How to make a Bean Bag Toss
This is a great project for the kids, the grandkids that is. My wife, Cathy, and I like to have an annual Halloween party for the grandkids (ages 5,4 and a year and half). So we try to make it as fun as possible and games with prizes are always a big favorite.
So this year I decided to make a bean bag toss game for them. It was a pretty inexpensive project in that everything I used to make it with I just used material left over from other projects. I used some bead board left over from a kitchen project in 2011 for the main landing area to cut the holes in. We thought it would fun to have some different shapes in various sizes.
In the first picture you can see where I have already cut out the shapes and started to attach a 1 by 2 frame around the bead board. I am using the back of the board for the front of the bean bag toss so it will have a smooth surface. I did not want to use a board like plywood to cut the holes in because with the plywood you can get splinters. Luckily I had this 1/8th inch hardboard or Masonite board handy so I did not have to go and buy some. With that type of board you don't get any splinters and you can sand down the cut edges really smooth too. But at an eighth of inch thick it can be flimsy so I put a 1 by 2 frame around it.
So this year I decided to make a bean bag toss game for them. It was a pretty inexpensive project in that everything I used to make it with I just used material left over from other projects. I used some bead board left over from a kitchen project in 2011 for the main landing area to cut the holes in. We thought it would fun to have some different shapes in various sizes.
In the first picture you can see where I have already cut out the shapes and started to attach a 1 by 2 frame around the bead board. I am using the back of the board for the front of the bean bag toss so it will have a smooth surface. I did not want to use a board like plywood to cut the holes in because with the plywood you can get splinters. Luckily I had this 1/8th inch hardboard or Masonite board handy so I did not have to go and buy some. With that type of board you don't get any splinters and you can sand down the cut edges really smooth too. But at an eighth of inch thick it can be flimsy so I put a 1 by 2 frame around it.
Keeping the kids in mind again like with the splinter factor I didn't want to use any nails so I glued the 1 by 2's on with a good wood glue.
After the glue dried I primed the whole thing then painted the backside a nice bright blue.
On the front side I used chalk paint. Again, I had all the materials and paint in my garage left over from previous projects so I didn't have to buy anything. It was Cathy's idea to use chalk paint on the front, that way we can use brightly colored chalk to make designs and assign point levels for each opening. Plus now that the basic shape and structure is made we can use it for all the holidays and birthdays by simply using chalk to decorate it appropriately for each occasion. We'll probably also make some cutouts in paper to attach to it for each occasion also. Plus with the chalkboard paint idea the kids can help decorate it with their own designs on it too, more fun for everyone.
Ok, so I did actually spend some money after all. We found these perfect size bean bag toss bags at the local party store. They come 12 in a pack with 4 colors (blue - red - yellow- green) of 3 each. They really are the perfect size and weight for the little ones.
I can't wait to see how much the grandkids will have playing and decorating this new addition to the game portfolio.
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