Another Monday Made-It!

I have to give it to Tara...I certainly would have had a hard time staying motivated all summer prepping my classroom if it wasn't for her Monday Made Its!  Thanks so much!

This week, I made some stools for my guided reading table.  These six little guys are going to give my crowded classroom a lot more seating options!  I am very excited about them!

Here they are!  I don't know why I decided to surround the pole in the dining room with them, but....

To make them was very simple, and pretty cheap, too.  I bought the paint tubs and lids at Lowe's.  4 of them had permanent labels on them while the other two had removable labels.  Because of the permanent labels, I decided to use the duck tape to help hide the imprints.  They helped a little...thankfully, the labels are only on one side of the bucket.

I removed the handles from the paint tubs, and I used the lids as my pattern for cutting the material.  (I used canvas. I alreday had the blue, and I picked up the bright plaid at JoAnn Fabrics.  They will both match my room wonderfully!)  I cut the material in circles with a 6 inch bigger diameter than the lid itself.  It doesn't matter if it is perfect....just leave about 3 inches around from the lid to the size of the circle you cut.

Finally, I stuffed the lid by stapling the canvas to it and filling it.  I decided to use a duck tape trim around the bottom edge of the seat cover.  It helped to conceal the staples, and I liked the finished look it gave to the stools.

What do you think?  As I said, I really like them.  My sons have already tried them and decided that they were sturdy and comfortable.  I can't wait to use them around the table, for partner work, and for just extra seating around our gathering spot.

Go check out all of the great ideas over at Tara's linky party!