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It has finally happened. I turned the big 3-0. Yup. It took thirty years to get here, but here I am. And what have I been doing since I hit this milestone? Well, my family and I took a mini vacation and we bought a second home! It’s been an exciting couple of months, but I am ready for things to get back to normal around here.

Well, kind of normal. Now that I’m 30 I feel like a real adult (for some reason having two kids didn’t quite bring me that “adult” feeling!) I also feel like I have earned the right to reminisce about nostalgic things from yester-year, especially this magical little toy known as “Jacob’s Ladder” (confession: I am not old enough to remember the glory days of this toy. I think it has been around for AGES!! But I had one growing up so I still allow myself some nostalgic indulgence here).

With all the home improvements going on around the house, We had some extra plywood that I have just been dying to use in a project. I couldn’t make up my mind what to do with it until I had a creative moment and wondered if I could use it for a toy rather than décor. Cue memories of my girlhood when I would spend (what seemed like) hours carefully clacking my Jacob’s Ladder toy while wracking my brain to figure out how it worked. I knew it was {finally} time to figure this thing out on a giant scale!

 
 

Materials:
* 6 Similarly sized plywood boards
* Duck Tape (two colors would be best, but I only had the one Galaxy Print design)
* 18 Thumbtacks and a hammer to nail them in the boards.
 
My original intention with this post was to give my own tutorial on making a Jacob’s Ladder, but after reviewing my photos, I saw it would be VERY confusing because I only used one color duck tape (the tutorial is really easier to understand when two colors are used). So I am leading my readers to this printable tutorial. However, the directions are for making the toy on a smaller scale, so I am adding my notes below on how to adjust the directions to make it on a larger scale:
 
NOTES:
  • Step 1 calls for 2.5 inch blocks, but any size can be used.
  • Step 2 gives directions for using ribbon to hold the blocks together, but that obviously DOES NOT work for a larger scale toy like I have here. This is where I used Duck Tape. Simply fold the duck tape in half (so that it sticks to itself and the decorative edge shows on both sides of the tape).
 
That’s it! Now enjoy the mind-boggling affects of this nostalgic toy!
 
 
Watch this video for some fun tricks to do with your new giant size Jacob’s Ladder Toy (The coin trick can be done by substituting dollar bills in for the coins)!