It’s Handbuilt Holiday series time and today is the first build for the 2015 series! Happy Friday and let’s get started on a DIY gift you can build: stuffed animal zoo.
I’ve teamed up with the always awesome Ana White for this series. You all know Ana is the mastermind behind hundreds of DIY building projects with free plans and she just finished filming her latest project – a DIY Alaskan cabin that we all want to move into! Can’t wait for that to air on TV soon.
Back to this ingenious stuffed animal toy storage idea that takes up very little floorspace AND corrals all those stuffed animals into one spot:
Ana has the plans here and below are some building progress pictures and details on how I built this stuffed animal zoo.
To be honest I’m kicking myself that I hadn’t built this stuffed animal storage piece before now! Not only does it hold a ton of stuffed animals but my kids can easily see all the animals and access whichever animal they want without tearing apart an entire toy box.
I used rope with screw eyes to create the ‘bars’ on the zoo. This method is safe, secure and still effectively holds the animals in place but has a little give. Another option might be bungee rope or elastic rope, just use precaution that your ‘bar’ system isn’t going to come loose and entrap a child or snap a body part.
Also consider attaching the unit to the wall to prevent tipping.
How to build the stuffed animal zoo:
Follow Ana’s plans here for cuts and assembly instructions.
I built the zoo using wood glue and 1 1/2″ Spax screws:
Sand and finish your zoo. I stained this one Minwax early american.
Predrill and insert the screw eyes being careful not to screw too far into the boards.
Thread the rope through the screw eyes and secure with a rope clamp on the loose end. Use a flame to seal off the ends of the rope to prevent fraying.
Be sure to check back every Friday for a new DIY project you can build and give.
Looking for more ideas for gifts to build? Below are the previous Handbuilt Holiday series projects:
2014:
2013:
I’m linking up to:
Bellissimo!!!!
Grazie
Is the rope 1/2 inch or 1.5 inch thick?
Could it be with stretchy bungee cord?
Hi Chris, yes you could definitely use bungee cord. Great idea, thanks for sharing.
Is there a way to put a base on this to keep it from tipping over so easily?
Hi Jeni, Yes if you want to add a base I would cut a piece of 3/4 plywood about 1.5″ larger than the zoo width on both sides and screw it to the bottom using 1 1/4″ countersunk screws.