this morning i'm up and early....starting the laundry, working on some photography and making a plan for the day...
i'm cleaning out my computer files too.... and i'm seeing things that you might be interested to see or read; past publicity and photos of antique game boards... as i'm cleaning, i'll be adding some to the blog...
Monday, February 06, 2006
12/7/2005 2:45:00 PM
Games People PlayLinda BachmannSpecial Sections Editor
Set aside those iPods and Xboxes for a while. As cooler weather and longer nights beckon us indoors, board games and puzzles can offer some old-fashioned fun with friends and family. And as an added bonus, these artistic creations are worthy of display long beyond playtime.
Right: Artist Diane Allison of Boone, N.C., has been handcrafting game boards for the past 12 years. Her greatest inspiration? Memories of hours spent playing marbles and Chinese checkers on the floor with her grandfather.
Using quiltmaking applications, today Diane merges the past and the present using traditional designs and skilled craftsmanship. Over a three-week span, she creates each piece with a nine-step process, using Russian Baltic birchwood and handpainted designs, which are left to dry to a hardened finish in the mountain sun.
Backgammon anyone? This 28-inch by 19-inch Baltic birch gameboard can be hung on the wall between games. Diane suggests using old-fashioned checkers disks, which she discovers on eBay, as the perfect game pieces.
This wood-crafted dreidel, designed and hand-assembled by seven craftsmen at The Toycrafter, based in Rochester, N.Y., will add a crafty flair to any Chanukah collection. Each is four and one-half inches tall and comes with an engraved instruction board and instructions. $22.99. At Gifts from the Heart, Judaica and More, 1205 Johnson Ferry Road, Suite 135, Marietta. (770) 579-6684.
“Yes you may!” is the surely the answer when your family asks to play upon the graphic “Mother May I” Parcheesi game board, also handcrafted by Diane Allison.
The classic checkerboard design receives an updated treatment in this handcrafted Diane Allison piece. Measuring 19-inches square, its comfy wood tones add warmth to any game setting or family room. 
Conundrums puzzles , created by The Toycrafter, look like compact disks made of wood and are individually packaged in a CD jewel case. Shown here are Star of David and menorah puzzles. How long will it take you to assemble the pieces? $10.99. At Gifts from the Heart.
This 19-inch “Crossroads,” square board, designed by Diane Allison, is the classic High Q game of jumping pegs for playing solo or with a partner. Golf tees or nails make for perfect pegs.$215. 
The childhood game “Kick the Can” became the appropriate namesake for this Parcheesi gameboard also designed by Diane Allison. Like her other pieces, each is signed on the back with her trademark black handprint and handwritten initials.
Tell us what you think
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