We may only be in the early weeks of summer, but my boys are already getting a little stir-crazy. I’ve been making sure that we take lots of bike rides, enjoy plenty of outdoor play and do some fun crafts in the house every few days. But I’m always looking for other ways to keep my boys learning and occupied in warm weather.
So when I heard about the new Family Fun Projects video series from Lowe’s starring Mag Ruffman, I couldn’t wait to check it out. These DIY videos let kids construct fun items including a Beanbag Toss Game, a Chalkboard Table and a Princess Castle…with a little adult help and supervision, of course! Lowes sent me a $50 gift card so that I could try one of the projects for myself and so the boys and I decided to try making the adorable PVC Camp Stools. Since our annual camping trip is coming up in a few weeks, I knew these stools would come in handy!
We bought all the necessary materials at our local Lowe’s store and I was really pleased with how helpful the staff was and how easy it was to find the items we needed. We headed home with our supply of PVC pipe, duct tape and hardware and then got ready to build our stools.
While older children could cut the PVC pipe and drill the necessary holes for the stools with adult supervision, my boys were still a little young for that so Curtis prepped our materials for us by cutting the pipes to the proper lengths and drilling holes in the longer lengths of pipes. Then we sat down and started building!
The boys had a lot of fun playing with the PVC pipes and elbows and Benjamin especially had a blast just putting them together in odd combinations. Zackary soon got to work creating rectangles of the pipes though and soon Benjamin wanted to do the same. Then I placed one rectangle inside the other and the boys pushed carriage bolts through the holes in the pipe to connect the two rectangles. They really liked putting on the washers and wing nuts to hold the bolts in place too!
With the frame complete, it was time to make the seat. The instructions recommended using landscape fabric or other cloth cut into a rectangle. Since I have lots of fabric scraps at home for sewing and crafting, I cut some of my scraps to the proper size. Then it was time to make the seats strong enough for little boys with the help of strips of colourful duct tape!
Once the fabric had been completely covered with duct tape, I folded the ends over to create seams and reinforced them with more duct tape to ensure that the seats were nice and strong. Then we took the elbows off one end of the frame and slipped the seat into place. And with that, the stools were done! The boys had a great time testing them out and showing them off to their dad.
Lowes wants to give you the chance to get creative with your kids too so the company is very generously offering one lucky Mommy Kat and Kids reader a $50 Lowe’s gift card to try out one of the Lowe’s Family Fun Projects! To enter to win, just take a look at the episodes in the Lowe’s Family Fun Projects video series and leave a blog comment about what project you would want to make with your kids if you won!
My boys had a great time making the PVC Camp Stools and the best part is that not only did they get to enjoy a fun project, they also got a useful piece of furniture to use when they were done! If you’re looking for a great activity to keep your kids occupied that will help them develop some building skills and leave them with a new toy or piece of furniture when they’re done, check out this collection of videos and see which one catches your eye! Making something fun and useful is easy with a little help from Mag Ruffman and Lowe’s!
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lori butler says
i love the seat idea..
rebecca day says
i like the seat idea
A.Smith says
I would love to make the Princess Castle but knowing my daughter she would prefer the Chalk Table.
Glenda Cates says
Chalkboard table or a laptop desk.
Londia says
I think we would make the door signs. Some great ideas for sure in these videos.
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Moe Anderson says
My grandson LOVES playing with PVC piping just on his own, making his own creations.
Ashley Mullen says
Its a toss up between the chalk board table and the book sling.
Anu Chopra says
The boys and I would make the lapdesk.
Elizabeth says
The chalkboard table looks neat.
Cheryl Morreale says
I would choose to make the chalkboard table b/c my son loves to colour and often draws off of the page and onto the table.
Pamalot says
I think my kids would like the how to make a princess castle of course.
Annie B. says
How to make a lapdesk
Sus says
The beanbag toss game.
Kelly says
I like the book sling,
valerie wood says
I think the bean bag toss game would be a great idea to do, especially with all the grand-kids visiting1!
Helena says
I love photography and my daughter is getting to be quite the avid picture taker too, so I think making the photo blocks would be a fun project for us.
adriana says
bean bag
Emily B says
Ooh, the chalkboard table!
laura andrews says
Its always a great to have an easily portable extra seat to bring along. its also fun to involve the kids in making it!
jennifer gibson says
The book sling looks cool.
heidi says
The princess castle would be my pick, but I think my kids would love the chalkboard table too.
Angelene Ashawasega says
This is a terrific contest, thanks! Really need a storage organizer for my closet, quite the mess!
Vicky Ess says
I would make a Chalkboard Table!
Andrea B. says
How to Make Bedroom Door Signs
Jeannette Laframboise says
i think I would choose “How to build a lap desk. My youngest would love building it and of course using it! Thanks for the chance to win!
Emma says
a lapdesk, it can possibly bring onto a car trip.
chana u says
the chalkboard table
Jennifer Barata Allen says
I would build a chalkboard table. What a great idea!
Debbie W says
How to make a Hockey Net with PVC Pipe. I never thought it could be that easy.
Jackie Lewis says
My kids just went to Lowe’s and made a Kung Fu Panda spinning toy. They had a blast!
katie weeks says
I would love the chalk board table very cute…like how the chalk holder is in the table!!
Karry Knisley says
I would make the lap top desk
Terri Ingham-Bollin says
I love the chalkboard table.
Beth G says
the chalkboard table!
Andrea says
the hockey net
Maegan Morin says
I like the princess castle project!!
betsy cortez says
the lapdesk
Sharon says
I would make the chalkboard table but without legs and put it up on the wall.
Stephanie LaPlante says
Definitely the How to Build a Princess Castle
David Riddles says
Beanbag toss game. Good for us grown ups too.
Janette says
How to build an art table
Sherry Fraser says
Photoblocks
Ester G says
The chalkboard table looks neat
amy marantino says
Chalkboard table
SueSueper says
I would like to build a Lapdesk
Mel says
My boys would love to make the bedroom door signs for their new rooms.
Tina F says
How to Build a Chalkboard Table
B C EDWARDS says
chalk board table
macfsh says
I couldn’t get the videos to play but I’m a library technician so I’m interested in what the book sling might be. The kids would probably like door signs too.
Denise G says
a laptop desk
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