It is (finally, basically, almost) finished

Do you know what I've been through to get this blog post done? I have literally thought about this blog post for the past month. I've been struggling over the words. I've been crying myself to sleep at night about it. I've battled through heat stroke (literally, like 5 minutes ago!) to finish this blog post. I literally had to MAKE MYSELF get off the couch (of course only after Because I Said So, starring Diane Keaton & Mandy Moore, was over). I had to take photos of things, upload said photos to my computer and log in to my blogger account. Do you know what I've been through?

Well, I sure hope so. Because I refuse to apologize for the extenuating circumstances like lack of motivation, lack of time, lack of energy, that have kept me from my blog.

Last time, I showed you some mystery elements that were to be used in my next project. Well, that project is finally, basically done. Minus a few minor details, I am ready to reveal it! And I really hope no one was sitting around dying to know. Because in that case, this will turn out to be rather anti-climactic.

DIY Giant Checkerboard

(And it's true: I first accidentally typed "DIE" instead of "DIY", then laughed at how that little typo would completely change the context of the following "tutorial.")

Here's what you need:

• Large piece of plywood, cut into a square (mine is 30"x 30" to accommodate my giant checker pieces.)
• A ruler/yard stick/meter stick of some sort
• Paint in preferred paint colors, along with your favorite paint brushes. (I used small brushes to get the straightest lines, but you could also tape it off and go wild)
• Wood Stain/Varnish or both
• 24 lids from salsa jars that you've been collecting for the past 1-yr-and-a-half, much to your husbands chagrin
• Spray Paint

1. First, you must decide how big of a board you'll need. I used some simple math to figure this out. My salsa jar lid giant checker piece has a diameter of 3.5 inches. I hadn't played checkers in a while, so I had to google how many checker squares were on a board. There are 64 (or 8x8). I multiplied the diameter of my checker piece by 8. It came out to 28 inches. I rounded up to 30 inches so I could put a border on it.

Then, I started measuring and drawing lines with a pencil and a T-square (but you can use a ruler or meter stick.)

(A pathetic excuse to slip a picture of Elvis in here.)

2. Start painting in the squares. (Do I need to explain how you need to do every other square so that only the corners of the same color touch? See below.)

(Elvis is still sitting there, because he's obsessed with me in a really cute way)

3. Paint the border (not pictured.)

4. I decided to only paint 1/2 the squares, and leave the other half wood-toned. That's because I had some left-over Cedar colored stain/varnish from another project.

This is what the finished product looked like!

For the salsa jar lids, I just spray painted them gold, because that's what I had in the garage. Then I started decorating them with some acrylic paint, but I'm thinking I don't want to waste my time on that. Thoughts? Should I keep decorating the checker pieces or leave them plain gold?

I am still finishing up collecting the rest of the 12 for the other player. I need to finish some pesto and minced garlic in my fridge and I'll be ready to go!

For the other player's set, I decided to use a smaller lid, so you could tell the difference between the two (i.e. I got sick of salsa and happened to have a bunch of smaller lids.)

All I have left to do now is find a suitable base that is preferably collapsable so I can tuck it away when not in use!

Words I had to google for spelling or meaning in this blog post: Diane Keaton, Extenuating, Accommodate, Chagrin, Diameter