We firmly believe in DIY projects and up-cycling. Turning trash into treasures saves resources, eases use of landfills, and gives you an inexpensive way to learn and test out restoration techniques. We want our kids to carry this mentality into their adult lives, creating items for themselves when they can. So we keep a look out for items or projects that can become kiddo-DIY activities.
Not all curbside trash is worthy of a 2nd look. But there are some gems to be found. Recently, we picked up a discarded metal stool. Managing to see beyond its well worn exterior, we recognized its solid structure and knew we could easily bring it back to life. And since Bluey has been asking for a higher stool to help with cooking and art projects, it was a perfect find for our family.
After giving the stool a good scrub down, we purchased a metal friendly white spray paint (under $3) for a base coat. Then we let Bluey pick out acrylic paint in his choice of colors from our well stocked art supplies. He got right to work creating a stool painted to his liking. A few hours in the sunshine and the paint had dried. His stool was ready to come inside.
For less than $5 in cost, Bluey has a stool that he proudly uses. It was a great restoration project that exposed our son to the value and reward of up-cycling while also encouraging his artistic leanings.
[…] are lucky to have a large space devoted to arts & crafts which includes an up-cycled art table for our family’s various projects. In fact, having proper space for arts and crafts […]