How to Make a Fun Toddler Bench Seat

I have just made a toddlers craft table so I needed a bench to go with it. I wanted to try something a bit more exciting but still simple enough to finish in a few hours. I also wanted it to be fun and cute, so I went for a Zebra design just because I had the right color paint in my shed.

I bought this projector to watch movies on holiday, you can sync it to your mobile phone, USB, and memory card and worked great to enlarge my pictures onto the wall.

I found the picture I wanted on the internet and used free lunapic software to mirror the image. You need your image to be able to face both ways. And a little tip. Do both at the same time so they are the same size. I used a large sheet of brown paper and taped it to the wall and enlarged the image until I got the size I wanted. Mine was 63 Cm. Use an image that has all the feet on the floor so your bench will be stable.

I used a sharpie to go over the outlines and the details of the zebra. I have no talent when it comes to drawing so I needed to copy all the details to transfer over later.

I cut out the image and taped it to my board. I used an off cut of form ply that I got from a construction site. It is very strong and suitable for this project.

I used a jigsaw and cut around the outlines. I noticed straight away that the wood was splintering.

I used masking tape around the outlines to stop it from doing that.

Once both were cut out I removed all the tape and used an orbital sander to smooth off all the edges.

To make the bench and back support. I cut 1 x 100cm x 25cm for the bottom and for the backrest 1 x 100cm x 15cm.

Because the bench is for a toddler I removed all the sharp edges with a router and sanded them smooth. I did the same for the backrest.

I clamped the two side pieces together and this was when I realised that mine were slightly out. I did one first and then packed my projector set up away and did the second later. So the projector had been moved. (So do both at the same time). I marked a line where I wanted the seat to go. And while both were clamped together I clamped them to a piece of straight edge wood and used the table saw to flatten the feet so it would be more stable.

Because I was making this up as I went along I had to find a way to add the bench seat and backrest and still look cute. I cut some support blocks to hold the seat and backrest. I did not have any thick wood, so I cut 4 strips of ply. The first one was 25cm which is the width of the bench and I made the second one 18cm. They can both be the same I just did not have any left. The first one was glued and screwed into the inside of the side panel below the line I marked out. And then the second screwed into the first.

I pre-drilled the holes in the bench and back rest and counter sunk the holes.

I checked the seat was level, using a spirit level.

For the backrest. I levelled the support block and screwed it into the inside of the side Zebras

I clamped the back rest into place to make sure it was all level and looked how I wanted it to look.

Because of the shape of the bench, the back support needed to be higher. So choose your picture carefully. I then stripped it down into the 4 pieces so it would be quicker to paint .

I painted the whole bench in 2 coats of white chalk paint.

I taped a few sheets of carbon paper together to get a piece large enough to fit under my cardboard image.

I used a pen to go over the lines to get the guide outlines on my white paint.

This was the lines all transferred which made it easier for me to paint them. I used cheap acrylic craft paint to paint the rest. I was going to use unicorn spit but felt it was a waste. ( So ignore them in the image) I sealed the whole bench with 3 coats of water based clear varnish to make more durable.

Once my project was dry I glued and screwed all the pieces back together. And Ta- Da finished !!!

To see more great projects

http://uniquecreationsbyanita.com/how-to-make-a-wine-barrel-table-with-a-built-in-wine-bucket/

http://uniquecreationsbyanita.com/trough-party-table/