DIY-Memory Game

I have taken a vow of money saving.  :-)  I am making some attempts to save a bit so my challenge is to make any upcoming projects for free.  I also have a TON of stuff in my craft room, so hopefully this will alleviate some of the mess and clutter in there as well as save a buck or two.

Up first is my DIY Memory Game.  My 3 year old has yet to learn his letters.  He can sing the song but can't identify any of them so I have been trying to come up with a clever way to teach them to him without him knowing it. And it hit me while playing this vintage Memory game.

It is an Animal Family version, where instead of finding 2 cards that match identically, you have to find the "mom" animal and the coordinating "baby" animal.  So I decided to make an "Alphabet Family" version where you have to match the upper case letter with the lower case letter. I am sure that there is a manufactured game with this format, but not for free!  :-) Here is how I made it, so that you can make your own too.

Materials

Chip board
Ruler
Pencil
Scissors (or your preferred cutting method)
Fine Grit Sandpaper
Paint & Paint Brushes

To start you will need some chip board.  I have some chip board shapes made for scrapbooking and other crafts, but I didn't have 52 of the same one.  So I turned to my old Art Paper pads from college.

Most of the time I use the chipboard backing for a protective surface when I am painting, but this project definitely uses it to it's full potential.

I drew out a grid/cutting guide;  I just kept halving the measurements in both directions until I had a size that I thought was appropriate.  And as it turns out, that made enough for the project with 12 to spare (keeping in mind that I didn't include the bottom 1.5" of the board because it was bent).

I used an X-acto knife to cut out the strips, then scissors to cut out the individual pieces (You can use whatever cutting method you prefer).

I then used a fine grit sandpaper to sand down any imperfections along the edges.

I used the Making Memories Scrapbook Paint.  (I'm not entirely sure they still make it).

This paint is designed for paper so it has less water, it's more opaque than other types of paint and it dries very quick.  My concern was that the pieces would buckle with too much moisture.  But, use what you have, it is worth a try.  I first painted one side black. (You will have to excuse the Christmas-printed-plastic-table-cloth that I bought after Christmas for 50¢ specifically for craft projects)

Then I painted "roads" on the black side with gray paint.

Then I painted the letters on the "Kindergarten Lines" with white.  On half of the pieces, I painted all of the uppercase letters, on the other half I painted all of the lower case letters. (my intention was to make them look like chalkboards)

And whaaaalaaa.  A Letter Learning Memory Game!

I could have made the plain side more snazzy but I wanted them to be very uniform (so no cheating) and durable.  I considered scrapbooking paper, paint and all other kinds of possibilities but ultimately I decided to keep them their "natural" hue.  They may not be the cutest on that side, but they are definitely functional.  The best part is that these can double as flashcards and can also be used as a guide when learning how to write letters.

I hope you find this helpful and good luck making your own fun version!!