This super simple beach-comber craft using driftwood and pebbles is a perfect summer holiday craft, winter beach walk activity or Father’s Day Gift.
We spend a lot of time on Chesil Beach in Dorset and it is a brilliant place for driftwood and pebble collectors like us.
The driftwood we find is bleached and smooth and comes in all shapes and sizes. We wonder where it came from and how far it has travelled to reach us and we plan what we will do with it once we get it home.
This driftwood craft uses some of the pebbles we have amassed, results in a game we can play together and is pretty to look at to boot!
How To Make Driftwood Noughts and Crosses (Tic Tac Toe)
You will need:
4 driftwood sticks
10 pebbles, roughly the same size
String
Acrylic paint in brown and black
- Lay your sticks out to form a grid
- Bind them together with string, knot them underneath and trim
- Paint five of your pebbles with noughts and five with crosses (pencil mark them first if you’re a wobbly freehander)
- Let them dry
- Play!
Wouldn’t it make for a fabulous Father’s Day outing? A stride along the beach to see what you can find, blow away the cobwebs, tire everybody out then home for some crafting and a belly full of food! Finish the day off with a family noughts and crosses marathon – perfect!
Swaps and Alternatives
- Make it really beach-themed and paint starfish on one set of pebbles and octopuses on the other. Or pirate gold and parrots. Or mermaids and fish!
- Use shells instead of pebbles.
- Go mad and make seaside-themed chess pieces and a chess board or keep it simple with Snakes and Ladders (you could use seaweed for the snakes!)
Now, what shall we make with this piece?!
DIY Noughts and Crosses
A super simple beach craft using driftwood and pebbles to make a noughts and crosses game you can play! This makes a super easy Father's Day gift.
Materials
- 4 driftwood sticks
- 10 pebbles, roughly the same size
- String
- Acrylic paint in brown and black (or sharpies)
Instructions
- Lay your sticks out to form a 3x3 grid
- Bind them together with string, knot them underneath and trim off the excess string
- Paint five of your pebbles with noughts and five with crosses (pencil mark them first if you’re a wobbly freehander or use a sharpy instead)
- Let them dry
- Play!
I love this, the driftwood just makes it perfect. We made one tool, but I used an old wooden board as the game area
This is an amazing idea! x
Thank you Jess, I’m so pleased you like it! π
This is a fabulous idea, as a Mum of a boy who loves to find stones it’s great to find something to do with them! This will be on our summer list.
Great! My daughter (14) and my 8yo son are the stone monsters here, I have to find things to do with them!
Love it, not only is it a game, but something you would be proud to have on display all the time
Indeed Kath! Double bonus! As someone who has now been parenting and crafting with kids for 18 years that is very important!
I am so going to get the kids doing this for fathers day its just lovely
Aw, thank you Becky π
Love it, so pretty! I adore Chesil Beach, must get down there again soon x
Yes, you must! The wind swept woman with her pockets full of stones is me – come and say Hi!
So very clever! I need to try this too for my girls!
Thank you, I hope you do! We love it π
Beautiful! I’ve pinned.
Thanks so much Liz π
Perfick for us as we live by the beach! Ace idea Chris – pinned!
You’re a star, thank you – now, off to the beach with you!
What a great and gorgeous idea – off to repin
Thank you! π
So simple and pretty. It almost looks like an accessory for the living room x
It’s in my dining room/sunroom and I don’t mind it being there because it’s lovely to look at!
Love this idea, my boys still haven’t grown out of the game yet and can spend absolutely ages playing noughts and crosses before getting bored.
My 8yo is the same and this set is so lovely to play with I don’t mind playing for ages either!
That’s gorgeous – it makes me want to go to beach to find some driftwood of my own π
Off you trot then Cass! π
LOVE this idea and as mentioned above perfect for Father’s Day, our ‘daddy’ loves games to play with the girls and this is just the trick we need π
Hoorah! It’s a good excuse to go beach combing too!
I do wish we could visit the beach more often.I’ll pin this for you.
Thank you Aly. I do feel very lucky to be able to visit as often as we do.
Love this, so creative and beautiful!