DIY sand and water table

I really wanted Ollie to have a sandbox but, I didn’t want a plastic one and didn’t want to build one since we’re renting right now.

I saw a sand and water table at Target.  However, I knew I didn’t want to pay the $60 price tag that came with it!  So, this is what I did.  I bought 2 dishpans for $3 each and 1 bag of play sand for $4.  I filled the other dishpan with water and we were in business! But, it was still on the ground so, I had to think a little more-do you hear the wheels turning?  I took an old wagon we had and decided to give it a face lift and a new job!

First, I gave it a base coat of my favorite turquoise. And the wheels looked a lot happier after they became  bright orange!  Then, I just started having fun with a few other colors-white, red,and light brown.

The top edge of the wagon got the stripe treatment and the sides got some polka dots.  I just used different size brushes to have stripes of different widths.  It’s definitely not perfect! You could always use painter’s tape or mark off lines if you didn’t want to freehand it.  For the polka dots, I used a very small brush and kind of twirled it in a circle and then filled in the middle.  They aren’t perfect either-I’m okay with that!  I’m more of a “let’s just do it and see how it turns out ” type of person.

So, for a whopping $10 we have our very own customized sand and water table and it’s portable! Another idea I had was to find an inexpensive coffee table and jigsaw holes for the dishpans to sit in.  It could be painted as well!  The ideas are endless really-if you just look at things you already own a little differently! What have you repurposed lately?  Would love to hear from you! -amy