K’s party had a loose water play theme, so I made these cute little spongeballs that I saw on Pinterest. I pin DIY projects like crazy, but I knew this one would be a snap to execute and would be economic and totally fun, so it was a must-try. I used this tutorial, which is excellent and I highly recommend it! These sponges absorbed a lot of water and the kids had a blast.

Another game I made was requested specifically by the birthday girl. She wanted a “Pin the button on the dress” game, and as I mentioned before, I decided to convert it into a magnetized game on a whim.

The kids loved playing my take on “pin the tail on the donkey” and now I can use the board as a magnetic chalkboard! Bonus. I plan on putting it in a wooden frame.

This was a very simple project and I used the following:

24 inch x 24 inch sheet metal: all hardware stores should carry this – mine cost $12
1 can of Chalkboard spray paint: I used Rustoleum
Painter’s tape: for safety – I didn’t want the kids to accidentally get hurt on the sharp edges of the metal sheet
Magnets: mine were from the Japanese dollar store Daiso
Sharpie: to mark the button positions. I used a silver one
Fabric for the dress

1. Spray metal sheet with Chalkboard paint. Two coats did the trick for me.

2. Cover edges with painters tape. I also reinforced the corners – safety first!

3. Cut out dress shape (I serged the edges and added lace – totally unnecessary steps) and mark button positions with Sharpie marker

4. Attach dress to magnetic chalkboard with magnets (I used tiny ones I happen to have on my fridge)

5. Play!

The reason I used chalkboard paint was because I thought we would have time to create other games using chalk. There’s all sorts of potential here with a magnetized chalkboard, but if you want to skip that step, the metal sheet as is works great.

All in all, these two games kept the kids happily entertained!