Holy cow, summer is here and my kiddos are already bouncing off the walls! I love to foster creativity and imagination during their time off from school, so this year I decided to quickly put together a super fun DIY fort kit for them. They have been playing with it for the last couple of days and I am constantly amazed to see how many different setups they have been able to build using the same supplies. They must be little engineers and architects in the making! Not only is it a great way to keep their minds turning, but it was really affordable too, as I found most of my supplies at my local dollar store. Throw in some crazy cool personalized flashlights and you’ve suddenly become the coolest parent around!
Supplies:
Queen or King size flat sheet
jumbo plastic clothespins or clamps (found at my dollar store)
wooden clothespins (dollar store)
jump rope (dollar store)
bag (dollar store)
basic sewing supplies
flashlights are optional, but I highly suggest it!
Start by cutting the jumprope into eight equal lengths of rope and use a lighter to melt the ends to keep it from fraying. Sew one section of rope onto each corner of the sheet and in the middle of each side. I sewed the rope about six times in each spot to make sure that it would hold up to little hands pulling at it often.
I folded the sheet up, added all of the clamps and clothespins, some popcorn and these super fun personalized flashlights to the bag and my kids were upstairs building away before I knew it. Here is my guy trying to patiently wait for his sisters: (and yes, we do have a crimson and gold 49ers room in our home … don’t judge, it’s an obsession!)
And here he is after he gave up waiting and built a quick fort on his own:
Yep. he’s always that silly! Using an old sheet from our overflowing linen closet and dollar store supplies, we were able to make a fun summer toy that will keep them entertained for hours on end for less than $5. That’s an unbeatable investment in my book! And this would make a great gift idea as well, what little kid wouldn’t want their own DIY fort kit?!
And make sure to check out my tutorial for these amazing personalized flashlights at wallquotes.com.
Linked to Practically Functional
This is so cool. Every Grandma needs a few of these at her house.
Debbie, I am sure that grandkids would really love a fort kit! It would make their time at grandma’s house even more fun!
downhomeinspiration@gmail.com recently posted…Build a fun Summer with a DIY Fort Kit
Do you have a link to the perosnalized flashlight tutorial?
Natalie, I am just waiting for wallquotes.com to publish it to their site. I will definitely update with the link as soon as it is available!
Alright Natalie, the post is published and I have updated the link. Just in case, you can find it here: http://www.belvederedesignsblog.com/2014/06/diy-personalized-flashlights-tutorial.html
Yay! Thank you so much. My god daughter is sure to love this. I plan on making a kit for her birthday next month.
Great, Natalie! I hope that your God daughter loves it!
So the day that I saw this post we were running errands so we decided to go by the dollar store. I got everything there (had an extra sheet at home), and with my daughter’s help the fort was up and going in minutes after we got home. I love having it all put together in one spot. Great ideas.
Yay, love that you had it up in minutes! Hope your kids love playing with it!