Upcycled Christmas

December 28, 2016

This year we decided to bring some upcycling home for the holidays and try our hardest to make some of our gifts out of materials purchased second hand and remade into new and exciting things.  A lot of our product line has been developed as a result of something we were looking to purchase, but couldn't find, or a gift that we made for someone. Here are some pics of items we made along with descriptions about them. We are most proud of the filing cabinet turned into a toy hutch storage bench. 

Our three main projects were a toy bench/storage, wall tent for a toddler bed, and a balance beam. We added in a bonus trout blanket from an upcycled fleece bath robe for the little guy.

Filing Cabinet Toy Bench

We purchased a vintage wooden filing cabinet with a bit of wear on it from Home Resource in Missoula, MT.  It had some good bones and needed some refinishing and additional bits to make it into what we had in mind. I think the cabinet was once part of a long line of them and were bolted to each other and then at some point were taken apart and non fancy wood paneling was added to the sides. The total cost for this project was around $100, and a bit of time since we ended up redoing a few unexpected things.  The pictures below illustrate the different parts of the project.

We took all of the insides out of the cabinet, removed hardware, and then refinished the drawer faces. We attached hinges, magnetic closure, old hardware, and industrial wheels. The reversible cushion on top is upholstery fabric we had over some bed foam and a yoga mat for stability. 

 

We added magnetic closures to keep doors tightly closed and found some perfect sized bins for all of our little ones toys.

The industrial styled wheels were added to make the heavy cabinet moveable to clean, but not to surf on around the house.

The top oak faced plywood is not permanently attached and rests on the cross bars from the original cabinet that we covered in leather (upcycled leather jacket) for a classy look and to add a 1/8" to the them to allow the wood inset to lay level. 

 

Wall tent for a toddler bed

Our smallest guy was due to get a bed upgrade and we decided to modify his already hand-me-down repainted bed a little bit of a facelift. Johnny now is glamping in his own wall tent made from two upcycled coffee dyed bed sheets, 2-1x4's, lodge pole pine pieces, and a handful of screws.  The tent was built on the frame and constructed in the studio behind closed doors since Santa officially brought it. We added in the sheep skin rug we had for sometime. 

The sides both roll up and the front pulls to the side. Perhaps one day he will want it all down and be fully enclosed, but not anytime soon.

Balance Beam

We purchased a scrap piece of 4x6 beam at Home Resouce , used some brass "L" brackets, 2x4 scraps, and a strip of indoor/outdoor carpet. We did discover the beam was a little warped, but used a small shim to level it off. The gymnastic mat was purchased prior at Ikea. This was another gift from Santa and he brought our sweet daughter gymnastic shoes, bag, shorts, and a book to complete the gift. 

Trout Blanket

I had made a mermaid blanket for my daughter a year ago or so from a pink bathrobe and decided to make a similar one for our little guy. I downloaded a trout picture and designed a tail with the top fins open for him to put his hands in. So far he hasn't liked it... but hoping he will put his little hands in the fins and flap while laying down.

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