I saw a busy board probably about six months ago on Pinterest and thought it would be such a fun idea to make for my sons first birthday. Life is busy and I would look at it occasionally, but I never got around to making it. His birthday was coming up and I decided I was really going to do it, so the Saturday before his birthday (his birthday was on a Tuesday) I dragged Laren over to the Habitat for Humanity Restore in Spanish Fork to see if we could pick up the different objects I wanted. To my surprise I was able to find everything and a few other items I liked! We bought all of our items at the Restore, including the boards, and paid less than $50. It would have cost me almost $80 to get them all on Amazon or at Home Depot.
We used chipboard for the main board and then Laren screwed in three thicker boards into the back so that not all of the screws would stick out. After Laren got the back boards screwed on I painted the board. I used a golden yellow paint from Home Depot, I just bought a sample size can, and then a regular black, also sample size. I painted the entire board yellow, it probably took two or three coats and then I used painters tape to measure out my diagonal lines. I painted every other line black and once they were all dry I pulled off the tape.
I used my Silhouette to cut the phrase at the top out of black vinyl. You could paint it or use a Sharpie. I am not good with free hand so it is easier for me to use the Silhouette. I spray painted the door knobs a brushed bronze, they were originally gold. I also spray painted the light switch panels white. The doors were wood rectangles I picked up in the craft section at Walmart and I painted them the same color as the board. I also painted the knobs and screwed them into the doors.
Once the board was painted, I laid all of the different objects out on the board to see where I wanted them. Once I had it all figured out, Laren was kind enough to screw or glue everything in/on for me! We screwed everything in except for the thermostat, the key, and the wheels. For the wheels Laren drilled a hold and then filled it with glue and stuck the screw of the wheel in. The boards for the mini doors are not very thick, so we couldn't screw the screws in all the way. To fix that we filled in the gap with glue so it didn't wiggle. We did have to cut holes in the board to put the light switches in and both of the door knobs. It probably took Laren a total of 2 hours to get it all finished. The chipboard was somewhat hard to screw into, so it wasn't a very fast process.
Counting money and time, it wasn't the fastest or cheapest gift I could have made/bought for my one year old, but I am so glad we did it! He absolutely loves it. He is really curious and I love that he has a place to be curious instead of sticking his fingers in my outlets! One of the best things about this gift is that it is awesome for any child, boy or girl. Another great thing is that all of my other future children can use it and will hopefully love it too.
