~Tutorial on how to make a play board/activity table for Playmobil or Hot Wheels

DIY How to make a activity board for your child

This was a super fun craft for a rainy day. My little girl's Playmobil collection is getting out of hand. She just had her fourth birthday and her sweet Uncle bought her another big set.  Anyone who is familiar with this brand knows they take up some serious space in the playroom or on the floor. Somehow I am raising a perfectionist and she does not like to disturb her Playmobil creations once they are set up for play.  We were storing them on a small shelf, it was actually supposed to be a shoe shelf. Worked well, but not enough space to set up more than one or two houses at a time. I came up with this idea of creating a board to play on. Anyone who knows me understands that I had to get crafty and make it into a project, and something special for my little girl! Other mats, or tables are great to use as a example, see example here but you can make one yourself for much cheaper! Imagine a Thomas the Train table!

I like to create on a budget, and had most of the materials used in this DIY on hand.  I already had supplies like paint and paintbrushes. So this DIY craft only cost me the price of the board and one sample of paint from Lowe's. 
I purchased a board from Lowe's. It measures 24 inches by 48 inches. I chose something thin, and rather smooth to paint on. Cost $8.50

I also had a little coupon from a recent magazine for one small sample of Valspar paint. It is a color sample size 8 FL oz. Satin, Pine Green. I thought it would work well for the grass.  Normally the sample size costs $3.98 See link here. Valspar color sample If you are lucky you might be able to find some more sample sizes on the clearance rack in the paint section for $1.00 (I found two more!) I have been slowly collecting these small discount samples for over a year now, waiting or see when I might need one for any random craft.  I also used small size craft paint, that can be found at any Hobby Lobby or Michaels store.

Step 1 - Prime your board, or just short cut and paint directly onto the wood. I free handed the outline of what was on the design. I basically drew one road, approxamitly the size of one playmobil car. Then I decided where I was going to add yards, and a ocean or pond. See above pic for detail.

 

Step 2 - Fill in large areas with the main color for that section, grass, roads, or oceans. This way you can add detail over top when it is dry such as curbs, or dirt paths.

Step 3 - I used small amounts of craft paint to add detail. Small flowers, a fire hydrant, some trees and ducks for the pond.  I added waves, curbs to contain the yard areas, and yellow lines in the middle of the roads. This was all free hand work, not hard to do, you can add a family pet or street sign that your child might recognise. Have fun! This will be for play, not show!

Step 4- Varnish if you like, any kind with a clear finish should work well. I chose not to varnish and it has held up well so far. See above picture for the finished product! Turned out so well! My daughter was thrilled!

 

I ended up just placing the board on top of the shelf we already had. It is big enough to support the whole thing. Then go ahead, have fun setting up your village! Try painting one for your son with smaller roads for hot wheel cars, add a garage, stop signs - the sky is the limit!