Sometimes I have trouble throwing things away. My mother-in-law brought this styrofoam beauty into our home a few months back when she was traveling here to meet the newest grandson, Rocco. She left it for us to have. Thanks, Mom!
My husband stored it away with other boxes and baskets, in a huge closet filled with unused decorations. A cooler with the decorations?? Why he chooses the spots he does to "put things away," I'll never figure out, but in this case, it was clearly providential.
Here was my yesterday: I was working on cleaning up and sprucing up the kids' craft nook (a converted closet in our attic). I painted, and purged (see, I don't keep everything...) and was looking for something cute to hang on the wall. Soooo - I went down to the basement closet full of decorations to see if I could repaint a canvas that we might have lurking in there. when i found the coolers. "Great," I thought. I could use those lids as little bulletin boards if I cover them with cute fabric. Art for the walls accomplished. But, hey, what will I do with the coolers themselves? seems such a waste to toss them. They are super heavy duty. (like the kind you get from omaha steaks, if you have the urge to replicate.) I sat on the cooler to think. And THAT'S when it hit me. I can use these little beauties as stools!!
As you can see to the right, stools they became!
Perfect! And they even are sturdy enough to hold an adult - so i'm sure they'll hold up for the kids!
Below is a step-by-step of how I made them.
I turned the cooler upside down:
I sewed a little cover by tracing the cooler dimensions on fabric I had,
then I slipped the fabric onto the upside-down cooler.
And, Voila! A stool for the kids!
I put a vinyl sticker thing on my cell phone case to spruce it up. The vinyl kept peeling on the edges, and was annoying after about 2 days. So, I painted to negative space with cool blue nail polish, and added a clear coat, then removed the vinyl sticker. yay. crackle effect unintended, but enjoyed!
Sometimes I have trouble throwing things away. My mother-in-law brought this styrofoam beauty into our home a few months back when she was traveling here to meet the newest grandson, Rocco. She left it for us to have. Thanks, Mom!
Last, we decoupaged the leafy circles onto the backs of clear glass plates. We made enough for all the cousins, aunts and uncles, and grandma and papa who are joining us for Thanksgiving this year. I think we'll also spraypaint the backs. I don't love clear plates. Not sure what color, though... cream? brown? Opinions welcome!
