Monday, June 24, 2013

Monday Made It: Computer Chair and Parts Bin OVERHAULED!


We are linking up with 4th Grade Frolics for Monday Made It!  We love to browse all of the great made-its each week and wanted to share a couple overhauls we've done...



Computer Chair Overhaul (Courtney)

In November of last year, my aunt passed away and my father gave me some of her things that basically he didn't know what to do with. I got a black, felt computer "rolly" chair that was in great condition. The ironic thing is my dad gave it to me because he thought my daughter needed a chair for her new desk, when actually I had just ordered her one! So this chair was sitting in my garage when I saw a picture on Pinterest (which of course I didn't pin so I can't post it to show you) of a chair someone had recovered. Now let me just say right now that I am NOT creative or clever when it comes to doing things like this. You may have noticed that Sarah is the only one of us that creates things, because it hurts my brain to think anymore than I have to. But I figured, recovering a chair can't be that hard, and with a little help from my new friend, the electric stapler, recovering my chair was super easy! I am going to use it in my small group area in the fall.



Parts Bin Overhaul (Sarah) 

I have been seeing nifty drawer organizers all over the internet and decided to customize a parts bin for this coming school year.  I give my kids access to all of the handy-dandy supplies in the room, but in the past they have been kept in a large "31" bin that I had embroidered with the words "This & That".  We just threw everything in there--which was good, in a way, because everything was in one place.  As you can imagine, it wasn't the greatest idea in many ways, though.  Loose staples, paperclips, brads, and rings were at the bottom of the bin, and the kids had to root around to find things. I liked the drawer bin idea, except for the fact that the ones I had been seeing had little, narrow drawers and not as many larger drawers. I bought one at Home Depot anyway and decided I could make it work...

THEN, I came upon an 18 drawer cabinet with large drawers ! I snatched it up!  No worries, my husband said he could put the one I had already bought to good use. :0) Saved me a trip back to return!


I started by making a list of all of the things I want kids to be able to access easily (and made sure they would fit in the drawers). Then I used the new rainbow backgrounds, that I created in Adobe Illustrator, for the drawer labels.  The font I chose was HelloDotSticks by HelloLiteracy.

Here is the finished product! 


I printed the labels on card stock and laminated them with my Scotch laminator so they were nice and sturdy.  Then I just used crystal clear scotch tape to attach them to the inside of the drawers.  I hope these pics are easy to see...


I used about a 2-inch piece of tape and put it along the backside, bottom edge of the label so that it hung over about halfway. 


Then I held the sticky side of the tape back while I positioned the label on the inside of the drawer, and then I pressed firmly to secure the tape to the curve and bottom of the drawer.


Last, I put a piece of tape along the top and pressed it securely. 


I considered spray painting the cabinet black (I love black!), but I decided to leave it the way it is--dark-blue metallic. I think the kids will love it--they always seem to love organization! :0)


28 comments:

  1. I love that polka dotted chair makeover. I need to do that to mine. Thanks for sharing your great ideas!

    Krista
    Stellar-Students

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  2. So it really wasn't hard to recover the chair? Really??? I have one that is still in good condition, but it has some stains on it. Hmmm, maybe I will try and tackle it this summer. Thanks for the inspiration! I'm your newest follower.

    Kelly
    I'm Not Your Grandpa, I'm Your Teacher

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    1. Yes it was so easy to do. I kept the original felt on the chair, but it could've been easy to remove. Really all you have to do is unscrew the screws at the bottom and remove staples. I just cut the fabric and pulled it together how I wanted it. It's just like wrapping a present! I now plan to redo all my 6 of my dining room chairs...I just have to find the fabric I want first!
      Good Luck:)

      Courtney

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    2. I'm so glad to here that it's an easy project! I saw the same pin on Pinterest have been throwing the idea. Thanks for the sharing!!!
      Erin
      Short and Sassy Teacher

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  3. I love both of your projects!! The chair turned out super cute...love the polka dots! Sarah-how did you adhere the paper to the drawers inside? I always wonder what people use. Thanks for sharing!
    ~Holly
    Fourth Grade Flipper

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  4. Great projects!
    Super cute! Thanks for sharing!

    Emily
    I Love My Classroom

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  5. Both of your projects came out great! I need to give my toolbox a facelift! I love your rainbow pack...it's on my wishlist!

    Brandi
    Success in Second Grade

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  6. Love your pins! I so want to re-do my desk chair. Thanks for finding me. Now I can follow you. :)
    Preschool Wonders

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  7. Hooray! Another teacher toolbox! I thought I was the only *late* teacher to the toolbox party! Ha! I posted mine this week too. I also *want* to recover my chair so this was a perfect post for me. :-)

    Thanks,
    Crystal
    Teaching Little Miracles

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  8. I love how your projects turned out! You made the chair project sound easy but I think I might still be too chicken to try it! ;)

    Hooty
    Hooty's Homeroom

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    Replies
    1. It's sooooo easy. Just first unscrew the screws in the bottom and remove staples. It's just like wrapping a present:)
      Go for it!
      Courtney

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  9. I love your chair. I have plans to recover mine tomorrow.

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  10. I LOVE your chair! I need to add that to my list of projects :)
    Sara
    Polka Dot Kinders

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  11. What a great idea for the chair! Love it.

    Mercedes
    Surfing to Success

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  12. Oh my goodness I'm in LOVE with that chair! I have a slight obsession with black with white polka dots! I'm seriously thinking of going out to school this week to break into my classroom and pick up my rolly chair so I can copy you! ;-) Thanks for sharing!!!

    Soaring Through Second

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  13. Great job! The teacher tool box will be my first project once my summer holidays begin next week! (Great job on the chair too!)

    Heidi
    Secondgradealicious!

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    Replies
    1. All the best for a fun-filled and relaxing summer holiday! :0)

      Sarah

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  14. I love your organizer! Cute papers! I'm your newest follower!
    Linda
    KinderDoodles

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    1. Thanks so much for stopping over! Great to have you as a follower... :0)

      Sarah & Courtney

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  15. I love your organizer bin! The labels are so colorful - love it!! By the way, your blog is super cute!!

    Carrie
    Table Talk with C & C

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    Replies
    1. Thanks you for the kind words! :0)

      Sarah & Courtney

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  16. I love, love, love your makeover ideas. Are you new using Adobe Illustrator or is there a tutorial you recommend to use with it? I love your backgrounds and I would love getting into making them, but I'm not sure where to start. Thanks- New follower- Tara from Oceansofteachingideas.blogspot.com

    And do you mind saying how everyone gets the blog label at the bottom of the post?

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    Replies
    1. Thank you for flying over!

      I am new to using Adobe Illustrator, but I had a very experienced person teach me exactly what I wanted to be able to do. She was a photography/graphics arts major in college. I am not sure about the tutorials out there, yet I am sure there are many. I tried to find a course in my area, but the only one available starts when school is back in session in August. That may be a place for you to start, if you are unable to learn what you want through tutorials. :0)

      The siggy (signature owls) at the bottom of our posts are just graphics that we insert into the end of our posts.

      Glad to have you as a follower, and I hope I was of some help...

      All the best-
      Sarah

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  17. I have that exact same 18-drawer orgainizer and I made it to match my new Super Hero theme... I planned to link up this past mMonday as well but the printer ink ran out :( and then we left town to visit family. Sigh. I will link mine up in a few weeks when we return. Yours is super cute!! I am your newest Bloglovin' follower!
    Heather
    Kickin' it With Class

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  18. I love both of your projects!! The chair turned out gorgeous.Discount Beds and Mattresses

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  19. I enjoyed every little bit part of it and I will be waiting for the new updates.
    Discount Computer Office Chairs

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