It's always more fun to DIY!

I have been 'kindergarten blogging' for less than a year and as I was packing up my classroom I came across some fun things I realized have not been blogged about yet.  1. Crate Seats 2. Refurbished file cabinet

More than a year ago I came across the wonderful crate seat invention. Cute and incredibly useful in the classroom. Double the fun! I went out and purchased 5 quality crate seats. I knew I didn't want the cheapy ones since they would be sat on A LOT. I think I ended up buying them from Office Depot for about $8/each. Next, I took some scrap pieces of wood, about 1" thick. I passed those pieces and the crates off to the woodworking teacher at my school and he cut and sanded them down, so nicely I almost didn't want to cover them! The wood pieces fit perfectly inside the lip of the crate. Then, I went to my local craft store and purchased foam (about 3/4 inch think). This was a bit more expensive than I expected but you gotta love those 40% coupons! Finally, I purchased my fabric. It just had to be polka dots, the alphabet was just an added bonus ;)

 Once those pieces are completed, the crates are really quite simple to assemble. Cut your foam to rest inside the wood seat, cut your fabric to wrap around all edges, then staple gun your way around on the bottom side, nice and tight. Done! These seats worked fabulously in my classroom this year and I'm happy to say that I even occasionally used them as a seat for myself. I'd say that makes them a success! 

Next up was my file cabinet. I had an UGLY file cabinet in my classroom last year. It was old, stained, rusted, and just yucky. Who wants kids and parents to have to see that yuck? I didn't, so I made a plan to rescue it. I decided I would tape over my handles and just leave them be. I knew once I painted my cabinet the handles wouldn't stand out. I bought several cans of matte spray paint and painted the front, one side, the top, and just a little on the back. I didn't paint the back until it was a perfect blue since I knew it would be against the wall. Then I bought a can of black chalkboard paint and painted the one side I knew the kids would have access to. Works like a charm! The final touch, which made more of a difference than I would have expected, are the little pieces of scrapbook paper in the drawer label area. I just love a successful DIY!

Anyone else have some DIY success in your classroom?
Adrienne