DIY Busy Board

Two very exciting things to share with you today!

#1 - This DIY Busy Board
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#2 - A Style Board featuring this DIY Busy Board!
(Style Board on the way - check back soon!!)

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My son (almost 8m) is at the stage where he LOVES knobs, buttons, switches and anything that moves and makes noise.  We have a vintage Pioneer SX1250 receiver that is currently his favorite toy.  He b-lines for it whenever he sees it.  So, we decided to make a Busy Board that he can safely enjoy that has all the same qualities!  We got the idea from this one and this one on Pinterest.  I wanted ours to be in my son's California Coast inspired play space so we choose an aqua, soft green and orange paint colors to match.  We chose all brass hardware.

The construction is fairly self explanatory, so I didn't take step-by-step photos.  Here are the materials and basic steps:

Materials

Wood Board (Ours is Pine - 1"x 12" - from Home Depot)

Light Switches (x2)

Switch Plate
3/4" Square Wood Pieces (for mounting the light switches)

Door Knob

Flip Locks (x2)

Door Lock

Hinge (x2)

Drawer Knocker Pulls (x2)

Sliding Door Lock

Wood Plaques, various shapes x2

Non Toxic Craft Paint, Satin Finish (Martha Steward Brand):

Board Color 50-50 Blend:  32009 - Pea Shoot x 32016 - Surf

Door Colors:  32010 - Scallion & 33593 - Tangy Tangerine

Steps

1.  Just choose the size wood board you want & cut to size (ours is 12" x 30").

2.  Sand it smooth.

3.  Round the edges to make them safer.  (We used a router - 1/4" round over bit.)

4.  Paint the board.  We used a 50-50 mix of these two non-toxic paint colors: Pea Shoot & Surf (Martha Stewart Brand - see materials for links).

5.  Locate and buy all hardware.

6.  Paint doors.  We used orange and green non-toxic paint, namely Scallion & Tangy Tangerine (Martha Steward Brand - see materials for links).

7.  Arrange and secure hardware to board. (We raised up the light switches so we didn't have to cut a hole in the back.)

8.  Secure somewhere and let baby enjoy!  (Supervision is required.)

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My son LOVES it, he can play for ever and ever on it!  Definite WIN!

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Hope you enjoyed the DIY, and check back soon for the style board!!

xo. m

keywords:  DIY, artinthehome