Tags
Board game, Concrete etching, Concrete Patio, DIY Scrabble, DIY Scrabble board, Do it yourself Scrabble board, Game, Garden games, Lowes, Outside games for children, Outside games for kids, Scrabble, Stained Concrete, tile, Word game, Words and Trivia
With summer coming up and two little girls to entertain and keep mentally engaged, I am always on the prowl for fun games. Kerry of AZ Soap contacted me through my submissions page asking if I would be interested in seeing the Scrabble board that she incorporated into her concrete patio. Hmmm…YES!! I was immediately interested.
I adore word games and play Word Warp incessantly, even with children. Scrabble is similar, in that all ages can participate. And, playing games together as a family (I think) is important. It teaches them sportmanship – how to win and lose gracefully – and it lets us connect in a fun way.
So, let’s take a look at Kerry’s Scrabble board:
Ten years ago I clipped a photo from Sunset Magazine of a backyard scrabble board
Three houses and three states later, we made a plan to enlarge our existing patio. I pulled out my clipping and showed the foreman. He said, sure, no problem. His workman laid forms to create a 5 X 5 foot square in the living room area of the patio.
The problem was how to make the grid? Their solution was simple and low tech. They used rope pressed into the concrete, applied pressure. Repeat. Voila!
They stained the squares to match a scrabble board.
We made tiles out of linoleum and mailbox letters from Lowes.
Now, Kerry started from scratch, but if you already have concrete, you can paint a board on like this:
What to do if you don’t have concrete and don’t want to bother with concrete? You could also buy a section of vinyl flooring and paint the board on that. Why not go crazy and paint a chess board on the other side?? Just make sure you use a great primer first and seal both sides of the vinyl after.
Love it – scrabble is my favourite game in the world-would love to have it on my patio
Me too!! I don’t have any concrete, so I’m going to have to lay a slab, but I want to build a pond first. I promised my girls that would be first!!
I love it! I was thinking of painting the patio with black satin exterior paint to create a chalk board effect for the 1, 3, and 5 year olds at my house! I may have to add a scrabble board somewhere as well. Thanks for the idea.
What a Creative Idea – thanks for sharing! Have a Great Day:)
S H A R E – 8 points!
Love this shared on fb
This is just wonderful!!! Love it.
Fantastic! Great idea and beautiful implementation.
WOW! WOW! WOW! I love scrabble, and I need one of these…thanks for sharing. Very Cool!!
THIS is so cool! Love it!
My 76 year old mom-inlaw used to kick my butt, that said, still my favorite game…that’s so cool
Awesome!
This is awesome and as I am in the process of tearing up my backyard to totally redo it, this post is also very timely. I am going to include this very design in my plan. It is form AND function and very, very unique. Thanks for sharing!
I absolutely love this idea! If I can somehow incorporate this into our house renovations I will certainly send you a picture of our finished result. Thank you so much, I am inspired!
I especially like that it looks beautiful and integrated into the rest of the design even when not in use.
Great idea! It sure makes it harder to cheat when the letter tiles are that big though…
Awesome
Really nice idea. I’m already thinking about where we could implement!
Thanks
that is brilliant!
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that’s so cool!
I do have an ugly concrete slab just perfect for that. But it’s always too hot out and no one to play with. Maybe I will think of something else.
Our family members are Scrabble-maniacs. What a great idea! Love it!
Love this! Want to add this when I live in a place with a yard!
This is cool! I want to make a big portable outdoor board now. AWESOME! kimi
This is pretty awesome!
I think this could be the carrot I need to waive in front of my husband to do a little spruce up in the yard!
Another (portable) option would be to use paint and recreate the board on a piece of drop cloth/canvas. This way it would be portable to the beach, woods, pool etc for vacations or anywhere else you fancy playing a BIG old game of Scrabble. . .in person. . .not on your smartphone. 🙂
this is really neat! the perfect shady outdoor activity!
I may take a few days off from work to do this – fantastic idea and a wonderful site!
Or you could tile it.
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