Home.
Traditions are important to a family. Things that are given to a child when they
are young can be given or passed down to ones own children. Part of a tradition
that I have started with my sister’s children is to personalize their own step
stool.
For a child a step stool is more important than you
know. As adults we forget that we can
see ourselves in the mirror standing up.
We forget the importance of making funny faces and sticking our tongue
out when brushing our teeth.
My husband still has his step stool that his maternal
grandfather made for him. It was crafted
by hand and still is able to do its job
over thirty years later - his younger (and shorter) sister had used it last. Knowing that it has held up and our
own children will be using this makes my heart happy.
I didn’t craft this wooden stool myself, it was purchased at a craft
store. However, I put the time and effort
into sanding, painting, and decorating.
Oh and don’t forget, transporting up north to NY. Each of my nephews, niece, and now my
youngest niece will get hers. It is always
nice to see all the stools lined up in the bathroom, in used condition. My sister’s oldest is now in third grade and he is so tall that it wouldn’t be required anymore, but it is nice knowing that it
helped him out for so many years.
Before you paint or spray paint the stool make sure you sand
it down and clean the excess debris off.
It requires a few coats of spray paint and then a final clear coat of
gloss. The top was painted with an off
white spray paint. After taping the top with painters tape, I used the same
adhesive stick on letters that were used in my personalized subway sign. They came off really easily after spraying
with the white. They are outlined with a silver paint marker. The clear gloss was the last step in the painting process before the decorations.
My oldest niece was the first girl in the family so
when I made her step stool few years ago it was done "princess style". She is a little princess so it was very fitting. Glitter spray, tiaras, and lots of bling were
the style. For my younger niece's stool it was done with more of the cutesy nature directions. All of
the buggies came painted from Michael’s and I couldn't resist when I saw them. They were attached to the sides and top using wood glue. The
outline of the white is actually a self-adhesive fabric border and fabric
buttons that I found at Joanne Fabrics. A hot glue gun was used to make sure the buttons stayed on.
No matter how you decorate it, the step stool will be
special because it will be there to help them when you aren’t. Being so far away from my family it makes me wish I could
be there to help out more, but I guess I am in a way!
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