8.15.2012

Fret No Longer: September’s Challenge Item is HERE

Put on your thinking caps made of toothbrushes, people, because it’s time to announce September’s challenge item! Drumroll please…

blog craft challenge

Game pieces!

Think outside the box. (No pun intended. Ha.) Head to a thrift store or some yard sales and peruse the games. Look at the individual pieces. What inspires you?

What’s on the “Not Allowed; Been There, Done That” list: Anything with Scrabble tiles, and hanging a game or game box on the wall. You must DO something with those game pieces! Cards, pawns, rule books, boards…what can you come up with? If you think of something and know it’s because you’ve seen it before, push yourself and think of something else. Avoid searching the glittery interwebs for ideas. Remember this post for questions you can ask yourself if you’re feeling stuck. And also remember that an attempt at originality is the only real rule!

Link party date: Wednesday, September 26th. Party opens at 7am EST and will close on Thursday, September 27th at 12pm EST. Non-bloggers, we’d love to have you participate: simply share a photo and description of your project on an account you have elsewhere (Facebook, Photobucket, Pinterest, etc.) and then link to that for the party!

Please share your project post no earlier than: Monday, September 24th.

Cheerleader: Karah from The Space Between—she will be selecting her favorite projects and sharing them on her blog on Monday, October 1st.

Husband Judge: Nate, the other half of Michelle at Décor and the Dog. He will be choosing some projects that get the “Husband Stamp of Approval,” and these will be featured on Michelle’s blog on Monday, October 1st.

Giveaway: Linking to the party will automatically enter you in the monthly Etsy giveaway. We’ve chosen shops that specifically feature upcycled and repurposed merchandise, so September’s giveaway will be a $25 credit to Crazy Fox Studio. Linda, the owner of the shop, makes unique jewelry out of vintage keys, tins, compasses, and more!

crazy fox studio etsyTop row, left to right: Vintage Tin Earrings-Marigold Memories; Shoe Clip & Skeleton Key Necklace; Feather Necklace in Gypsy Rose; Bottom row, left to right: Skeleton Key Vintage Button Earrings; Repurposed Button Cuff Bracelet; Vintage Tin Bracelet-Nightingale

 

In the event of a fail: To encourage you to link up even if your project isn’t as fabulous as you’d like, I’ve made a “What the $*%#@ is That?!” ribbon that you can award yourself. Thanks, Megan of The McBaileys, for the idea! :)

Random Acts Fail Ribbon

 

And a new and exciting detail: After the final link party in March, I will host one more link party, the theme of which will be “My Favorite Challenge Project.” The creative Sarah of Thrifty Décor Chick has agreed to be the guest judge for that party, and she will be selecting 8-10 of HER favorite projects from that “best of” party! Those 8-10 will then be voted on by YOU, and the top project overall will win our final prize package, which contains exciting stuff from Krylon and gift certificates to Fabric.com and Cutting Edge Stencils! Woo hoo!

Are you in? If so, and you want to make yourself known, participate in “roll call” by leaving a comment below with the name of a board game! Please note: this doesn’t mean you have committed yourself to using that particular game. Just look at it as your “I’m in” declaration and an opportunity to get others thinking about the games that are out there! Try to name one that hasn’t already been said! :)

P.S. For other details about the challenge and how it will work, see these FAQs or this post. I will continue to update that post with new details so that it contains all necessary and current information.

65 comments :

  1. I'm in, but I'm a little commitment phobic, so I won't commit to a game yet...

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    1. Oh oops I should have clarified...saying a game doesn't mean you're committed to it. I updated that in the post! :)

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  2. I'm in! and right now I am feeling Monopoly, but no promises. xox

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  3. Parcheesi! This girl is in! And this girl is happy we have six weeks. Got some thinking and visualizing to do...

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  4. the What the ^&%%$ is that ribbon is too funny! I have wished there was a button on pinterest where you can mark off doing a project and then rate how well it worked....this reminds me of that!

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  5. I'm in!! How about....Trial Pursuit.
    And I'm SURE I'll be awarding myself the ribbon!

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  6. I'm in! What about sorry? Or Clue? I'll think about that.

    Love the ribbon! What a funny idea!

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  7. I'm in! Monopoly, Rummikub (I know you're thinking what is Rubbikub?), or Bingo. I'm pretty sure I'll be making use of that ribbon in the next few months.

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  8. MANCALA!!! Oh, and to Cotton up above: there is a blog written by a woman who tries out Pinterest projects and writes about how they fail. It's hilarious. the link is http://pintester.com

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  9. I'm in too! I'm not a big game player, but Risk is standing out in my mind because my dad likes it. :)

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  10. I'm in- do rubix cubes count as a game piece??

    That ribbon is hilarious!

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    Replies
    1. If it can be manipulated somehow to be used in a unique way, then it counts!

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  11. I can't wait! I am headed to the thrift store this morning.

    Have I mentioned how excited I am about this?

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  12. I'm in!! Connect Four is coming to mind! :)

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  13. Oh man... This is going to be so fun! I'm thinking Life would be a fun one to use!

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  14. I'm very excited! What a fun idea. :)

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  15. I love the ribbon ...I'm am still thinking of a came that works for me..but what about Othello?

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  16. I have no clue what I am going to do but it sounds like fun!
    Maybe something for Bunco or Imagineiff? Who knows?!

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  17. JENGA!! I am in and going to daydream about crafting at work all afternoon!

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  18. So excited for this!

    And my all time favorite board game is: Cribbage!

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  19. I'm in! (Think the boys will notice if Risk® pieces go AWOL?)

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  20. Hmm I need to see what games I can acquire for cheap? I will have to get back to you....

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    1. Does it have to be from one game or can we do an assortment?

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    2. You can do whatever you want! An assortment could be fun! :)

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    3. I am using Monopoly Spongebob edition. I hope that is OK?

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    4. I have several ideas, do I have to choose one or can I enter them all?

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    5. Go ahead and do as many as you want! And any game you choose is absolutely fine.

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  21. Anonymous8/15/2012

    I am excited - for some reason Candy Land keeps coming to mind! However my favorite game is Scrabble.

    Judy 8/15/12

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  22. Dominion! (It's a card game, in case you're not married to a gamer and haven't heard of it.)

    But the husband will slice me into tiny pieces if I touch our (HIS) copy of it, so that's definitely not what I'll be using.

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  23. I'm in! I'm going with checkers right now.

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  24. Maybe Dominos?!? Hmmm...what to do what to do!

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  25. I'm in....Blockus anyone?

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  26. Oh I'm in! Monopoly here I come (or whatever I find at the thrift store)!

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  27. Ooops, didn't mean to delete my first comment! I'm in, and excited! Almost forgot today was the first announcement day til just now. Game pieces, I'm a little scared! Love the pieces in mah jongg.

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  28. BRING IT ON!!! I need to head to the goodwill to see what I can find.. but I am totally going to rock this challenge.. it is ON LIKE DONKEY KONG!!! So excited!!!!!!!

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  29. Thanks for the push, Erin! I'm in and goodwill bound for inspiration!

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  30. Heading to Goodwill for a "Game of Life".

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  31. This will be my first challenge and I cant wait to get started!
    CHUTEs and ladders away,lol.

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  32. I've never played along before, but this sounds like fun! I'm thinking of something fun with chess pieces...

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  33. I have a question- we are allowed to manipulate the pieces right? Ie- paint, cut, bend, etc? Like do you have to look at the finished item and know it was game pieces right away? Also- we are allowed to pair it with other items (ie- the craft doesn't have to be made of ONLY game pieces right?) Just want to clarify so I don't break any rules! lol

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    1. I was also wondering about this, good question.

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    2. Yes absolutely change them! It doesn't have to be obvious that they were game pieces at all. That would be pretty cool if a person couldn't tell! And go ahead and pair them with anything else; as long as game pieces are included somehow, it counts!

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    3. Alright- one last question. I'm turning into that annoying kid in class that asks "But Why?" too many times...

      Just as an example- say we love sunburst mirrors (totally overdone in blog land of course) but we've never seen one done using chess pieces or something crazy like that- is that still new since it's using the game piece in a way we haven't seen before?? Or is it banned because it's a sunburst mirror that everyone and their brother have done recently?

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    4. The only thing that is banned is using game pieces in a typical “been done” way. If it uses the pieces in a new way, it’s totally okay. Sunburst mirror out of chess pieces=way cool.

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  34. I'm totally in! I'm glad we have a bit of time though because I'm fresh out of inspiration right now! Heading to Value Village for some!

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  35. Hmm, I saw this on a friends blog (www.attemptsatdomestication.com) and it looks interesting. I've never participated in a blogger challenge or even a link party before but this could be fun. Here's my tentative hat in the ring. I'm thinking Boggle or clue?

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  36. Ooh, this sounds so fun! This would be my first challenge too! Someone has already said Rummicub - so maybe Mousetrap! :) I can't wait to see what everyone makes! :)

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  37. Lol glad I could be inspirational. Fairly certain I shall do you proud. What game you ask? Why whatever the local thrifty has available. Sh!t just got real! :)

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  38. I'm so excited for this! I've thought of chess, checkers, back gammon, and my secret game which I'm doing my project with. Just in case you were wondering, I thought of it in the middle of the night after taking my puppy out. It really is the best time for me to think and create!

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  39. Oh bummer... I need to thrift a really cheap game with cool looks that I seriously do NOT want to play, otherwise I'd feel just too bad ripping it to smithereens. Anybody say trivial Pursuit yet? That's the only game I have two sets of (German and English) but it looks LAME- O!!! Dang you, computer age, the weekend- kids don't play board games anymore. What did I get myself into here?

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  40. So I'm sitting here thinking GREAT choice for an item. Then my next thought was I can't think of anything that hasn't been thought of before. I like a challenge, but I don't promise it won't be something someone somewhere hasn't seen, because every time I think I've done something original a person comes along and points out that I haven't.

    ~Bliss~

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    1. It's happened to me before where I think of something, google it, and it's already been done by another person. BUT if you think of it and NOT because you saw it before, it totally counts as original for YOU. Not too much with games is "overdone" in blogland and I think that's really what I want people to avoid: the been there, done that. (Which is why we banned Scrabble tiles and just hanging a box/game board on the wall.) So don't worry about it too much. :)

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  41. I am so excited about this! I just put it on my calendar! I love anything with game pieces. I can't wait to see what everyone has come up with!

    blessings,
    karianne

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  42. Are we allowed to use the game boards as well or is strictly just the pieces? Got some good ideas over here.

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    1. You can use both as long as you manipulate/change them in some way!

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  43. funny thing, I just made a thinking cap out of a toothbrush on vacation. ;)

    and game pieces=brilliant, it had me up and checking out my games and wishing we had goodwill and yard sales.

    G-A-M, E-P-I, E-C-E-S-S (think Mickey Mouse and picture me with pom poms!) yeah, I know there's an extra s ... whatev. :)

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  44. Anonymous8/20/2012

    Boggle, Ouija Board, Clue...ya, I'm going to the thrift store tomorrow!

    Stumbled across this challenge and onetenplustwo and I'm so glad I did! Exciting!

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  45. Do I get away with just giving the box to my... erm... mentally challenged cats and call it a novelty cat bed??
    I swear I've spent every minute my old brain had to itself trying to think up something unique, unheard- of, groundbreaking. And at the end of every brilliant idea came the realization that it's been done before.
    *sob*
    Please, give me back my peace of mind! a game piece of mind would be even better. I actually DREAM of *swearword* gamepieces!
    Came across a vintage game set in the charity shop today, and actually passed it up because I knew I'd rip it to smithereens in a feeble attempt to MAKE and rather left it for someone without the urge to cock his or her glue gun.
    What has become of me?

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  46. Fun, what a great first item!!! I was an art major in college, and I once made replicas of famous landmarks (Eiffel Tower, Stonehenge, the Acropolis) out of Scrabble tiles. I did this as a legitimate art project and I got an A- which tells you what a joke art school is. Anyway, I won't go back to Scrabble. Been there, done that! Maybe Rummy-O pieces?

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  47. O my Sept. is going to be the crazy month for me....go see my mo,sis....move my son and family. .Take care of their house but I am thinking what can I do ......I love to think out of the box so....I am thinking...

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  48. I'm in! Clue! Doesn't that game have the best pieces? Little candlestick, rope, etc...

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