DIY Toy Storage - No-Sew Canvas Bins

Christmas has left us with an abundance of toys and a shortage on storage space. We have a small house that quickly feels claustrophobic with clutter. And I like things to be tidy and organized. I went to Walmart yesterday to see if they had any baskets or totes that would work. The cheapest one was $20 and didn't look so great. So it was off to the interwebs to see if a more frugal solution could be found.

I found several tutorials for making canvas bins out of diaper boxes. Perfect! We have a million diaper boxes hanging out in the garage, and I actually had a canvas drop cloth out there too. I waited for DD to take a nap and then I got started. I read through several tutorials to get an idea of the process, and then changed things a bit. Mainly because I didn't want to get out the sewing machine to sew a basket liner. So my baskets are completely canvas covered.

No-Sew Canvas Bins

Materials:
Diaper boxes
Hot glue
Canvas drop cloth - or another sturdy fabric, approx 1 yard.
Tape measure
Scissors
Box knife
Iron

I started out with an empty box. Using the box knife I carefully cut off the top flaps and set them aside to use later.

Next I glued the short flaps inside the bottom to cover the gaps. One piece had to be trimmed to fit on my box.

Note: At this point I thought I might decoupage the outside of the box so I first covered it in white copy paper. Then I got impatient and decided to cover it with the canvas instead. So from this point on my boxes are covered in white paper but its a completely unnecessary step!

Now its time to measure the fabric. Here's where my tutorial starts to differ from the others. I didn't want to sew a fabric liner so I needed to have the fabric cover the outside and the inside. I thought the easiest way to do this would be to have two large strips - one to run length-wise (approx 11' x 52 '') and one to run width-wise (approx 18'' x 44'').

I set my box down on the canvas and measured allowing .5'' room on the sides to overlap. Once my strips were cut I ironed them smooth.

Then I began to wrap the box, starting length-wise. I turned the box over and started on the bottom. Centering the fabric, I began on one side and glued down the fabric, stretching it tight and pressing firmly into the glue.

 

I glued the bottom first, then each of the sides on the outside. Lastly I finished up by tucking the fabric inside and gluing it down. Don't worry about making it meet the bottom edge exactly. You want a bit of fabric left on the bottom of the box. It will be covered in the end.

Then I went back and glued down the sides, being careful to cut and tuck the corners to get them as smooth as possible.

For the next piece, I folded over the edges to get a nice, smooth seam and ironed it to keep the strip straight and uniform.

Again starting on the bottom in the middle, I began gluing down the fabric. Run the glue all the way to the edge and press firmly for a nice, tight seam.

Glue the bottom, outside walls, and then the inside. 

Almost there! This is what the box should look like once it's fully wrapped

 For the bottom, I used the two long flaps to make an insert. You could tape them together, but I was too impatient to go find the tape. It works fine without taping. Measure a piece of fabric to cover the flaps.

Glue down the fabric, stretching tight to get a smooth finish.

Now tuck the insert into the bottom of the box. It should be a snug fit. Press down well in all corners to secure it.

And that's it! This would work with almost any kind of fabric. A great way to reuse those diaper boxes (or paper boxes, or any other kind of box you may run across). DD has a bookshelf in her room that is just waiting to get some new bins! For now, I am thrilled to have the toys contained in the living room :)

I just made two more bins for DD's room during nap time. This may be one of my future baby-shower gifts. Buy a box of diapers, make a fun tote out of the box to match the new nursery, and then fill with the diapers from the box :)

Abundance of Gifts and Ungratefulness

These posts (here and here) really put into words what I have been thinking about for awhile.

I want to be intentional about the values I pass on to my daughter. But that means I need to live the example I want her to see. ouch

We are blessed to live in a place where we have religious freedom to practice as we see fit. We are blessed with jobs that provide for ALL of our needs and a good measure of our wants. I am blessed to have a husband that is truly a partner with me and we enjoy each others' company. 

My daughter is growing up in a home where she has more toys that she could possibly play with in a single day. She has a warm, clean bed to sleep in and an abundance of clothes in her dresser. There is always food in the house to fill her chubby tummy. She has two parents that love her more than anything.

Simply put - she's not going to grow up knowing what true need and desperation is. Not if I can help it.

But part of me feels like I am hindering her in some way. No, I am not going to make a toddler start earning her keep or making her own food. But how can one really know what a need is like until you experience it?

Christmas to our family is a time to focus on the greatest gift the world was given: Jesus Christ. But if it a celebration of Jesus, then why should we get gifts? I want my children to know the excitement of the season - the anticipation in waiting for the King to be born. I don't want that anticipation to be built around what they are going to personally gain from it. I want my children to learn to focus on others first.

And for Jesus' Birthday, he should be the one to get the gifts. Gifts of Kindness. Compassion. Generosity. Love.

Matthew 25:40

The Message (MSG)

^37-40 “Then those ‘sheep’ are going to say, ‘Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry and feed you, thirsty and give you a drink? And when did we ever see you sick or in prison and come to you?’ Then the King will say, ‘I’m telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me—you did it to me.’

But to teach it to my child, its going to need to be a principle that I live. Everyday.  And that is pretty convicting.

I've been talking to DH about only giving gifts on birthdays (a celebration of that person) or anniversaries (a celebration of that couple). For the other holidays, especially religious holidays, we will focus our resources towards helping others. There's nothing wrong with having an Easter basket, but if I could give that $10 to fill a child's tummy, then wouldn't that be a better use and a better lesson for my kids?

Now I just have to figure out how to implement this consistently while still helping my children to enjoy the holidays.

Christmas

The holiday has come and gone, and now our house looks like a disaster zone. Baby girl was thoroughly spoiled this year by all of us.

Nana spent a month making an amazing tablecloth playhouse. I had seen these on etsy and told my mom that I wanted one to go over our table or a card table since our house is small and we don't have room for a house to be out all the time. My mom was able to look at the pictures, download some patterns, and made an elaborate playhouse for DD. Inside there's a kitchen, table and chairs, and a bedroom area. WOW! DD thinks its the greatest thing ever :)

Yesterday I spent time making bins out of diaper boxes to hold all of the new toys. I still need to make some more for DD's room. She's getting old enough to play in there and I would much rather have the toys live in her room instead of all over the living room.

We didn't really do Santa gifts or make a big deal out of Santa for DD. She would point to the ornaments on the tree or the doll on the fireplace and she knew who he was, but that's it. Still undecided as to what we will do in the future. But the more I look at it, the more I think its unnecessary (more on that to come later).

Christmas is coming!

We got a new tree this year during the Black Friday sales. It now feels like Christmas in here :) This is the first year DH and I have had a tree since we got married. It is nice to finally display all of the ornaments we have been collecting for years. DD is loving the tree - the lights, the ornaments, so many fun things to look at.

I made some stockings for us and we decorated the fireplace. As we were setting out the greenery and figurines, I pulled out the stuffed Santa and our Herbie elf and set them on the hearth. DD loves Herbie! She carries him around the house, pressing his hand and listening to him say "I want to be a Dentist!"

However, DD is a bit confused with Santa. I pointed to him and told her his name was Santa. She shook her said, said "No, Papa!" She apparently thinks Santa is my grandfather! Hahaha :) So much for that dilemma about whether or not to play up the tradition of Santa. I am not too worried about denying her some special tradition, especially since most of the world does not believe in Santa. Now I just have to worry about her being the kid that ruins it for others!