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‘Tis the season for holiday gifting, and if you have kids, that means a lot of new toys around the house! What are you going to do with all of those toys? If your child’s toy box is full, odds are you’re thinking of a few different ideas:

• Encouraging your child to part with some old toys.
• Going with something cheap and easy (but not aesthetically pleasing) like a regular plastic bin for toys.
• Leaving the matter alone and hoping that the clutter isn’t too out of control.

None of these are really ideal solutions. But one really cool and creative idea this year is to embark on a crafting adventure! You can turn regular plastic storage for toys into something really cool by converting a plastic storage tote into something beautiful.

How can you do that? There are so many different ideas. You can hand-paint designs on the plastic bin, or you can create patterns by using paper cut-outs as stencils. Another really cool idea if you want to totally transform the bin is to glue fabric around the outside. This provides for a really amazing finished look. If you do a neat job of it, it is often impossible to tell at a glance that you are looking at what used to be just an ordinary plastic bin.

You can add some embellishments for an even more complete look for your plastic toy organizer. Tack on ribbons or ropes. This adds some dimensionality to your bin. Choose colors and patterns which form a nice accompaniment for the fabric you’ve selected. If you hunt around the craft store, you may come up with other fantastic ideas as well. Your only limit is your imagination. Think about colors and designs your child will like.

You can even add feet to your bin! How? Pick up some fence post caps at your local hardware store. You can get each for just a few dollars. Paint them to match the fabric you’ve used on your bin, and then screw them to the bottom. You’ll want to add some kind of base to your bins so that the screws will hold and so that sharp ends are covered.

What is great about this project is that you not only have a wonderful solution for your child’s new toys this holiday season, but you also have a chance to give a very personal handmade gift to your child! You can put it under the tree as a special surprise. You can even put other gifts inside as an additional surprise!

Alternately, you can turn it into a collaborative effort. This is a great chance to spend more time with your child and teach some creative skills. The two of you can choose fabrics and embellishments and come up with the design together. Your child will treasure the finished result even more. Since time off of school is coming up, this is a wonderful way to spend an afternoon over the holidays!