Most families have at least one traditional toy box that is made of wood with a hinged lid or they may have a molded plastic one that looks like a frog or turtle. These are extremely expensive and rarely hold all the toys a child can have. What are you supposed to do with the rest of them? Hide them under the bed or put them on shelves? Maybe you can just pile them in the corner of the living room.
You can create a toy box from a storage tub that is made of plastic. These tubs come in different colors and different sizes and you can even personalize them more by adding a few things here and there. Tubs can be a very safe alternative to a wooden box. They do not have pointed corners so there is no way the child can hurt themselves. There has been an issue with wooden boxes and lids that slip and smash into the child when they are using it and this will not occur because you remove the plastic lid to get inside. Kids have a tendency to climb into toy boxes and they do sometimes get shut in. This will not happen with a tub, just make sure to get the kind without locks on the lid and your child will easily be able to push themselves out
Decorating the tub is a breeze and it will resemble a toy box in no time. Purchase decals or stickers or get craft foam, felt, fabric and paint to make it look fun. Use any animal or object that your child loves. The child can help to decorate the box and make it their own. Many times a wooden box will be scraped and chipped by toys that are in the box and this will not happen with plastic tubs that will stay fresh for a long time.
You can paint the plastic storage tub if you like by using a spray paint however, with time the paint tends to flake off and this could be a safety hazard for young children. They come in such a variety of colors you should not have any difficulty finding one in an appealing color to match your child's playroom. You can safely paint figures on the tub with acrylic paint. You can paint or stencil rubber duckies on a blue tub with a few waves. Paint lambs and bunnies pink or purple tub or get a black tub and paint fire engines on it. You can find tons of stencils that you can paint on to a plastic storage tub at any craft store. You can even find letters of the alphabet and stencil their name on their tub.
To make your own fun figures to stick on your tub go to the crafting store and get craft foam in either sheets or in pre cut figures. Most foam comes with adhesive on the back and you just have to remove the paper backing and stick them on. You can adorn the figures with other foam or paint them with the pointy nozzle of fabric paint. To make a lady bug motif cut out two circles, one in black and one in red. Divide the red one in half and place it over the black on separating the two red halves to show a wedge of black in between them. This is the black body and the red wings. Cut another black circle then cut again using only a fourth of it. Stick this to the red and black circles at the top where the wings meet. This is the head. Add some black circles for dots on the wings and cut out some white circles for eyes. Once the lady bug is made your child can help you apply them to the tub.
You can do the same thing with felt. You can buy felt squares in the craft store that have adhesive backing as well. Some felt squares are floppy and soft and there are some that are rigid. The rigid ones work best because they won't flop down if the adhesive on the back gives way. If the felt does not have adhesive just buy a can of adhesive spray to stick them on the tub. Spray the area in which you want to put the felt figure and the adhesive will dry and you won't even notice it is there. Use cookie cutters as guides to make your felt characters. Just place the cookie cutter down on the felt and draw around it with a marker or pencil. Use a teddy bear cookie cutter and cut out several brown or beige bears. Cut out a small round circle and place it in the center of the head area, this is the bear's muzzle. You can use fabric glue to stick this on your main felt figure. You can use a small black pompom or cut out a small black circle to glue just above the center middle of this circle for the nose. Use a marker to make a mouth. Cut out two black eyes out of felt and glue them on above and to each side of the circle.
Fabric can be used to cover the tub completely. Cut fabric to fit around all sides of the tub and make sure to push it up underneath the lip. Fabric will unravel and you can stop that from happening by using pinking shears or squirting on substance that will prevent it from unraveling called no fray. Use your spray adhesive and careful roll the fabric onto the tub. It is possible to cut the fabric in sections and stick it on. Do the lid too but never cover the edges, just the middle part. Covering the edges will not allow it to snap onto the tub.
Having a nice wooden or molded plastic toy box is probably a good idea but not many people can afford more than one. Using plastic storage tubs and decorating them might be just the thing to reduce clutter in an inexpensive manner. - 29958
You can create a toy box from a storage tub that is made of plastic. These tubs come in different colors and different sizes and you can even personalize them more by adding a few things here and there. Tubs can be a very safe alternative to a wooden box. They do not have pointed corners so there is no way the child can hurt themselves. There has been an issue with wooden boxes and lids that slip and smash into the child when they are using it and this will not occur because you remove the plastic lid to get inside. Kids have a tendency to climb into toy boxes and they do sometimes get shut in. This will not happen with a tub, just make sure to get the kind without locks on the lid and your child will easily be able to push themselves out
Decorating the tub is a breeze and it will resemble a toy box in no time. Purchase decals or stickers or get craft foam, felt, fabric and paint to make it look fun. Use any animal or object that your child loves. The child can help to decorate the box and make it their own. Many times a wooden box will be scraped and chipped by toys that are in the box and this will not happen with plastic tubs that will stay fresh for a long time.
You can paint the plastic storage tub if you like by using a spray paint however, with time the paint tends to flake off and this could be a safety hazard for young children. They come in such a variety of colors you should not have any difficulty finding one in an appealing color to match your child's playroom. You can safely paint figures on the tub with acrylic paint. You can paint or stencil rubber duckies on a blue tub with a few waves. Paint lambs and bunnies pink or purple tub or get a black tub and paint fire engines on it. You can find tons of stencils that you can paint on to a plastic storage tub at any craft store. You can even find letters of the alphabet and stencil their name on their tub.
To make your own fun figures to stick on your tub go to the crafting store and get craft foam in either sheets or in pre cut figures. Most foam comes with adhesive on the back and you just have to remove the paper backing and stick them on. You can adorn the figures with other foam or paint them with the pointy nozzle of fabric paint. To make a lady bug motif cut out two circles, one in black and one in red. Divide the red one in half and place it over the black on separating the two red halves to show a wedge of black in between them. This is the black body and the red wings. Cut another black circle then cut again using only a fourth of it. Stick this to the red and black circles at the top where the wings meet. This is the head. Add some black circles for dots on the wings and cut out some white circles for eyes. Once the lady bug is made your child can help you apply them to the tub.
You can do the same thing with felt. You can buy felt squares in the craft store that have adhesive backing as well. Some felt squares are floppy and soft and there are some that are rigid. The rigid ones work best because they won't flop down if the adhesive on the back gives way. If the felt does not have adhesive just buy a can of adhesive spray to stick them on the tub. Spray the area in which you want to put the felt figure and the adhesive will dry and you won't even notice it is there. Use cookie cutters as guides to make your felt characters. Just place the cookie cutter down on the felt and draw around it with a marker or pencil. Use a teddy bear cookie cutter and cut out several brown or beige bears. Cut out a small round circle and place it in the center of the head area, this is the bear's muzzle. You can use fabric glue to stick this on your main felt figure. You can use a small black pompom or cut out a small black circle to glue just above the center middle of this circle for the nose. Use a marker to make a mouth. Cut out two black eyes out of felt and glue them on above and to each side of the circle.
Fabric can be used to cover the tub completely. Cut fabric to fit around all sides of the tub and make sure to push it up underneath the lip. Fabric will unravel and you can stop that from happening by using pinking shears or squirting on substance that will prevent it from unraveling called no fray. Use your spray adhesive and careful roll the fabric onto the tub. It is possible to cut the fabric in sections and stick it on. Do the lid too but never cover the edges, just the middle part. Covering the edges will not allow it to snap onto the tub.
Having a nice wooden or molded plastic toy box is probably a good idea but not many people can afford more than one. Using plastic storage tubs and decorating them might be just the thing to reduce clutter in an inexpensive manner. - 29958
