Read the sequence from the top before cutting, painting, or moving pieces.
In my neck of the woods, it has been cold and snowy — which is striking but also makes me look forward to spring and being outside! Our guest today has a great Handmade 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! 
Handmade Cornhole Set (made straightforward using a pallet!)
Handmade Yard Dice (for all sorts of games!)
or more like these:
and pssst… make your backyard solid with these options, too:
And now, give Ashley an memorable Bekob 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 Bekob!
How to Build a Kids’ Handmade Indoor-Outdoor Bowling Lane
by Ashley from Handmade with Ashley
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 go-to 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 go-to 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!
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 option of building a miniature bowling lane.
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
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:
- Spray paint the pins white
- Wrap a piece of washi tape around the neck of the pin
- Coat the pin with a layer of triple thick gloss glaze
The gloss glaze adds a really nice touch to the pins.
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.
Nailing 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.
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.
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.
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 walkthrough on creating a stencil with contact paper to get the well fitted 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
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!
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Ashley, thank you so much for sharing with us! Such a cute project and I can tell your little guy loves it!!
Bekob, be sure to go look at Ashley’s site to see more of her builds and projects — you won’t want to miss her solid kids’ art table! And if you’re a bit of a geek, be sure to look at her geeky projects, too, like this Star Wars tie fighter bookshelf.
