Yep, I made Abbey a light table! It’s super simple, and fit right into our little budget, so it’s perfect.
Here’s what you need:
1 plastic storage tub
2 strings of mini white Christmas lights
1 6 foot extension cord (optional)
Glass Frosting spray paint
Total cost: $20ish
I started out with a plastic storage tub, complete with lid. I went with a smaller tub, since I don’t know what our toy storage space will be in our next house. This one packs away easily, and will fit just about anywhere. The great thing about these tubs is that they come in all sorts of sizes. There is a larger one that I considered, and an under-the-bed storage bin would be great too! For now, this one is perfect.
This tub started out totally clear, and I didn’t love that you could see all the individual lights. I wanted to diffuse it a bit. A little sandpaper and some Glass Frosting spray paint took care of that quite nicely!
Then, in went the lights. Or rather, on went the lights.
They’re just sitting there on the lid, not fastened down or anything. With this particular tub, the bottom actually makes a better play surface than the top, so the tub lives upside down.
Oh, I highly recommend making a light box at this time of year. Christmas lights are everywhere! I got mine at Target for $3 a box. Win! Any other time of year I would have had to hunt them down and pay 3 times the price. Lame.
I have one recommendation when it comes to tubs. If you can, get one where the handles keep the lid on, rather than the lid snapping around the edges. I thought I was going to have to drill a hole in the box for the cord, but since the handles hold the lid on, there is enough wiggle room to just sneak the cord out at a corner. Hooray for saving steps, and time!
I also included a small 6 foot extension cord, since it’s not always fun, or possible to play right up against a wall. This thing is meant to be portable after all.
Then, grab anything you can find that is clear and colorful!
p.s. There is a sneak peak in this picture of a future blog post. Can you spot it?
We had some leftover freeze pops from Abbey’s birthday. All thawed out they make great light table props!
Water beads are always fun too. Side note, taking them off the table is just as much of a fine motor activity as putting them on the table. Bonus!
Need more light table inspiration? Check out this Pinterest Board.
Looking for more books about colors? Here’s a great list. We have a few of them already!
Just joining in? Make sure you check out the rest of the series!
Be blessed!
Heather
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