Super Easy Sensory Bin Stand..

So Aidan and I aren't the richest people in the world and I'm sure many families with young kids can relate that while money needs to be budgeted towards more important things, you want to give your kids everything they want and need {within reason of course} I feel I put a lot of time and effort into choosing ours toys and I prefer to steer away from plastic and flashy toys that are only going to be played with once or twice then get thrown in the bottom of the toy box and opt for longer lasting wooden toys that will spark the imagination. Unfortunately these toys can be harder to come by having to travel further to find them or ordering online and they can come with a hefty price tag. Which is why when I came across a website that has fantastic FREE patterns for DIY projects and Aidan received Bunnings vouchers for his birthday we knew we wanted to invest in tools.

This particular project that I want to focus on today has been on my wish list for over a year now. To buy in shops is over $100 plus postage. The reason I haven't made the investment yet is because we have a plastic version which works OK even though its not the right shape. Anyway I am talking about a sensory bin stand or a sand and water table. I was scrolling through some of my favourite blogs when I was inspired by this post and thought that's perfect and simple, we can do that.

We ducked into Bunnings to buy some screws and ended up walking out with a round tub that I thought I could use for our stand. When we got home however I found what I often use when I put out a sensory bin. It's simply a kitty litter tray {unused by cats of course} the perfect size for one, two or even three kids and the perfect depth. So our plans changed from round to rectangle which is what I wanted in the first place.

We had a large bit of plywood that we were going to use to make a similar version of the original stand but when Aidan had a look at all of the timber scraps we have been able to salvage from around the place we were able to mostly make it from the free timber we already had :-)  

To start with Aidan cut the legs to the correct lengths approximately 40 centimetres. Then he cut four pieces of wood from a pallet to make a frame that would fit around our tray snugly and screwed them to each other then we screwed a piece of plywood cut to shape underneath so the tray would have a base to sit on. And then he screwed the legs into place and we decided to add a shelf so we cut four squares into the corners of a second piece of plywood so the shelf could be screwed into the legs. Then we placed the tray in and it was finished. It still needs a sanding and a painting or a coat of lacquer but that's OK as we can still use it in the meantime.

The finished product, still needs a good sanding and a coat of lacquer.

The kitty litter tray used, you can see how it is the prefect size and shape for a sensory bin. 

All up this project was under $20 due to the scrap wood used and the fact we already had the tray and it's something we will use everyday. We will be selling a version of this in our mini store "AMYzing Play" so keep your eye out. And it will at a budget friendly price as well ;-)  

Aisling finally got a chance to dive into the Christmas themed bin I put together.  

                  

So simple, red and green waterbeads, shaving cream and mini Christmas figurines provide plenty of fun!