinterest and I don't go in for other social media either, just my blog.

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    1. Thank you Jo :). I have recently joined FB something I thought I would never do but I only use it to keep track of what is going on in the home ed world round my way ;)

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  4. clever!! Pinterest for me is best for putting those recipes in a place I can find. I try to pin knitting but then ravelry is my place!

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    1. Thank you. I'm glad you found a way for Pinterest to work for you.

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  5. I love pinterest, but if I want anything from pinterest I go to pinterest. Indeed, I don't want whole pages of links to them whenever I google something.
    I love the satchel you made for a game of OXO and I might make one myself for when my niece and nephew visit this summer. xxx...x

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    1. I love the concept but getting it to work for me is another matter! Glad you find it useful.

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  6. Well, I love Pinterest as I am older and the generation when we had to hand copy instructions and cut out things from magazines. Now, I don't have to clutter my mind or my home with magazines or ideas. Also, my blog is like a journal so it's all good!
    I love your game bag! I am all about re-purposing....my parents went through the Great Depression so "waste not want not" was how I was raised. I love to see how the present generation is picking up the baton from them. It's a great way to live! I'd like to make the game bag for my grandchildren as all my gifts are handmade.

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    1. It is true it can reduce clutter, I am so glad it works for you! Enjoy making a games bag they are fun to make ;)

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  7. I have been waiting for you to show us the game! What a lovely idea, we play this a lot, especially when we have to wait around for something, I love this idea as it's so portable and you never will have that scramble for a bit of paper and a pen that works!

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    1. That's exactly what made me want to make it, it's such a simple idea.

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  8. What a lovely gift idea. You have some very lucky recipients for your homemade gifts. Pinterest? I like to browse for ideas but I really don't have a clue how it's supposed to work. Maybe I'm better off staying that way. I can spend too much time on it as it is. X

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    1. Thank you. I had to post this one, I sometimes wish I could be a fly on the wall and see the reaction when it is opened!

      Pinterest can be a time sapper that is so true!

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  9. Lovely gift idea, may make some as stocking fillers for Xmas 2016. I do really like Pinterest but can imagine that if looking for something specific it may be time consuming.

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  10. I use to enjoy Pinterest a lot...now, not so much. Very frustrated by dead ends and pages that don't relate. I now bookmark ideas instead...much quicker to access a project or recipe.

    Love the bag gift idea, thank you for sharing.

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  11. Oh my goodness! What a clever idea and such a cute bag!!!

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  12. The bag is a lovely idea and beautifully made. It's annoying that I can't seem to organise my own Pinterest boards the way I want them, new pins seem to go at the top and that is it. As you say, even more scrolling when you are searching other people's boards for a specific pin. I like the theory of it though and I have many fewer tear sheets from magazines cluttering up the place these days!

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    1. Hmmm I thought I had been able to reorganise my pins on a board not sure how I did it tho'........

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  13. What a great idea. I'm very much into the home made games idea - a pity my children have grown up really. I am busy storing ideas for for any future grandchildren though. I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with all social media. I adore my blog & I wish I had more time to dedicate. I indulge in Pinterest from time to time but tend to use it for ideas after big celebrations have occurred xx

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    1. You will have plenty of ideas for the future! I hear you on the social media thing. I worry about being left behind and then think actually I am ok where I am!

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  14. Totally understand the hate/love relationship with Pinterest! I was addicted early on, so my pages are pretty full but I don't pin as often anymore since they made so many changes to it. But, I do still find a lot of new recipes on it.

    I love the gift, such a great, simple idea :)

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    1. I hadn't realise that they had changed things perhaps that is why I am finding it even more difficult to navigate round!

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  15. I tend to fall down the Pinterest rabbit-hole in fits and starts -- I rarely use it for "stuff to do" ideas, but I often find inspiration for stories in some of the images. But I generally have no patience for social media of any kind.

    I LOVE the look of that game -- and the intention behind it. Simple is always best, I find. xo

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  16. Love the game bag, I like pinterest but yes dead links are frustrating but find it easier to use for some things than bookmarking especially for crafts, enjoyed the Marie Kondo book too

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    1. I enjoyed Marie Kondo and can why others did but as she hadn't a child when she wrote the book she didn't address living with children at all so it didn't speak to me as it did to others :)

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  17. I LOVE this. What a wonderful gift idea.

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  18. I agree with you on the Pin boards. I hate having to try and find the one item I was looking for! Cute game.

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  19. What a lovely idea thank you for sharing, it will go on my HUGE to make list :)

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  20. This is a lovely idea and the materials go so well with each other. It will certainly spark joy to the recipient :) I read the book and enjoyed it very much, although I did not applied her method, I've notice that I started to remember her advice often. I like Pinterest as a visual tool, hardly ever follow the links but I get that it can be frustrating. I keep everything I need/want to remember in Evernote, I would be at loss if depending only on my little grey cells!

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    1. I have tried Evernote but couldn't really get to grips with it but perhaps I should give it another go as I know that it works for many people.

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  21. This is such a great present and I love the fact that you it's very green too. It's just the sort of thing that my girls used to love to play with. xx

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  22. Such a brilliant gift and you did a really good job. I'm sure the recipient was mightily pleased. I soon gave up on the Kondo book and have to say I just cannot understand why it's been so successful.

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    1. I can understand why you might not like the Kondo book some of it made me laugh out loud at the ridiculousness of it!

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  23. i commented before but i don't know where it went (so here it is again...)
    I use to go for months looking (outside) for inspiration, but with pinterest, and inspiration overload/overkill, I have learned to go inside myself to find creativity.
    However, I have to admit... I love all the how-to recipes with pictures. Your tictactoe cloth gift bag is brilliant!!!

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    1. I agree the inspiration is too much. I had not thought of it like that, but as a visual person it is overwhelming and perhaps that is why I am shying away from it all.

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  24. Ah I am a Pinterest addict! I love collecting recipes and resources/ideas for our projects or Wheel of the Year activities. The game in a bag looks lovely xx

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    1. I am glad it works for you! It's great when we find a tool that works for us, I am still looking......

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  25. What a great idea! I like to browse pinterest and have gathered a rather unwieldy number of pins over time. However a lot of them are images or quotes that inspire me rather than practical projects that I'm actually going to get around to doing. Have a lovely weekend :)

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    1. Thank you. That sounds like a lovely use for Pinterest.

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  26. I have read a bit about the Kondo book, though I have never read it. I think it would drive me crazy. I am not very good at taking advice of that kind. I know how to tidy up, I'm just too busy to do it sometimes! I used Pinterest for a while but found it an awful time waster, i.e. I could waste far too much time looking at it and being really sucked in by the images. I prefer Instagram, there is also more of a connection between users there, as you can comment and chat, which is nice. X

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