Bippity Boppity Boo Tic-Tac-Toe, by Sharon Harnist

With school starting back and kids being busier during the week, it seems they get bored easier on the weekends, so I thought I'd put together this fun take along game that will help occupy them on airplane and car rides or while waiting on dinner at a restaurant this fall.

 

Ellen Hutson LLC materials used:

• Inchie Arts White Inchie Squares and Inchie Magnets
• Tsukineko Memento Tuxedo Black andRich Cocoa Inks
• Copic Markers and Spica Glitter Pens
• Sunflower Dew Drops
• BasicGrey Recess 6x6 paper pack
• Lockhart stamps: Potions and Spells, IB Witch's Hat, Bippity Boppity Boo
• Mona Lisa Moments stamp:Big Inspiration
• Spellbinders Standard Tag die
• Ranger White Opaque pen

I started by covering a hinged DVD tin with Basic Grey Recess patterned paper. A tip to help you with this is to make a template out of printer paper:

 

Gently press the paper in to the inside of the tin, snuggly into all corners, using a rounded tool so you don't tear the paper - I used my bone folder. Gently crease the corners and sides, lift out the paper and trim with scissors. Now you have a template that you can place on to your patterned, trace around, and cut out! 

For the front of the tin, I used Mona Lisa Moments' Big Inspiration sentiments to selectively ink and stamp (using the trusty old Stamp-a-ma-jig!) TIC TAC TOE on to coordinating paper from the Recess paper pack, using Memento Rich Cocoa ink. Then I added the Lockhart "Bippity Boppity Boo" sentiment above that and cut a tag using Spellbinders Standard Tag die. Sunflower Dew Drops were added to the bottom of the tag and one of the magnets, created below, adorns the top of the tag.

Now, let's get to those cut Inchie magnetized Square playing pieces...

 

I stamped White Inchie Squares with a portion of the Potions and Spells stamp this way. With the stamp facing up on my work surface, I inked the stamp and then laid the White Inchie Square on the portion of the stamp I wanted to use. Press firmly and then carefully remove the Inchie Square. I used the Copic markers and Spica glitter pens (clear and silver) pictured above to color these five images.

The WItch's Hat was very easy to just stamp directly on to the White Inchie Square with Memento Tuxedo Black ink and then color with Copic markers. Here are a few tips on how I colored and shaded the hat:

 

Step 1 - using green and orange markers, color the moon, stars and hatband. It doesn't matter if you go outside the lines a bit, as the next steps will cover that up.

 

Step 2 - Color the hat with dark gray marker (T in the Copic coloring system stands for Toner).

  

Step 3 - Add a shadow to the left side (and towards the middle) of the hat with black marker.

 

Step 4 - Go back with the dark gray marker and blend the two colors together.

 

Step 5 - Color the background with blue-green markers. I started with the lighter marker all over the background and then used the lighter marker to pick up some color off the darker marker's tip and blended it around the edges of the Inchie Square.

 

Step 6 - Here's my trick to adding a highlight to a project that you've already colored and forgotten to leave some white highlight areas. Lightly dot some opaque white pen to the highlight area (on the right side of the hat brim pictured above), then quickly dab and blend the color, using a pointed cosmetic cotton swab. You'll just want to do this over one small area at a time, so the white ink doesn't dry too quickly. You can see where I've already blended the white pen on the right side of the hat, above the hatband (and on the photo in Step 5.)

 

The last steps:

• Add a grid of ribbon to the inside of your tin
• Cover the back of your Inchie Squares with self-adhesive Inchie Magnets.
• Enjoy hours of Tic-Tac-Toe fun with your kids!

Comments

[Chris Mott]

Just darling Sharon! Love the tutorial...My kids would love this. I will have to try this out!TFS

[diane mcvey]

This is the cutest game ever!! I love what you did. I'll have to make one for my Grandsons...they will love it! You are amazing! :D

[Lori Craig]

Darling, darling, darling ~ wonderful project, Sharon!

[Debbie Olson]

This is super-cute, Sharon--great creativity!