Wednesday, August 8, 2012

In Denial

Like most teachers, I'm in denial that the summer is coming to an end and its time to be thinking about setting up my classroom and getting ready for another year. Luckily not all teachers are like this, as a friend of mine asked if I could make crate seats for her classroom. I jumped at the chance - it gave me a project to do and I wasn't the one paying for it! It fit perfectly into my spending freeze :)
Essentially, I made seats that fit into crates that she already had for her classroom. Now the crates can do double duty: they still act as storage but now also serve as seats.

The process was simple enough, albeit a bit tedious. We purchased two 2 x 4 foot pieces of plywood, two bags of mid-loft batting, and 2.5 yards of fabric. The most time consuming part was cutting the plywood to fit perfectly on the ledges of the crates. I measured the openings and ripped the plywood down to roughly 12.5 by 15.5 inch rectangles. Listening to the advice of my husband, I used a spare 2 by 4 as a guide to run my circular saw against. This helped me make cut straight lines.
 There was a little bit of trial and error at first to see if the wood would fit into the crates, but it actually happened quicker than I expected!
While watching some tv with the husband, I cut all the fabric and batting down to size. Since I was making 6 seats, this was easy but a little time consuming. Then it was time to upholster the seats. I laid the fabric face down, then layered the batting on (I used two layers to make the seats a little softer), and finally put the wood on top. Be sure to put the side of the wood that you want to be visible face up.
I used the fancy-pants stapler to make quick work of the upholstering. I started by putting a staple into each side, making sure to pull the fabric and batting tight before stapling.
I left the corners for last because corners are not my friend tricky. Basically, pretend you're wrapping a present and tuck the fabric and batting in and then put some staples in there quickly before it unravels. Ok, maybe its not that dramatic. Repeat this six times, and I had this:
Lastly, I wanted to add some handles to make it easy to pick up the cushion to get to whatever Miss Lance is storing inside. Instead of using ribbon, I decided to sew some handles with the same fabric. I basically made this up as I went, so I'll do my best to explain. I cut the fabric into (roughly) 2 by 5 inch strips. Then I ironed over the short edges and hemmed them. Easy so far. Next, I ironed a quarter inch hem on both long sides and then folded the fabric in half. Maybe a picture will help.
Pretty much, I was left with a stronger half inch wide strap. I simply sewed that together and I was all set... of course, multiply this by 6 as well.
As for attaching the handles to the seats, I stuck with my trusty stapler and secured the handle to the bottom of the seat.
See how when the seat is in place, the handle sticks out nicely and its easy to grab?
I love these! I can't wait to see them in Miss Lance's classroom and I really can't wait to hear what her students think of them. It almost makes me wish I taught third grade so I could use them in my classroom. I'll have to think of something that would be a little taller for my middle schoolers. Any ideas?

These would also be really great in a playroom at home with little ones. Anything that doubles at storage is great in my book!

Do any of you teachers have similar things in your classroom? I am starting to get excited about getting into school to set-up my classroom. Who is with me on that one? Anybody??

Thanks for reading,
Kathleen

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The 36th AVENUERhinestone Beagle  Simply Designing

20 comments:

  1. These are so cute! What a great way to utilize storage and seating together. I definitely would make something like this for my classroom so we'll have to figure out what works for those taller middle and high schoolers. Awesome project!

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    1. I've seen people use the 5 gallon buckets from Lowes/Home Depot before, but I don't know how organized the storage would be then. I'm going to keep thinking about it!

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  3. I LOVE THESE! Believe it or not, these were one of the first things I pinned on pinterest. I wish I had more room in my classroom, I'd make 10+ of these. They look beautiful Kathleen. :)

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    1. They are great! I, too, wish I had more room. I'm going to have to figure out some way to fit them!

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  4. hey, this is super cute! I am very impressed with all the creativity I have seen this summer. Enjoy your last few weeks!

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    1. Thanks! I'm trying to fit a lot of projects into these last few weeks - although some will have to be school related. Boo.

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  5. Oh my gosh! What a great idea. And you did such a great job! :) I so wish I had some use for that so I can do it too! :)

    ~Lisha

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  6. I love these - and you are so right - they would be fantastic in a playroom/bedroom situation. I used to have mini beach chairs in my classroom - and the kids loved them!

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    1. Thank you! I've had those plastic adirondack chairs in my classroom and the kids love those too, but they take up so much space. Mini beach chairs sound like a great idea!

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  7. These are awesome!!! I love it!
    Thanks for sharing with my Super Link Party! :-)

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    1. Thanks for checking them out and for hosting the Link Party!

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  8. These are SO cute! If I were a student I would definitely love sitting on them ;)

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    1. Thanks! I'm willing to do whatever it takes to get the kiddos motivated :)

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  9. Oh my goodness, those are so cute! You did a great job on them!! I have a plastic crate kind of like those... I think I might try making a seat for it with burlap or something like that!

    Tania

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    1. Thanks Tania! Burlap is a great idea since it's so durable. I'd love to see how that would turn out.

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  10. This is absolutely wonderful idea! Like you said, other than a classroom setting, these would be great for a playroom. I just have one question. Maybe I need to go find a crate to look into, but is there some sort of ledge along the inner top part of the crate that holds the cushion up? Or how is it not sliding down?

    Sharing this over at my FB & Twitter... and pinning as well!

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    1. Thanks for visiting and for sharing! There is a lip inside the crate, where hanging file folders would normally hang, and that's what holds the cushion up. They're meant for kids, but I sat on one and it held up fine :)

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  11. I just made 6 for my class! Very easy but yes a little time consuming. I had my husband cut the wood and the rest was pretty easy for me. Thanks for sharing this!

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