I'm sharing a little project with you today that has been a while in the making but is so easy to do no matter how much space you have. Kids love to make noise and music and this little table has both those covered!
All you need is some washed recycled tins (I know you have them somewhere!!), a little cord or twine, some paint and a recycled spool which you will often find in the industrial areas and if you ask nicely they will usually give you a few for free. If you can't lay your hands on one…no matter, you can hang your musical tins anywhere you fancy!
No one…and I do mean no-one was allowed to touch it until she was satisfied with her work.
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It was a little bit of a challenge (good parent speak for really, really difficult) to get them to finish and come inside.
There ย was so much paint on those tins I think it took over a week for them to completely dry! But the joy of cleaning magically got them passing me the paint pots…the toddler twosome do love to clean a table and wash hands!
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And to be perfectly honest….they then sat on my shelf in a basket for quite a few weeks while we worked on other projects in the backyard. Last weekend I kept looking at the spool and instead of making a wall as I had planned I thought it would work well to use them around the spool table.
We threaded some twine through the tin holes drilled earlier and then tied a knot to keep them in place…His Patient Self again got out his trusty drill and made holes all around the wooden spool edge.
It was then a simple matter of threading the cord through those holes and again using a knot to secure. We placed them at different heights to help create different sounds. I added a bowl of ‘banging tools' and the girls were ready to explore their new backyard addition!
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What a wonderful idea. Lots of fun for toddlers!
Thanks Emma…don’t mind saying it was a bit of fun for us adults too lol!
this is great, id like to do something similar at some stage
Even if you don’t have the spool Karen you could just hang a few of the tins anywhere really!
I’ve been looking for one of those spools to upcycle into something cool. Would love if you shared this on our #kidsinthekitchen linky this week http://lookwhatmomfound.com/2013/08/handprint-flower-bouquet-kidsinthekitchen.html
I absolutely love spools…so many uses! Thanks for the invite Melinda….I shall stop by x
Fabulous Jodie! Just as fun to create as to make music with. What fun for the kids and what a neat way to upcycle.
They did have so much fun creating Ann…messy but lots of fun and they were so proud of their efforts!
What a great idea – I love that they now have a musical ‘experience’ that they helped make. Brilliant ๐ #CountryKids
Thanks Sara…I heard them going around the spool the other day saying which tins were theirs as they hit them, so cute!
Oh wow that is fantastic! I like recycling too!
So many options with recycling isn’t there? And best of all they asked me if they could wash the empty cans in the kitchen the other day to paint…yay!
How great to get the children involved in creating an activity, and have so much messy fun while doing it, they must be very proud of their efforts! I love the way they are happy to clean up too, thanks for sharing your latest creation with Country Kids.
They are so proud of their efforts and seem to enjoy wandering and looking at the cans hanging just as much as banging them!I actually think somedays they would just love to clean the table rather than make the mess!
this looks fantastic, i may give this a go ๐
Thanks Jaime…do let me know if you do!
“Never without my bucket of water”! – definitely a crafting Mama’s motto! Love it. The whole activity is perfect. They made it and now they can play with it. I hope they have lots and lots of fun with it.
Hehe Cheryl…did sound a little funny didn’t it? Absolutely true though and that way i don’t need to worry about messy hands and they know they can clean them when they get uncomfortable with the feeling of messy hands! They are indeed having lots of fun with it…thanks so much for stopping by!
We use a bungee stretched between the fence and a post.love the spool idea.
This is great Jode! I wish I had those gorgoeous spool tables of yours, they are just wonderful and look great!
I do love a good spool table Amie!! Can use them for so many things! You can usually get them for free from places in the industrial estates…or go searching on weekends as a lot of places leave them out on the kerb hoping people will take them lol!
Great idea and so much fun
Thanks Angela…is indeed fun!
That is just a fabulous idea Jode, I love it, I know my girls would love it. We might just have to try this ourselves, it’s brilliant x
So glad you like it Nichola…do let me know if you try it…am sure your girls would love it!
A musical table! LOVE!
I love the idea of doing it around one of those wooden spools. Not sure where I’d get one though, haha. You’ve inspired me to do more outside musical type things.. I might just wait till it’s a little warmer haha (I’m a chicken down here in Melbs, a cold one lol)
Awesome idea, this will be a wonderful addition to our outdoor area
featuring you his week on the kids coop! http://www.frogsandsnailsandpuppydogtail.com/2013/08/must-try-outside-activities-for-kids.html
Gosh Jode your FDC kids are just going to LOOOOOVE your place! So very fabulous.
What a brilliant idea! I love that the children basically made them themselves. What a great home you have.
I love it! That spool is fantastic, we could really do with one of those in our back yard (might stop the kids from dashing out the front yard to the house across the road that has a swing set and trampoline LOL)
I bet my kids would LOVE this.
Oh wow, I LOVE this so much. Adding this to our list of ideas for making a fun outdoor play space this Summer.
I am LOVING watching your outdoor space unfolding, it gets more and more amazing every week. This idea is so easy to do but so fun, imagine all the different ways the kids can play with this set up. I want to come and play too!
Another great addition to your play area. Thanks for sharing at the Outdoor Play Party