This year I knew I wanted to create my older daughter a tool workbench. I had been looking online and found some that were in the hundreds of dollars!! Uh - I don't think so. And the cheaper ones seemed to be just that - cheap. So I decided to make my own. When I went to the consignment sale, I knew I wanted to find the play tools as to buy them at regular price could get expensive. I ended up finding the power tool play set and the hand tools for only $15. If I was to buy all the tools I got there new, I would have ended up paying over $75! So after I had my tools, the next step was the bench itself. My husband had an old nightstand that we stored in our garage and I determined it was the perfect size for what I wanted to do. I spray painted it a glossy black and extended the table top of it with Home Depot yard sticks. I topped those off with a clear coat to prevent the kids from getting any splinters.
For the back side, I wanted to get peg board but the Home Depot by me didn't have the size I wanted. I could have bought an extremely large piece for $16 and had it cut down but instead decided to go with a piece of chalkboard backing I found for $6. This turned out to be a good thing because I didn't have to worry about the hooks falling off onto the ground where the baby could get them. I used Command Brand removable hooks to hang the tools on the board. This also allowed me to give a space for my daughter to write on the board with chalk. Here is the finished product - I love it!
The other gift I repurposed was an old jeep I found at the consignment sale as well. I picked it up for $26 and bought three cans of spray paint (that works on plastic) to repaint it. This is my daughter's new favorite outdoor toy! She loves to load up the back and drive off.
What are some of your favorite DIY gifts you've done?
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