Games: Make Your Own Valentine Checkers and Checkerboard

Make your own checkers and checkerboard, Valentine style, to play a fun game with your cutie pie! Brew up a cup of hot cooca and pass the wintry hours playing checkers with your cutie pie!

Valentine Checkers

Gather up your other supplies. These include wax paper, heart-shaped cookie cutter, a paint set and brush, clear nail polish, paper towels, and a rolling pin. You may want to wear an apron to keep your clothes from getting doughy.

To make the checkers, you first need to make some clay. Mix 2 cups flour, 1 half cup salt, and 2/3 cup water in a mixing bowl. Mix well with a wooden spoon. When it is mixed well, press the clay between your fingers to get out any lumps. You can store the clay in a plastic bag in the refrigerator. Let it warm up to room temperature before you use it though. Make 2 separate balls of clay. Cover one ball of clay with a damp paper towel until you are ready to use it.

Roll out the other ball on a sheet of wax paper to a one quarter inch thickness. Use a heart-shaped cookie cutter to cut out 12 small hearts and set them aside. Repeat this with the second ball of clay. Put the 24 hearts on a sheet of wax paper and let them dry for 2 or 3 days.

Paint 12 hearts red and the other 12 pink. When they are dry, brush a coat of clear nail polish on each heart to make them look bright and shiny.

Valentine Checkerboard

To make the checkerboard, you will need a sheet of cardboard 12 x 12 inches, 2 sheets of red construction paper 9 x 12 inches, 2 sheets of pink construction paper 9 x 12 inches, a ruler, pencil, scissors, and glue.

First, cut 8 strips from the red paper, each measuring 1 and a half by 12 inches. Do the same with the pink paper. Glue 2 red strips and 2 pink strips at the corners where they overlap to form a 12-inch square. Place the remaining 6 red strips across the square. Glue the ends of each strip to the square. Weave the 6 pink strips in and out through the red strips to form a checkerboard. Put glue on one side of the cardboard and press checkerboard against glue.

Have a cup of hot chocolate with marshmallows and settle in for a game of checkers with someone you like!