Easy DIY Travel Lego Table Treasure Box

One of the best presents I have made yet was when I made Miss Jade her DIY LEGO Play Station tray table for her birthday. It has been the favorite toy year after year. And her brothers have been extremely jealous of it.

So I decided to make each boy their own LEGO play station tray table so they will leave Miss Jade’s alone. But since I made them a cool LEGO gift, I felt I needed to do something for Miss Jade too. So I thought of this cool DIY Travel LEGO table treasure box!

 

This LEGO Table Treasure Box tutorial originally published Dec 7, 2015. It has been updated for your convenience. 

LEGO Table Treasure Box Tutorial

This LEGO Table Treasure box came about by brainstorming how I could make something similar to the LEGO tray play station and yet still different. And then I remembered the fun Treasure Chest I made a few years ago. And how much the kids loved it. So I simply combined the two to come up with this LEGO table Treasure box.

The cool thing about the LEGO table treasure box is that it can be completely closed and locked. Making it the ideal portable play system! You can take it on trips and kids can play with their LEGO bricks in the car! Talk about a brilliant way to keep them occupied!

And with the built-in building plates inside, they can build up their creations in the lid or the base. And then when it is time to move, they can store all the LEGO pieces back inside the treasure box, close the lid, and flip the latch so it stays closed.

And best of all I specifically picked the box with the easy carrying handle! So kids can carry their own LEGO table Treasure box around the house, or from place to place.

So let me show you how I put this together. It is so incredibly easy! I had it done in 1.5 days! And the only reason why it took more than one day is that I had to wait for paint to dry! So really I’d spend 10 minutes here and 10 minutes there on this project. And the rest of the time just waiting for the next step to dry.

First, you need your supplies.

• an unfinished treasure box with latch closure and carrying handle. (I found mine at Hobby Lobby for about $6)
• Unfinished wood letters. I picked out L-E-G-O to spell LEGO, but you can pick out letters to spell your child’s name or whatever you would like. I also got these at Hobby Lobby for under $1 each. I’ve also seen wooden letters at Joann’s  and Michael’s craft stores. SOMETIMES you can find them at Walmart, but not always.
• Chalk Paint – I used Vintage Victorian and Metallic Silver Chalk paint.
• Antique Wax
• Wax Brush
• Glitter Dust spray
• LEGO Base Plates
• Wood Glue
• Elmer’s Probond Glue
• Mod Podge
• Small foam brushes
• small bristle paint brush
• Old newspapers

Begin by spreading out the old newspapers to keep your work surface clean and protected from the paint.

Using the small foam brushes paint the letters and the wood box with the chalk paint. I absolutely adore chalk paint because you don’t have to do any prep work to use it. No sanding required. It dries quickly. And it doesn’t have the nasty fumes. So you can paint inside on a cold day with no problem.

I painted my box pink with the Vintage Victorian color.

I also did a layer of pink on the Wooden Letters. Once that was dry I added 2 layers of Metallic Silver on top. The Metallic silver is not a strong color. So I found the letters needed a color base first. And then the wood would accept the silver on top. Plus it just made it look nicer.

Wait for the paint to dry.

If you are making this LEGO table treasure box for a boy, you will obviously want to pick out a strong boy or gender neutral color. But the same idea applies. Paint the box one color and have an accent color for the letters on top.

Now if you want simple, you can proceed to the gluing step. But if you want chic, keep following along.

Since I wanted this to have the feel of a treasure box I decided to antique the box. Because what treasure box looks brand new? So using the Antique wax and wax brush, very lightly antique the box focusing on the edges and seams. Do this over the entire box.

I also very lightly antiqued the letters just on the edges.

Again, wait for the wax to dry.

Measure the inside base of the box and the inside of the lid. This is your building surface. Mark the sizes on to the LEGO base plate and then cut it down to size so it will fit inside the box.

If you are making the box for a girl, this is when I took the cut out plates and sprayed them lightly with the Glitter Dust. It makes them look like glittering sand.

When the wax is dry you can now glue the wooden letters to the top of the box with the wood glue. Then wait for them to dry.

Again if you are making the box for a girl, you can then spray the entire box with glitter dust. It makes it fun, sparkly, and girly. Honestly, I love the effect.

Wait for the glitter dust to dry.

Seal the entire box with Mod Podge with the small paint brush.

Did you know Mod Podge is an awesome sealer? And it works great on top of chalk paint! Chalk paint leaves a very matte finish. Mod Podge will seal it up and leave it with a nice glossy shine. Plus it helps to protect the wood.

Take special care around the letters so you don’t get a build up of Mod Podge otherwise, it may have some white spots when it dries if you have too much mod podge around the letters.

Wait for the Mod Podge to dry.

Use Elmer’s ProBond glue to glue in the LEGO building plates. I love this glue because it bonds a porous to the nonporous surface very nicely. Meaning porous wood to the nonporous plastic LEGO plate. Put a thin layer on the back of the LEGO piece and then put it into place inside the treasure box.

Do this for both the plate inside the box and inside the lid.

Apply pressure and allow the glue to dry.

Lastly, what good is a LEGO table treasure box without any LEGO pieces? To make this gift totally rock, pick up a new little LEGO kit for your child. You can choose if you want to keep it in the box or …

open it up and set it up for them inside the box. So when they open the box on Christmas Morning they see their new LEGO Set.

So for your kids this year, make it memorable with a fun DIY homemade gift. This LEGO Table treasure box is sure to be a hit! And if you want something a little bigger, try out the LEGO Play Station tray. Like I said, made 2 more of those for my boys because they have loved Miss Jade’s so much. And they were a huge hit as well!

Update 12/19/2017 – This LEGO Table Treasure Boxes and the LEGO Play Station Trays are a few years old now. And STILL, I find my boys (ages 12 & 13) and Miss Jade (age 8) playing with the LEGO Table Treasure Boxes and The Lego Play Station Trays I made them, ALL THE TIME.

So even years later, they are still their favorite homemade Christmas gift. It is a gift that will last year, after year, after year. And keep them entertained year, after year, after year.

How would your kids react to getting this fun Travel LEGO Table Travel Box for Christmas?

If you liked our LEGO Table Treasure Box or LEGO Play Station, be sure to Pin them for inspiration later!