I’ve been waiting to share this – I made my family home made presents for Christmas this year, and the one I am most proud of is the one I made for Liam:

It’s a board game.

The top half of the board is meant to look like a birds-eye view of the rooms of a mid-century bungalow (obviously I took some inspiration from Clue here).
The premise being that this is the home – high in the Hollywood hills – of a young writer, about to pitch a new TV show (yes, I have a very active imagination).
To win the game, you have to run around the pool and come up with a great idea for a show, and then search your bungalow to find your missing typewriter so you can get it down on paper.

I had some of the most fun with the little pawns – I drew little retro faces onto circles of shrinky dink (which I’ve never used before – sooooo much fun!) . It worked really well, as you can see. They’re super sturdy, and just the right size.

My inspiration for the little faces was the character design of the faces in the 1961 edition of Better Homes and Gardens Decorating Book – I first saw it (in an earlier incarnation) at Ward Jenkins Ward-O-Matic and when I found a copy at a local vintage store, I knew I had to snap it up immediately. Not only are the illustrations amazing – but all the antiquated design tips are a huge inspiration for a girl like me with a retro decor going on.
I love how all the men wear sport coats, and skinny pants, and ties – so of course, I had to whip up a dapper little Liam (check out the green pawn).