"Hey, if I had somewhere to go, I certainly wouldn't be in Cleve-Land." -Howard the Duck

Sunday, March 7, 2010

More art from Game Pieces

I really do not like board games...except for maybe Scrabble from time to time & Trivial Pursuit was a hoot when it first came out.  Now they're just BORED games & I will find an excuse to get out of any gathering where they will be played.  Anyway...I do look for games if they have intresting pieces that have art potential.  Thrift stores & garage sales are fabulous sources for these on the cheap.  SkyBluePink has quite an assortment of game pieces, too.

One game I never played but I knew immediately it had art potential was Rummikub.  The tiles are a great size for magnets & even pins. 
The picture above shows the original tile. The next shows a tile colored with Ranger's Alcohol Inks. The last one is a finished magnet with a fun image & a word I thought related to the image.  The final tile is coated with a layer of Inkssentials Glossy Accents to protect it & add a nice finish.

Dice are another great art supply.  I made this ofrenda with supplies from Hannah Grey Curiosities & Dry Goods, as well as some of my own items.  An ofrenda is a Mexican altar commemorating & honoring the life & favorite things of a dearly departed loved one, typically to welcome the loved one for Dia de los Muertos, the Day of the Dead. 

Dice can also be used as legs for a box or other item.  You can just barely see them on the bottom of this altered cigar box.  I no longer have the box, so that's the best photo I have.
And, of course, there are Scrabble Tiles.  These are probably my favorite game pieces.  I love to use them to make charms for bracelets.  I use a hand drill with the smallest bit I have to drill the holes for the jump rings.  The bracelet below uses Scrabble tiles to spell out "Ancestors" on one side & then I've added a minchie, which is a little 1/2" by 1/2" image, to the back of the tile.  These minchies are from Red Lead Paperworks.  The finished charms are coated with Glossy Accents again to protect & seal the image.
So the next time you have a game with missing pieces that you think is headed to the trash, think again...it's a great source of art supplies.  Think green & recycle those game pieces into little works of art...or send them to me! 

5 comments:

  1. Oh, Kitten, you have GOT to try Rummikub - I LOVE it! Then again, I love pretty much any game that doesn't involve twisting and telling secrets. hehe

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  2. Kitten - thanks for emailing me the link to your blog! Don't roll your eyes, but I do most of my communicatin' through Facebook these days, so that's why I haven't written back. Anyway - love the blog & new way of keeping up with you. Will definitely have to keep my eyes out for Rummikub - new surfaces to alter!
    Susan Metcalfe

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  3. Great bracelet and i love what you did with the rummicub pieces! We had that game and I think the girs pitched it when we moved. We did that with tons of stuff and I do mean tons!

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  4. Great post! Thanks for sharing. I love the dice as legs on a box idea. Take care.

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  5. Debbie, I love your altered game pieces!

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