King me!

Every now and then an idea so simple smacks me in the side of the head. Usually the result of fighting kids, this one is no exception.

Last week I bought a chess/checkers set after the girls showed renewed interest.

Who knows where our old one(s) have gone to.

Needless to say, the boys want to play chess and the girls want to play checkers. At.the.same.time.

So..... with these few supplies, I made one of my best things EVER.

Acrylic paint in red and black

Yardstick

Sharpie

Brushes (foam worked really well)

Screwdriver

And most importantly:

A wooden picnic table

I measured the "board" and marked off the spaces with the sharpie.

Mine were 3 inches square.

Use the screwdriver to 'etch' the lines in. It will help with the painting.

Not something you *have to do, but it made it a bit easier.
I put 3 or 4 coats of paint on. It dried quickly, and I stopped once I had the coverage I wanted.

Add the black squares.

I wanted this (obviously) to be weatherproof.

It is our crab eating table also, so it has to take a bit of wear and tear.

I used this sealer. Why? Because I had it already.

Used newspaper and tape to cover the parts I didn't want sealed.

Had to use packing tape, since duct tape disappears faster than candy in this house.

Again, one of those things I have no answer to.

Couple of coats later...voila!! How awesome is this??

Now all they need is some checkers.