classy cornhole.

Is that even a possibility? Classy cornhole? For Mr. Spouse, that answer is y-e-s. I purchased these cornhole boards for Mr. Spouse a while back and couldn't wait to bring a little sophisticated charm to this classic, southern game!

As I started planning for their new paint job, I couldn't decide if I wanted to paint the Mr's favorite baseball team (The Yankees, of course) logo like these:

Or go with a simple stain and a monogram:

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Or go for ultimate simplicity and just paint a generic cornhole design:

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In the end, I decided to go with all three: I was going to use the Yankee colors for my paint (navy and white), feature the Mr.'s monogram, and try to incorporate a simple stripe to add just a bit of class to the equation.

As these cornhole boards were made from particle board and fairly rough, I started by using a belt sander over the entire surface and edges to smooth out any knicks or bumps and remove those pesky splinters.

Using my fave Zinnser latex primer, I then applied two thin coats of primer to the boards:

After letting the primer dry for a full 24 hours, I began bringing in that Yankee pride with some fab navy exterior paint (I decided to go with exterior paint on these since they will be living outside and I wasn't sure how an interior paint and a sudden summer downpour would mix)! I applied 3 layers of navy to the boards in order to get the color nice, dark, and even.

Once the navy was completely dry and cured (another 24 hours), the fun began! Like I told you, I wanted to bring in a simple white stripe to the boards, so I decided to go with a bold white border around the boards. I taped off the border with Frog Tape:

...and after ensuring that the tape was firmly in place, began applying thin, even coats of my basic white paint!

While the first layer of white paint was drying, I began working on the monogram for the boards. Initially (pun intended), I thought I would use Mr. Spouse's full monogram with all three initials, so I started by cutting the middle "S" using my trusty Silhouette and placing it on the board!

I loved both the classic font of the S and the size of it, but quickly realized that if I wanted to do his full monogram, I would need to make the S much smaller. Boo. After a quick pow-wow with the Mr., we both decided that we liked the size of the S and liked the idea of the single letter for our last name, so we scrapped the other two initials (sorry, J and M), and went with just the S.

I spent a bit of time ensuring that the S was perfectly centered from all sides, and then traced the S using a pencil.

After removing the stencil, I then used a small brush to outline the traced S...

...then filled in the letter with a larger foam brush.

Now that both the S and the border had a good base coat, I let the first coat dry thoroughly before applying my second coat to ensure an even coverage. In no time at all, it was time to rip off the tape!

Due to the texture of the board, I did have to go back with a small brush and my navy paint to do some small touch-ups, but overall, the boards came out perfectly classy and streamlined!

After a quick, high-gloss, clear top coat, the boards were ready to be put to good use!

We are love, love, loving our classy cornhole boards! We may or may not be SO CLASSY that we leave our boards out permanently so as not to miss an opportunity for a quick game. Cheers to summer!