DIY: Toy Storage Bench

This $5, yard sale bookcase was the perfect find to create a toy storage bench for my son's room, now that his crib has vacated the premises.

I based my idea off of the Pinterest pin that has been circulating for over a year.

1. Find a narrow bookcase that can lay on its side.

2. Sand and clean the bookcase to prep for paint.

 3. Because the shelf was black, I had to use three coats of primer.

4. I then spray painted the unit white with a professional enamel for durability.

5. The last touch was to get baskets to fit the shelf openings and start storing all the clutter, ah, I mean toys.

I think this bench turned out fabulous, and I couldn't have bestowed it on a more deserving recipient.

"Oooo, thank yooouuu! I love my table!"

It's great to have some space to actually play in his own room, now.

Until the next...

Yankee Doodle Dandy,

– TYG

Repurposed Long-Sleeved T's

So, this may have been obvious to the majority of the population, but I only just had my "a-ha moment" this morning, so bear with me.

I was just mentioning to my husband the other day that I was going to have to buy a few more summer t-shirts for our toddler since I didn't have enough to go around for a week.

So, I'm going through my son's closet, putting laundry away, then it dawned on me: why not repurpose his long-sleeved T's into short-sleeved ones? He has a ton of shirts that are, in all essence, short-sleeved T's with a different colored sleeve attached to make it long.

So, after examining the seams, I decided to just cut the long sleeve off of the shirt, and voilà, instant summer T's!

Apparently, the long sleeve was sewn on while hemming the short sleeve portion at the same time. Ripping the stitches would mean re-hemming, and I didn't want to go through that much effort.

And there you have it! All in all, I was able to get seven summer t-shirts without spending a red cent, plus I was able to get more wear out of these shirts that still fit very comfortably.

Yay! Go mama for saving money and thinking green!








Yankee Doodle Dandy,
– TYG

DIY: Tin Can Craft Caddy

Even with the lack of space and storage I have in my house, I've been saving my tin cans for all kinds of tin can crafts that I've been finding on Pinterest. This one in particular caught my eye, so I whipped out my supplies and got busy.

ITEMS:

• 4 Tin cans

• Craft paper

• Rope

• Hot glue gun

1. Clean out the tin cans, being sure to file down or flatten any sharp edges that may still be there after opening the lid.

2. Cut craft paper and glue around can.

3. Glue two cans together at the seams (in order to hide them).  Glue the other two cans together, but do not glue the four together yet.

 4.  Cut rope handle to desired length, then glue it the entire length of the inside seam of one of the pairs of cans. Do the same to the other set of cans.


5.  Now glue all four cans together.

6. I then glued three rows of rope around the caddy for accent and added stability.













This particular caddy is going to be a gift for a two-year-old. I filled the caddy with all sorts of goodies: colorful pencils, markers, watercolors and brushes, plus Target has rolls of coloring pages by Crayola in their $1 bin department that fit perfectly in a tin can; 120 inches of coloring fun!

My son is jealous, so I think I need to make another for him. But knowing him, he'll use it to store cars, rocks, and dirt.

Yankee Doodle Dandy,
– TYG








***DISCLAIMER:  I am in no way affiliated with or sponsored by Target or Crayola.***

DIY: Stuffed Animal Zoo

My son's stuffed animal collection is already getting out-of-control, and he's only two. Rather than have them take up valuable toy storage in his closets and chests, I decided to make a Stuffed Animal Zoo. This way, he can still see all his friends with easy access in and out.

First step was to get a bookshelf. I opted for a $16 model from my local box store. This would be best as a yard sale or thrift store item, but my luck: couldn't find one today.

Second step was to buy some bungie cords. I purchased eight 30" strands for this 31.5" tall case. I cut off one of the ends and slipped off both hooks.

The third step is to drill holes evenly across the top and bottom shelves. I used a 3/8" drill bit for the bungies I bought.

Fourth step is to run the bungies through the holes. Since I only cut one end of the bungies to get the hooks off, I used the "pre-fabricated" end for the exposed top shelf. I thought it looked cleaner.

On the bottom of the bookshelf, I pulled the bungies through and tied them. 

**NOTE**

Particle board is cheap. Incredibly cheap. At first, I pulled the bungies very taut. Just the tension of the bungies caused the bottom shelf to rip from it's screws, showering me with pieces of particle board. I had to reattch the bottom shelf and reinforce it with four screws on each side. When I put the bungies through again, I didn't tie them as taut. Live and learn.

And there you have it. A cage that can wrangle all those stuffed animals that tend to overrun bedrooms.

I love that the bungies can keep the animals in, but they're stretchy enough to pull them in and out.

These zoos can be made in any size for any room. I know that when I was a child, I could have used a floor to ceiling 4'x4' cage.

I really hope we don't need to go there...

Yankee Doodle Dandy,

–TYG

DIY: Geo Board

MonkeyBoy has been doing super fantastic with shapes. I thought it was time to create a geo-board so he can create his own. 

All the items I needed to purchase were from my local dollar store and the rest of the items I had on hand in my craft stash and garage.

ITEMS:

• Piece of wood (on hand)
• Paint (on hand)
• Push Pins (2 packs of 120ct - $2.00)
• Eye hooks (on hand)
• Picture hanging wire (on hand)
• Trouser socks ($1+ depending on how many you buy)
• Ruler
• Pencil
• Sandpaper
• Scissor

I started by sanding the scrap piece of plywood I found in the garage. I then gave it a couple coats of white paint.

The board was approx. 16" x 16". I measured out a grid in 1" increments for a 14" x 14" board (196 square inches).

With a nail the same size as the push pins, I nailed a starter hole in each of the intersections (196). This is crucial. I started to just hammer the push pins straight into the wood, but this just broke a lot of push pins.

Once the starter holes were in place, I washed the penciled grid off. Then, I went to hammering 196 push pins. That's a lot of push pins. In retrospect, I may have done a grid every two inches rather than one.

In order to hang it up, I used two eye hooks and some picture-hanging wire. 

For loops, I bought 2-paks of trouser socks and cut them into 1.5" strips. I thought I could just dye the white socks to offer some color options to MonkeyBoy later. Colors were limited by selection at the store.

For smaller loops, hair ties would work well, too, as well as good ol' fashioned elastics. I just figured for my little guy's toddler-hands, we'll start with large, soft loops that have a bit of Lycra stretch, but not a lot of "smack-back" to the face.

And voila! I ended up putting the board up next to MonkeyBoy's felt board.

Hopefully he'll have some fun. 

Well, at least I'll be able to get a free 15 minutes tomorrow if nothing else.



















Yankee Doodle Dandy,
– TYG

What? My Two Year Old has a Mind of his Own?!?

My son has a new behavior that started in the middle of January:  he does not want to get out of the car.

Now, this doesn't happen all the time. It just happens when we pull into our driveway. I can't get him to tell me why he doesn't want to get out of the car. He just keeps crying that he wants to "keep buckles on" and to "go that way." Which way "that way" is, I still can't figure out. It looks like he's pointing back down the road.

When we get back home, I always unpack the car first. The crying and whining has usually already commenced, so I just leave him in his carseat and unload. Once that's done, I go and get him unbuckled, all the while trying to reassure him. Again, I try to ascertain why he doesn't want to go in, but to no avail. It always turns into a kick and scream fest with him going limp. I have to drag him into the house then lay him down on the floor.

Once we're in the house, I'm not allowed to take his coat off. He screams for me to pick him up; I do, but he only freaks out more and won't calm down, so I just lay him back down and let him have his tantrum with his most-trusty blanket.

After about five minutes, he finally calms down enough that he has to look for me. He lets me hold him, and we cuddle. All is right again.

What I find hilarious about this situation is that I have to pull teeth to get him to go out with me in the first place. He doesn't go into full-on tantrum mode, but he does "whine" how he doesn't want to go out and wants to "stay home."  Then once we're home, he doesn't want to be there, either.

I thought that these outbursts were associated with his nap or snack times, but that isn't always the case.

I'm so used to doing what I want to do all the time, I do forget that I now have a little human with wants, needs, and opinions of his own. He's started to rebel against the decisions that I've made for him, like the shirt he's going to wear today, the playgroup we're going to, which slice of identical pieces of bread he wants.

It's a small gesture, and it really doesn't add that much time to my day, but asking "which one" has started to go a long way with me and MonkeyBoy.

Which shirt?
Which pants?
Which cereal?
Which drink?
Which truck?
Do we leave for storytime now, or in five minutes? (Some things are still non-negotiable, but I can sneak a "pick-one" in there somehow)

Right now, my son has fallen asleep on a pile of blankets he dragged into the hallway, with his coat still on. Apparently, leaving all the fun we were having at the supermarket this morning was just too much to bear.

Yankee Doodle Dandy,
– TYG

Tractor Birthday

I can't believe it, but my MonkeyBoy turned two years old this November. Where does the time go?

This year, although still a huge fan of monster trucks, he opted for tractors. I scoured the web, and here's what I came up with for a John Deere-esque Birthday Party:

1. Tractor Cake

Thanks to this fabulous idea, this bad boy was one of my easier cakes to make since it was basically all props. I purchased an Ertl John Deere tractor with hay baler "hook up", as my son calls them. I also found the miniature animals, fencing, and trees at my local crafts store's hobby section.

What's great was the prop became one of MonkeyBoy's gifts!

2.  Party Favors

Following the John Deere theme, I found some green and yellow gift bags at my local dollar store (above pic with the cake). Luckily they had two packs in assorted colors, and I was able to find eight two-packs of green/yellow combos.

For inside the bags, I found a four-pack of toy push/pull tractors at Walmart in the party supply section, green and yellow hankerchiefs, and tiny board books that came in two-packs from the dollar store. Since we were also having the party run until five in the evening, I stuck in some glow sticks for the kids to have fun with outside.

3. Chocolate dipped French crullers

I found these coolest and yummiest tractor wheels you'll ever eat! Dunkin' Donuts even had them covered in chocolate already, so one less thing to do. 

4.  Tractor Wheels and Cheese

I forgot to take a picture of this, but this one's fairly easy. I purchased rotelle pasta and just melted Velveeta all over it. Super yummy and a toddler winner every time.

5.  Hay Stacks
I thought this idea was so cute, and super easy. Take vanilla wafers and cut them into smaller rectangles to resemble stacks of hay. Who doesn't like vanilla wafers?!?

6.  Cardboard Tractor Box

I took all my son's birthday gifts and gave them to him in a big tractor made from a cardboard box. I used brass prong paper fasteners to attach the wheels so they could spin.

7.  Tractor No-Sew Fleece Blanket
MonkeyBoy is obsessed with anything that is fleece. Fleece blankets, fleece clothes, fleece pillows, ANYTHING FLEECE. How could I possibly go wrong with a Tractor Fleece Throw?  It only took about 20-30 minutes to make. He immediately laid down on it when he opened it.

8. Farm Felt Board

For more toddler entertainment, I created this fun board hung at baby level. I'm excited to start creating other scenes to change up for different seasons and holidays.

9. Tractor Bean Bag Toss

I was so proud of this, and yet all the kids wanted to play with was MonkeyBoy's new toy (see #8).

10. John Deere Pedal Tractor

The pièce de résistance. This is a fabulous little riding toy with a chain and pedals to work those little muscles. It also came with a "hook up", one of my son's favorite things. He loves stuff hooking up.
















All in all, the party was a huge success. And for not having a nap that day, we were shocked that he was still going at 8:30 PM that night without any "toddler incidents."

Yankee Doodle Dandy,
– TYG