Latch Board Fail!

While we were up north for Memorial Day Weekend (and the week that followed:)), we kept busy with lots of fun, kid friendly activities.  The latch board that we made was one of them:

In order to make the latch board, Lucky and Charm painted a wood plaque that I picked up at Michael's for a couple bucks with a coupon:

Then the paint dried, and I had to sand off all the little brush hair pieces that dried in the paint since we used el cheapo paint brushes to paint it.  Next, Uncle D.B. attached several brackets that I picked up at Menards on the cheap.  (Thanks Uncle D.B.!)  I spent $4 for all 5 of them since most were $1 or $2 and 2 of them were 'Free with Rebate'.

 

 Then it was time to play:

In my head, this board was going to be awesome and hold their attention for a long time, but in practice it didn't work out that way for my kids.  I think they played with it for about 5 minutes total:)...probably because they were more interested in talking to Oma and Opa than playing with a silly latch board!  Also, when you think about it, a latch board teaches kids how to open and close locks that may or may not be in place to protect them.  Perhaps it wasn't such a great idea after all!  It cost $6 plus our time.

Also, after I purchased the supplies for this latch board, I discovered a pre-made version by Melissa and Doug:

Melissa and Doug Latches Board

It's available at my local Michael's for about $27, so if I used a 50% off coupon, it would be $13.50.  Only about $7 more than my DIY version, and I think it's much more interesting because the locks actually have wood doors that can be opened!  Again, whoops.  When tackling DIY projects, usually the idea is to either save money by spending a little bit of time making something yourself or create something that isn't currently available for sale in the size/shape/color/pattern you desire.  In this instance, I should have just paid the extra $7 for the M & D version.  Ah well.  I'm just chalking it up to another DIY lesson learned:)!

(Have a good day, Opa!!  We love you soooooooooooooooooo much!  Hugs and Kisses!  BBLH)