Wondering what to do with that old light switch? Have a few knobs that you can't bear to part with, but don't honestly have any use for? Want to encourage imaginative play? We bet your child would get years worth of use out of a busy board. From toddler toy to time machine to airplane control panel, this do-it-yourself project is well worth the effort.

Even if you don't have a collection of old mechanisms in your garage, scour the craft room. Buttons, beads, almost anything that can be made to move or make noise could work. Try your friends, see what your local plumbing supply, hardware store, and electrician might want to purge. Add a screen door latch, a compass, a magnifying glass. You could get really carried away with a project like this.

The top busy board is by Lilla A Design. She also sells them in her Etsy shop (though she is based in Copenhagen). The bottom one is a project of GM Glimmerglass - see more here.

I now have a hankering to make one of these, stat.

(Images: 1. Lilla A Design, 2. GM Glimmerglass)