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How to: Upcycle old board games; Make new things from your favorite childhood games

By Cara Smusiak, NaturallySavvy.com, Source: Tribune Media Services

The Monopoly money and half the pieces have gotten lost. The dog gnawed on The Game Of Life board.

When games are no longer playable but are still near and dear to your heart, why not find ways to upcycle the parts you can still find?

Here are NaturallySavvy's 5 favorite ways to upcycle board games.

Coasters

The other day I found this great photo of coasters made out of board game boards on Flickr.com. They've glued a piece of the board game to a piece of wood, but you could use small tiles or even just two pieces of the board game glued together.

Jewelry

Tokens and small game pieces—think hotels from Monopoly and weapons from Clue—make fantastic little charms for necklaces and bracelets, or found objects for earrings. Drill a small hole through plastic and wood objects to loop them onto a string or add a metal ring. For metal pieces, wrap with metal wire or sauder a small metal ring to the piece itself.

Magnets

Tokens and other small pieces—Scrabble tiles—make great magnets. Simply glue a piece of magnet on the back and you're done! (Just remember to use eco-friendly glue.)

Wine charms

Want a simple way to remember which glass belongs to which person? This project on diylife.com turn Monopoly tokens into wine charms—but we won't discriminate against any other game.

Gift box

Want to use the whole board in one fell swoop? Follow these directions for making a surprisingly fun gift box that is sure to wow the recipient.

Cara Smusiak writes on behalf of NaturallySavvy.com about how to live a more natural, organic and green lifestyle.

© 2009, Tribune Media Services