A New Stool for Eleanor

I had so much fun the other night making a stool for Eleanor. I have been looking for a stool to put in our bathroom that she can use to get on the potty and use while washing her hands without much success. Most of the stools I have seen in the stores are either plastic, covered with characters or just boring. I wanted something a bit unique for her; something that would be her own.

After reading a post on a blog called Angry Chicken about toys not made in China and her homemade toys, I was inspired to make a stool for Eleanor. I came home from a trip to the craft store with an unfinished stool, some colorful card stock, two sponge brushes, and a jar of Mod Podge, which is apparently non toxic and therefore perfect for the project. Since I had a 50% off coupon, the amount I spent was less than what I would have spent if I had bought one of the plastic stools! I wasn't entirely sure what I was going to do but figured something would hit me. I decided to put Eleanor's name on the stool in blue along with a giraffe -- an animal she has always loved.

I drew the idea out on plain paper first and then cut the pieces out of the colored paper from the pattern. The letters were a bit tricky because they are so small, but I think they turned out alright. Then I put a layer of Mod Podge on the stool and put the first layer of the design down (yellow part of the giraffe, leaves and branches) and pushed all the air bubbles out. Once that dried just a bit, I put the top layer of the design (giraffe spots and letters) and another coat of Mod Podge. I have put several more layers of Mod Podge on since and am considering a coat of something that will protect and take the tackiness off the surface -- it is going in the bathroom after all and will most likely come in contact with water at some point!

Here is the stool:



And, on a completely unrelated note, we had a young buck in our backyard yesterday eating the pears from our tree. Amazing to be three miles from D.C. and have such abundant wildlife!