Crafty stocking stuffer: travel-sized memory game!

This was so easy that a tutorial for it seems silly, but it was a lot of fun, very cheap, and my kids are going to love this travel-sized memory game!

I made this with all stuff I had around the house, and even if you don't have some of the supplies, it's nothing expensive.  I used little 1" square wooden tiles that I picked up at the craft store a while ago (I paid a few bucks for a bag of 100), a tiny bit of milk paint to paint the back (I love milk paint, because it's nontoxic and very eco-friendly, and will NEVER chip.  You can use any type of paint you want, but you might have to use a sealer on top), a pad of scrapbooking paper, a foam brush and modge podge (I made my own modge podge mixture with a 50-50 mix of Elmer's Glue-All -NOT school glue- and water).  

Paint the backs of all the tiles in the same color. I used this slate-blue shade of milk paint.. as you can see, milk paint absorbs into the wood, so it doesn't have that same "perfect" look and finish as other paints.  But it's easy to use, and doesn't chip - just don't get it onto your table or counters, because it's nearly impossible to remove!

While the paint dries, cut enough squares of scrapbooking paper for all your tiles.  I used 16 tiles, so I cut 8 matching pairs of scrapbooking paper to give me 16 total squares.   I used shades that were very similar in color and in style, to require increased visual discrimination.  If you're working with a younger kid, or one who is easily frustrated, pick very different colors and patterns for your pairs.  

Now for the fun part.... modge podge all the little squares of paper onto the "right" (unpainted) side of the wooden tiles.  The trick with modge podge, especially homemade modge podge, is to use VERY thin layers.  Wait for each layer to dry, then do another layer on top.  I did about 5 very thin layers, letting the whole surface dry between layers.  

Once the final layer of modge podge is dry, you're done. See, it's so super easy, but it's very cute, totally portable, and so cheap it doesn't matter if one gets lost somewhere.