Last week I went on and on about how my man hands came together to create some awesome in the form of a homemade Lego table for The Dudes.
I showed you tons of fun photos of it in action. And then I gave you a sneaky peaky at how I kicked the awesome up a bit on it to make aforementioned Lego table double as a sweet reading spot/naughty chair for avid readers and bad boys everywhere…
We recently got rid of the chair that used to serve as this multipurpose seating agent because the dog had her way with it more times than I can count. Although, now that we’re discussing it, there is a chance that I didn’t get rid of it at all, because she may have actually eaten it.
Can’t recall, but it’s definitely not here anymore.
So, we needed something new for them to plop their butts on.
And I needed to have something pretty to look at.
So, I went down into my vampire filled hidey hole of a basement (even though it’s finished, it’s still dark and cold and spooky) and found some fabric I’d used at a photo shoot ages ago.
And then I dug out this old, dingy looking, suspiciously-yellowed egg mattress cover thingy no one but a stray dog would even consider sleeping on.
Thank goodness I’m married to a hoarder because it seems that I had the makings of something special right inside of my very own house!
I just needed to get myself a high powered staple gun and a sized almost perfectly (thanks to my haphazard use of a tape measure) piece of plywood from the homies at Lowes.
Which, as all of you DIY gangstas out there probably already know, is super easy to obtain.
You just go in, stand around in the wood section looking sweaty and lost with your obnoxiously loud children climbing all over the place like little French-fry-stealing howler monkeys and young (arguably attractive) dudes will rush over to help you.
Or. Crotchety old men with little patience for chicks who want to make adorable benches for their playrooms will saunter over, ignore you, and eventually get a younger, less surly dude to help you out while he attends to the real builders.
I’ve had both.
But either way, you wind up with a thin piece of plywood you can skip home with and do sweet things to.
In my excitement at having my very own piece of wood, I rushed right home, shooed all of my children away, and hauled all of my junk out…
I doubled up on the egg crate thingy and cut it to fit my piece of wood…
Then, I stretched the fabric over it tightly, and went to work with that staple gun…
I felt very broke-off-Martha-Stewart-ish.
And it took me all of say 25 minutes to finish.
It looks so very awesome (minus the back side which I will never, ever show to a human soul)…
It’s super comfy for sitting…
and when they are using the Lego version of the table, they put the plushy seat cushion on the ground for kneeling…
Apparently hard woods are not super comfortable for knees even when you’re young.
Lucky for them they don’t have to worry about that anymore.
Have something you’re proud of to share this week? Feel free to drop me a link in the comments, I’m in the mood to high five people.
*linking up with: Craft Envy, Tip Junkie, Funky Junk Interiors, Six Sisters Stuff, & Lovely Crafty Home.
I have found that tactic works well at Lowes & Autozone.
Oh yeah, Autozone!
Love that fabric. I have had the same experience before at Lowe’s, but now our children are officially banned (by us) from home improvement stores because they behave exactly like your description…times 5,261….
I ban my children from most stores, but this was an emergency! I needed that bench made!
Awesome. I love the idea of putting in on the ground for when they are playing. Much better than adding hinges that require the use of tools and can pinch fingers.
Yeah hinges? Tools? What are those?!
Why, yes, yes I do have something! The middle girl needed a bow for her hair for cheerleading camp. But, of course she needed a new bow, not a bow from that bucket ‘o bows and headbands and barrettes and beads and clips and what is that, is it for your hair? So. I grabbed some cheetah print fabric (I DON’T KNOW WHY I HAVE THIS, HUSH!) and drew a fake Minnie Mouse bow sized bow and then cut it out. My sewing skills suck. I sewed up one side (by hand, with the machine right beside me because just becuase you buy me a sewing machine, I ain’t gonna magically know how to work that bit…thing), stuffed in some cotton balls, sewed up the other side. Then I put the bow on a headband, cut a thin piece of fabric, wrapped it around the middle and sewed it on. It is uneven. It doesn’t sit straight up like Minnie’s bow, and you can see the thread. BUT. She was delighted and excited and happy and didn’t care about imperfections because she had a new, handmade bow. Kids are great ego boosters, because that bow was some bull.
And yes, yes, yes, to the knee protection on the hardwood.
Awesome! You go with your handmaking self. Photos?
“French-fry-stealing howler monkeys” is now my favorite description ever.
You did a good job, and that is cool that they have found it useful not only to sit on, but to also kneel on.
I wonder if we all have hoarder husbands?
Do we? That makes me feel slightly better. Okay, it doesn’t.
What a great idea! I’ve seen that toy chest organizer at IKEA. You crafty woman!
Ikea makes me happy. But it makes my bank account sad.
We just moved so I am in the process of reorganizing and unpacking- good idea!
And the Lowes thing– I do that too- add in my toddler daughter in something frilly with her dimple and even the crotchety ones become nice ha ha.
Well, everyone thought #3 was a girl so that helped!
This is a great tutorial. I have a Blog Hop, and I would love it if you would link this post. You can find it at
http://www.adornedfromabove.com/2012/07/surf-spray-and-wednesdays-adorned-from.html
It is called Wednesdays Adorned From Above Blog Hop.
I hope to see you there. Have a great Day.
Debi Bolocofsky
Adorned From Above
http://www.adornedfromabove.com
You are a genius! Love it!
I’m NOT a genius. This was a total accident made awesome! Oh and years of frustration at being attacked by my children and their ridiculous toys!
A kneeler, for praying Mama never finds out, is all I see here.
The arguably attractive guy works in the Home Depot paint department.
Yeah, they use it for that too!
Okay I love this. I have those IKEA storage things (and need more of them) and clearly need to attach some lego boards and cushion to it. I imagine if I sat on it, it would break. Or is it sturdy enough? I haven’t actually given the one in my son’s room a try.
Oh what I would do if I had a vampire filled hidey hole of my very own for keeping well, fabric and vampires and such. No basements in Hawaii. Love this tute.
Aloha,
Stopping by from One Creative Weekend to follow your creativity here. If you’re up for a ride I’d love it if you’d join me at localsugarhawaii.com where we’re riding the wave of life, one little adventure at a time. Oooh, ooh, ooh and this and every Friday we host the ALOHA Friday HOP where the sweetest of bloggers link up and help each other to grow, grow, grow… come join us if you please.
Happy Day,
Nicole
localsugarhawaii.com
I love your tutorial; great idea! We would love to invite you to join us on Saturday Show & Tell on Cheerios and Lattes! I know my readers will love all your kid friendly ideas! Have a great weekend!
Mackenzie :)
http://www.cheeriosandlattes.com/saturday-show-tell-20/
This is so clever. I love things that have a multpurpose. We had laminate floors for 2 years and it’s not too bad on the knees but a cushion is so much better. Thanks for sharing at the Tip Junkie.
This is an ingenious idea. I love finding pieces that have multi-purpose.
I’d like to invite you to share it at my Pin Party.
http://www.sarahdawndesigns.blogspot.com/2012/07/pintastic-monday-link-party-1.html
I made a cushion for our kitchen table but made it too thick – now only our 3 yr old can sit there comfortably – think I’m going to need to try again. Yours looks great.
This is so creative! THanks for sharing it at our Handmade Tuesdays party.