DIY Baby Toy Slot Box

June 27, 2012
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30 comments

Baby E has been having a lot of fun with a vintage cash register toy, but it’s too hard for her to get the coins into the small slots. So I made some round circles out of scrap wood, sanded them, and cut a few slots into a shoe box. Then the kids and I painted the coins with some non-toxic paints.

She really loves putting the coins in, then opening the box up to see where they went. After a few minutes, my son realized it would be easier for her if we cut even more slots. Nice one! Now she can really get the coins in. It’s really fun to watch her figuring out the different slot and coin sizes. And the kids get super excited when she grabs a coin that they made.

If you want to try making one, you could even use a sturdy cardboard for the coins. Just watch that they don’t get eaten. Also, if you have questions about saws or paints etc, you can always check out My Favorite Tools list.

Happy toy making!

30 Responses
    1. Joel

      Thanks! Yeah, we have a few places where we stash things. A craft bench that holds tons of drawings and paintings. It also helps that we’re not totally unpacked from moving yet. ha.

  3. Amber @ The Cardboard Collective

    These are great! I made something similar for my older daughter for a long-haul flight from Tokyo to Detroit when she was that age. We used bottle caps and different sized lids from plastic food containers. We also used the little box to store some of her other things like her baby spoon. It was a huge success!

    My children are similar to yours in age, and recently I built a fun cardboard box toy for my youngest and oldest to use together. you can see it here: http://thecardboardcollective.com/2012/06/25/giant-cardboard-cubes-and-the-adjacent-possible/ It’s basically a large open cardboard cube made from two banana boxes and two car straps. My oldest climbs on top of it, and my youngest puts her toys into the opening in the top and also stores her board books in the side pocket. It’s a lot of fun.

    Thanks for the great post!
    I love your paint brush stand! Did you make it?

    1. Joel

      Ah, those big boxes look awesome! Nice one Amber!

      And yes, I did make that paint brush stand. Thanks! Just used some chicken wire and scrap wood. It’s super handy though.

  5. Jessica

    Love it. And so simple. We’ll try it this weekend…my two year old can help me paint and my one year old can play with the coins. Or vice versa. Never know what you’re going to get :) Anyway, we need SOMETHING to keep us entertained while we’re stuck inside with 110 degree weather!

  7. Lenka

    very nice! i did very similar shoe box for my son too, same age as yours lovely E :) he inserts gumm/plastic coasters, but now Ill do something with card coins and different sizes aswell! thanks for all inspiration :)

  9. Mr. Patrick

    I usually make coins like this from crepe myrtle or birch tree branches. I’ve used power tools to cut the coins, but I find a bandsaw or handsaw works best.

    A stamp in the middle…presto, an all-natural coin. Put two holes in it, loop string into the holes and you can create quite the buzzer toy. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buzzer_(whirligig)

    I’m going to have to make a small box for my second boy like this.

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  20. mary

    They now have some baby food jars with animals on the lids. I am saving them to make a toy for my daughter and I think they would be perfect for this!!