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We recently built a new coffee table that’s big and beautiful and makes our living room a true gathering spot for hanging out and all the board games. We’ve been trying to figure out how to style it and came up with the idea of a beautiful DIY tic tac toe board!
Not only does it look beautiful enough to be everyday decor, but it means that our coffee table always has a quick game ready to be played.
To make the board feel upscale and not like a bunch of cheap letters from the craft store, we finished it with two beautiful Krylon spray paint colors.
The letters are finished with Hammered Gold, giving them both some texture and shine. And the board is finished with the amazing Krylon 2023 Color of the Year: Spanish Moss!
Spanish Moss is gorgeous. I think I might need to spray paint some vases or maybe even a nightstand in this color. It feels rooted in nature and restorative and it somehow just goes with everything in our home.
Alright, alright, let’s start DIYing!
Recommended Tools:
- Circular Saw
- Miter Saw
New to DIY? Check out our post on beginner woodworking tools to determine which tools to get!
What You’ll Need:
- (1) – 1x6x6 primed pine board
- Wood Glue
- X + O pieces (we used 4.5” letters from Hobby Lobby)
- Krylon Fusion All-In-One in Matte Spanish Moss
- Krylon Fusion All-In-One in Hammered Gold
How to Make a Tic Tac Toe Board
STEP 1: MAKE YOUR CUTS
Cut your 1×6 into (3) – 16.5” pieces. This will allow us to make a square for our tic tac toe board.
STEP 2: ASSEMBLE THE TOP
Glue the (3) 1×6 pieces together and clamp. Let them dry overnight.
Tip: We placed saran wrap underneath the boards so they didn’t accidentally get glued to the table.
STEP 3: CUT GROOVES IN THE TOP
Adjust the depth of your circular saw blade so that it only cuts about 1/16” – 1/8” deep into the wood.
Cut along the seams where the 1x6s meet. Then rotate your board 90 degrees and mark where to make the perpendicular cuts.
I used a scrap piece of the 1×6 as a guide for this. I just lined the 1×6 up with the end of the board and make my mark. Then I repeated it on the other side. Cut along your marks.
We used our Kreg Accu-cut to keep our circular saw straight while cutting, but you could also clamp a straight edge or scrap board to help guide your saw.
STEP 4: SAND
Sand off any excess wood glue. Since we are using primed pine, you don’t want to sand too much, so you’ll sand off the primer!
We sanded with 120, and 180 grit sandpaper to remove the glue and make the surface super smooth.
Grab your letters and remove any stickers or tags. We had some trouble getting ours off, so we ended up quickly sanding the letters as well.
Once you’re done sanding, wipe the surface down with tack cloth or a damp rag to remove any lingering dust. You might want to break out a shop vac to suck up any dust that got into the grooves as well.
STEP 5: SPRAY PAINT
Now for the fun part: spray paint! I always love watching a project come alive at this step.
For the main board, we’re using the Krylon 2023 Color of the Year! And it’s a great one: Spanish Moss. It’s a dark green that feels so restorative and organic. It breaks up the bright whites of the rest of our home and makes things feel a little more rooted and comforting.
Krylon’s Fusion All-In-One line always has great coverage and a beautiful finish, which is why it’s our go-to spray paint. We applied three light coats of spray paint, waiting just one minute in between coats. We let the board dry for about 30 minutes before flipping it over to spray the other side.
For the grooves, you might need a few more light coats to get them fully covered. Just remember, multiple light coats are always the way to go with spray paint!
For the X and O pieces, we chose Krylon Fusion All-In-One in Hammered Gold. It looks amazing with Spanish Moss and has a unique finish.
Hammered Gold literally leaves a hammered textured look, which made our letters look a lot more sophisticated and expensive than they really were.
Again we applied 3 coats of Hammered Gold spray paint to the letters, waiting 1 minute between coats. The 3rd coat was really just to get the nooks and crannies that we missed on the sides of the pieces.
We still have a little spray paint left in both Matte Spanish Moss and Hammered Gold to use on a future project.
We let everything dry overnight before bringing the board and pieces inside to play!
There you have it! Now you know how to make your very own DIY tic tac toe board. It’s pretty enough to leave out on the coffee table as decor and that means you’re always ready to play when friends and family come over!
Love Color of the Year trends? Check out these other Color of the Year projects!
- DIY end table with magazine holder using the Minwax 2023 Color of the Year
- DIY mid-century modern bookcase with Minwax 2021 Color of the Year
- DIY bar cart with curved handles in the Minwax 2022 Color of the Year
- DIY pegboard showcasing the Krylon 2021 Color Trends of the Year
- How to spray paint a lamp with the Krylon 2022 Color of the Year
- DIY porch swing bed with the Cabot 2022 Trend of the Year
- DIY bar hutch cabinet and DIY corner cabinet with the Sherwin Williams 2022 Color of the Year
- DIY HUGE media console in the Sherwin Williams 2021 Color of the Year
- DIY Large Connect 4 yard game with the Cabot 2023 Trend of the Year
