Toy Repair & Makeover

Deborah Perrin
by Deborah Perrin
3 Materials
$26
4 Days
Easy
I took a broken Little Tykes old-style workshop (that I bought for $10 at the Habitat Restore) repaired the cracks & missing pieces, and turned the other 1/2 into a kitchen.
My granddaughter loves it already - I just wanted it to look nicer!
Took me about 4 days - mostly waiting on paint to dry overnight. It could probably be done in a few hours, but I was taking my time. Cost was around $26 as I only had to buy the toy & paint - already had the other materials.
Before shot - sink side.
Before shot - work table side.
I started at the top! Taped brown paper all around & 1/2 the top that I did not want to paint. Started with a light coat of Rustoleium "Sunny Yellow" paint for plastic.
3 coats later - luckily, I did remember to tape everywhere!
Next step was to dig out some old contact paper and cover the blah gray shelves. I have no idea where this came from - I think I've had it about 15 years!
I turned my attention to the workbench side - where you see the discoloration, there were some cracks in the plastic that someone tried to repair. I filled in using a vinyl spackling, let it dry, then sanded a bit.
Using Rustoleium for plastic once again, this time in a brown, I put on 2 coats. As I was going over a brown already, 2 coats was enough to cover it.
I cut a pegboard to install on the workbench side & painted it blue on one side, and - you guessed it - yellow on the other side. I have hooks for the tools for here... Remember those shelves on the "kitchen" side - yep - they will now have a backing so the kitchen supplies will not fall through.
Final look - kitchen side
Final look - workbench side
The intended recipient is having fun!
Suggested materials:
  • Little tykes workbench   (Habitat for Humanity Restore)
  • Rustoleium spray paint   (True Value hardware)
  • Vinyl spackling   (True Value hardware)
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