Each season, we have at least one contestant that consistently produces great work, places in the top three each week and wins a number of challenged along the way. This season Crystal, from Stitched by Crystal, definitely earned that spot.

Today, Crystal is sharing a tutorial for the project she entered in our final round – an upcycled kids art station.

Upcycled Kids Art Station

I want to say a huge thanks to Tauni for hosting SYTYC! It has been so fun competing in this season and congratulations to Lynda on her big win!

This little art station was so fun to make!   It took me a pretty solid 2 weeks to finish it with all the painting and painting and painting, but it was worth all the effort.   My kids have really been enjoying it and it is so fun to watch them create!

To make this art station I used an old end table that I have had for years but don’t use anymore, a large frame I picked up at the thrift store, and some chairs I bought on craigslist.

I tried to pick a fun kid friendly color palate, but wanted colors with a bit of a vintage feel to them.   All these colors came from Lowes.   They turned out just like I pictured them in my head and I think they look perfect with the green walls in my dining room!

My favorite part of the whole project is the desk!   It was too low for the chair I found so I made it some new legs.   The old legs were used as a template to taper the new legs so they looked a bit fancier.   Then some more scrap wood was used to add the drawing paper to the side.   The table ended up being the perfect width for my 18” roll of paper so the wood just got bolted on the sides.   There is a hole drilled part way through the front piece and all the way through the back piece so a large wooden dowel can be inserted to hold the paper.

After the wood working was done, the table got a few coats of paint.   Then the top was taped off for the chalkboard paint to be added.   Finally I added some new hardware for the drawer and a little handle to the side to hold the chalk.

I cut some peg board t fit the frame and painted both the frame and the board.   Painted peg board is a bit of a pain to paint, all those little holes plug up with paint.   After paint I used a screwdriver to clear the paint out of any plugged holes.   I bought some assorted peg board hooks at the hardware store and played around with hanging everything until I got a layout I liked.  

The spice rack at the top is from IKEA, it got screwed on through the peg board holes.   I used some old baby food jars and screwed the lids to the bottom, I learned the hard way that you really need you used 2 screws for that!   To hang the sketch pad I strung a rope through the holes and tied it at the back, the pad can be hung over the rope and easily taken down for drawing.   I also used some old tin cans for markers and pencils.   I cut paper to fit the outside and stuck it on the cans with Mod Podge.   Then I drilled a hole near the top of the can and they hang on hooks.

I cut a piece of wood to about the same length as the frame.   Added some hooks and hung the board from the bottom of the frame.   The hooks hold some buckets I picked up for $1 at Target to keep crayons,play-doh, and stamps.

I wanted to create a little art gallery for my kids work so I painted three clip boards yellow.   Then I taped off the clips and spray painted them black.   I used some Command Strip picture hangers to hang them on the wall.

Finally, I sanded, primed, and painted the chairs and my little art station was done!

What a great project! Thanks Crystal!