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DIY Indoor-Outdoor Bowling Lane

Written by Cass

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In my neck of the woods, it has been cold and snowy — which is beautiful but also makes me look forward to spring and being outside! Our guest today has a great DIY project that you and the family can use indoors now, and then move outdoors once it warms up outside: an adorable indoor-outdoor bowling lane! 3 Do it Yourself from scrap wood, bowling lane for kids, Handmade by Ashley featured on @Remodelaholic

Ashley’s version is sized perfectly for littles, but who says adults can’t play mini bowling, or you could easily size it up to a bigger bowling lane, too! (Get the full building tutorial below.) Or, while the kiddos bowl, get the adults playing one of these fun yard games:

DIY Cornhole Set (made easy using a pallet!)

How to Make a Cornhole Set

DIY Yard Dice (for all sorts of games!)DIY Yard Dice

or more like these:

25-backyard-games-horizonta

and pssst… make your backyard awesome with these ideas, too:

outdoor-diy-horiz

And now, give Ashley an amazing Remodelaholic welcome — she’s creative and resourceful and you’ll love her projects!

This post contains affiliate links. See our full disclosure policy here, and thank you for reading and supporting Remodelaholic!

DIY indoor-outdoor bowling lane for kids play @Remodelaholic

How to Build a Kids’ DIY Indoor-Outdoor Bowling Lane
by Ashley from Handmade with Ashley

1 DIY kids bowling lane for indoor or outdoor play, Handmade by Ashley featured on @Remodelaholic

Hello, my name is Ashley Grenon and I’m the author of the blog, Handmade with Ashley where I document my crafty adventures. I love making things.  Woodworking is one of my favorite hobbies, but I also enjoy crocheting, sculpting with polymer clay and casting with resin.  I have a little boy, and I really enjoy making things for him. One of my favorite projects I worked on is a geometric themed art table I built for him.  He is also my inspiration for the project I’m sharing with you today:  a kids bowling lane!

2 Tutorial for kid-sized bowling lane out of scrap wood, Handmade by Ashley featured on @Remodelaholic

One day husband and I were discussing how fun it will be to take our little boy bowling when he is old enough to enjoy it.  From that conversation I got the idea of building a miniature bowling lane.

3 Do it Yourself from scrap wood, bowling lane for kids, Handmade by Ashley featured on @Remodelaholic

What you will need

The following items are some of the tools and supplies you will need to build the kids bowling lane:

Bowling Pins

  • White Spray Paint
  • Spray Paint Gun
  • Washi Tape
  • Mod Podge
  • Triple Thick Gloss Glaze
  • 10 – Large Wood Bowling Pins (available here, too)

Bowling Lane

  • Lumber
    • 1 – 46″ long 1×12 board
    • 2 – 46″ long 1×2 boards
    • 2 – 9.75″ long 1×2 boards
    • 1 – 9.75″ long 1×4 board
    • 2 – 23″ long 1×4 boards
  • Kreg Jig (for joining boards)
  • Sander
  • Dremel (for sanding the rounded guard edges)
  • JigSaw (for rounding guard edges)
  • Wood Filler
  • Handsaw (or circular saw)
  • Paint
  • Silhouette (for creating stencils for lane markers)

Cost

I made use of scrap lumber in garage to build the bowling lane.  For the project, I needed to purchase the bowling pins, a wooden ball, washi tape and spray paint.  The project cost me about $30-35 to make.

Time

This project can be completed in a day.

Decorating the Bowling Pins

4 Miniature unfinished bowling pins for kid-sized bowling lane tutorial, Handmade by Ashley featured on @Remodelaholic

I purchased 10 unfinished wooden bowling pins (there’s a similar set available here, too).  The pins looked pretty bland and in need of a serious makeover.

I took the following steps to update the bowling pins look:

  1. Spray paint the pins white
  2. Wrap a piece of washi tape around the neck of the pin
  3. Coat the pin with a layer of triple thick gloss glaze

The gloss glaze adds a really nice touch to the pins.

5 Hand painted bowling pins with washi tape for kid-sized bowling lane, Handmade by Ashley featured on @Remodelaholic

Building the Bowling Lane

To build the bowling lane I took the following steps.

Step 1:  Round the ends of the lane guards

Grab a cup and trace a curve onto one end of each 23″ long 1×4 board.  Use a jigsaw to cut along the curve.   These two boards act as the lane guards.   The curved edges make for a really nice finish.

Step 2:  Attach the 1×2 boards to the 1×12 board

Attach the 1×2 boards to the sides of the 1×12 board with glue and nails creating the base for the bowling lane.

6 Kid-sized bowling lane tutorial, Handmade by Ashley featured on @RemodelaholicNailing the 1×2 boards to the 1×12 board

Step 3:  Attach the lane guards to the bowling lane base

I used a Kreg Jig to create pocket holes for joining the pieces of the lane guard together.   If you use the Kreg Jig you will want pocket holes in the following locations:

  • At the un-curved end of each 23″ long 1×4 board
  • On each end of the 9.75″ long 1×4 board
  • At the bottom of the 9.75″ long 1×4 board and the 23? long 1×4 boards

Once the 3 1×4 boards were joined, I then attached the lane guard to the 1×12 board.

7 Drilling pocket holes for kid-sized bowling lane yard game, Handmade by Ashley featured on @Remodelaholic

8 Build your own kid-sized bowling lane for indoor or outdoor play, Handmade by Ashley featured on @Remodelaholic

Two pieces of the guard being joined together

 

9 Step by Step tutorial for building a kid-sized bowling lane from scrap wood, Handmade by Ashley featured on @Remodelaholic

Finished guard

 

 

10 DIY bowling lane for kids, step by step yard games, Handmade by Ashley featured on @Remodelaholic

Guard attached to bowling lane base

Step 4:  Apply wood filler and sand

Fill any gaps with a bit of wood filler.  Once the filler has dried take time to sand the surface.

11 Indoor-Outdoor kid's bowling lane tutorial, Handmade by Ashley featured on @Remodelaholic

Step 4:  Paint a base coat

Now it’s time for the really fun part:  decorating the bowling lane!   I covered the surface of the 1×12 board with painters tape and newspaper.  Once that was in place I spray painted the bowling lane with Krylon Satin Sea Glass spray paint.

Step 5:  Add a washi tape border

To tie in some of the colors from the bowling lane pins to the color of the bowling lane, I wrapped the perimeter of the lane base with striped washi tape.

12 Pieces of scrap wood create a fun, simple kids' yard game, Handmade by Ashley featured on @Remodelaholic

My little washi tape helper

Step 6:  Add bowling pin placement markers and arrows

For a nice final touch, I created stencils for lane arrows and markers for the bowling pin locations with the Silhouette editor.   I used Contact paper to create the stencil.  I followed the Shanty sister’s tutorial on creating a stencil with contact paper to get the perfect cut setting on my Silhouette.   To complement the Sea Glass paint, I painted the lane markers with neon orange paint.

The Silhouette cut files are available here for download:

  • Bowling Pin Locations Cut File
  • Bowling Lane Arrows Cut File

13 Bowling lane pin markers and arrows for silhouette on a kid-sized homemade bowling lane, Handmade by Ashley featured on @Remodelaholic

14 Handmade kids' bowling lane for indoor or outdoor fun, Handmade by Ashley featured on @Remodelaholic

Step 7:  Seal the bowling lane

Once everything has dried, seal the project with varnish.  I used a satin varnish.

Kids Bowling Lane

The bowling lane was a really fun project.  It has been a hit for my little guy, and the adults enjoy it too.  To increase difficultly, use a smaller ball and have the bowler toss the ball from several feet away.

If you build the bowling lane, please leave a comment below or tag me on Instagram as @handmadewithashley or Twitter as @handmadewithash.   I’d love to see your pictures!

15 DIY bowling lane and pins made of scrap wood and finished with washi tape, Handmade by Ashley featured on @Remodelaholic

16 Tutorial for bowling lane yard game, Handmade by Ashley featured on @Remodelaholic

17 DIY bowling lane, made of scrap wood, finished in a day, Handmade by Ashley featured on @Remodelaholic

18 Homemade bowling lane for kids, indoor-outdoor use, Handmade by Ashley featured on @Remodelaholic

————————————

Ashley, thank you so much for sharing with us! Such a cute project and I can tell your little guy loves it!!

Remodelaholics, be sure to go check out Ashley’s site to see more of her builds and projects — you won’t want to miss her awesome kids’ art table! And if you’re a bit of a geek, be sure to check out her geeky projects, too, like this Star Wars tie fighter bookshelf.

DIY kids art table with storage, handmadewithashley

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Remodelaholic is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. Please see our full disclosure here.

Published: February 4, 2016Filed Under: Remodel Inspiration By Room

About Cass

Cassity started Remodelaholic with her husband, Justin, to share their love for knocking out walls together. Since then, Remodelaholic has become a great community and resource for all those wanting to know how to make their builder-grade home BEAUTIFUL on a budget!


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Comments

  1. Lillian says

    February 8, 2016 at 2:36 pm

    This is such a cute idea! I would love to have a bowling lane like this in my house.

    Reply
    • Ashley | Handmade with Ashley says

      February 12, 2016 at 8:14 am

      Thank you Lillian! 🙂

      Reply
  2. Lilly says

    March 21, 2018 at 10:57 am

    Hello, this is really cute! I’d like to build one just like this. Would you be so kind as to please share your cut files for the pin location and bowling lane with me? Thanks

    Reply
  3. Marjaul says

    May 3, 2020 at 4:48 pm

    The link for the pins is not available. Can you tell me where you got them?

    Reply

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We love hearing from fellow Remodelaholics, so let us know what you like about this and leave any questions below in the comments. If you have followed a tutorial or been inspired by something you have seen here, we would love to see pictures! Submit pictures here or by messaging us over on Facebook.
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Hey there, I am Cassity! Nice to virtually meet you!

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