Jackson's Busy Board!

We had a lot of fun celebrating Jackson's 1st birthday down in Utah with family. He had a lot of fun playing with his cousins and eating his cake. He also had a lot of fun discovering his presents he received. One of the presents we gave him was a busy board. I was inspired by this and just knew that I had to make one! So, I began researching different objects that I could attach to a cutting board. I spent a few weeks checking prices and objects before I even bought anything. Then I took about a week to put it together because lets be honest, I have never done anything like this in my life! Luckily my husband has an electric drill, but that doesn't mean I didn't have any mishaps along the way. For the record, apparently they make some screws stronger than others. Also, the week screws can break in half while you are screwing them into a cutting board.

So, here are the supplies and where I got them:

Cutting board: Walmart about $8 (I wanted to actually touch and feel this to make sure it would work, there were cheaper ones on Amazon, but they didn't always say how thick they were and I wanted it to be at least 1 inch thick)

Toilet Paper Holder: Ace Hardware about $4 (it was the cheapest one. The holder part wasn't even spring loaded, which was perfect because then I was able to put some rice in it and wrap duct tape around it)

Towel Holder: Ace Hardware about $4

Toy Tops: Walmart about $1 found in their Party section. (I threaded these onto the towel holder)

Bell: Amazon about $3

Latch Lock: Walmart about $3

Door Stop: Walmart about $2

Bike Mirror: Walmart about $2 (Turns out that this spins! I had no idea until i attached it to the board!)

Reflector: Walmart about $1

LED battery push light: Amazon about $6(set of three) It was super bright, so I put a couple layers of paint on it and now it won't blind my son!

Wheel: Walmart about $3

Before:

After:

So, here are a couple things I learned if you want to make one yourself:

-Use an electric drill with drill bits! Cutting boards are super condensed wood, so using this will make things go super fast. I didn't have access to the drill bits at first and I was just making pilot holes with a nail. This took forever and I had a couple of cheap screws that broke off in the midst of drilling and are stuck in the board. Fortunately, I was able to cover them up!

-the mirror and light need to be super glued to the board, don't just count on the adhesive already on them to keep them attached. So far the reflector is staying on just fine without the glue. We'll see how that goes.

-I thought I was going to be able to glue down the bell, but when I got it in the mail, it didn't have a thick edge on the bottom, it was just a thin ridge. Luckily, my brother had a drill bit meant for drilling through metal, so he helped with that.

-Do not attempt to modpodge any paper onto the LED light to make it less bright. Once it dries, the paper will just peel off. Also, I just painted yellow right onto it and it looks great. However, once you light it up, it looks a little hideous. I heard from someone that you are supposed to paint white first and then once that dries add your color. Not sure if that works, but probably worth a try.

I really am proud of this project! I think it will last many years and Jackson and any other kids we have will be able to enjoy it for a long time!