I decided to make this for a preset for my partner.

I wanted to be able to use the board to pin notes etc. to, and also to have a white board to write messages on.

But i didn't want it to be just a plain board in the shape of a heart, so i decided i would put some small white LED's around the outside edge.

I think this was great , a relativity simple project to make and all together cost about £5 and that was mainly the LED's.

To see the build in more detail head over to my YouTube channel -

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRMjvilGRdZxHqr34QKzB_Q?

Thanks

Step 1: Cut and Shape.

I found a scrap board of thick veneered plywood.

I drew out the heart shapes that i needed and made relief cuts before cutting off the excess and filing away the saw marks then rounding over the edges slightly.

Step 2: Cut and Shape the Middle

I wanted the board to it inside the heart , so i decided to cut out a smaller heart in the middle.

Now i dont own any tools like a scroll or band saw.

So all i did was drill loads of holes all the way around the shape and used a chisel to slice out the middle.

nothing special but it got the job done.

Step 3: Second Heart

Once i had cut the middle heart out i decided it would look nice if i attached the smaller heart to the top of the main one.

To do this all i had to do was cut out a curve on the smaller heart to get it to sit on top.

Once i had done this i filed down the drill marks left in the middle of the board.

Step 4: LED Placement

Once i had my shaped cut and filed i needed to drill holes to run the LED's through.

To do this i measured 1cm in from the outside edge and drew a line all around the heart.

Then i drilled holes every 5/6cm for the LED's inside the 1cm outline.

after that i tested to make sure the LED's would fit snug and not fall out once it was hung up.

Step 5: Battery Pack

The lights i had where powered by batteries, so this meant i had to find a way of being able to run the wires to each hole, while hiding the battery pack , and also being able to use the switch on the lights.

To do this i just used a saw to make some relief cuts and chiseled out a slot for the battery pack to sit inside of and put the switch level with the edge of the heart.

Step 6: Plane and Sand

Next was the fun part - sanding.

I planed off the veneer and went on to sand everywhere starting at 80 and moving through 120 and finished on 240 for a really smooth feel.

Step 7: Attaching the Two Peices

To attach the two hearts i just used dowels and titebond 2

I made the dowel holes with a jig i made, so that it would make each hole in the right place.

Once it was attached i put it in my only large clamp to keep it together while the glue dried.

Step 8: Cork and White Board

Pretty easy step.

I just got the cork and white board that i would be using and traced the outline of where it would need to fit, so i could cut them down to size.

Step 9: Attaching Boards and Lighs

To attach the cork board i cut some support pieces from scrap wood and glued them in position,

Once the glue had dried i used some super glue to keep the LED's in place and i also super glued some pins with the in cut off over the LED's on the whiteboard as the holes i ha cut where a bit untidy.

to keep the whiteboard on i just used some liquid glue.

Once everything was down and secure i decided to fill in the gaps around the cork board with more glue as the gaps where very untidy and as i was going to paint the board i knew it would be covered later.

Step 10: Adding Back Panel, Hanging Hardware & Paint

To be able to hang the board i used a strip of scrap wood with keyhole brackets and glued it in the center of the board.

Once that was done i was on the home straight, i mixed up some grey paint (my partners favorite color) and painted everything being careful not to paint over the LED's or the whiteboard.

To finish it off i glued the white board pen onto the side of the board, mainly so it wouldn't get lost!

Step 11: Job Done

Thats it , job done, a really nice present and turned out roughly as expected.

I struggled to cut the shaped out with just a drill and chisel and saw so i would recommend using a band or scroll saw or at very least a fret / coping saw. That would have made the hole process a lot simpler but i just used what i have.

Other than the shape's and fitting the shapes it was quite straight forward and easy ish and my partner loves it so that's all i cared about.

I would love to hear any comments and thoughts on this and if you want to see the build in video head over to my YouTube channel - link can be found in the introduction.

I hope you enjoyed or at least got some inspiration.

Thanks