apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Vinyl toys are everywhere these days. We are seeing them pop up in unsuspecting places to add little bits of entertainment and fun to our spaces. This type of toy can really run the range of sizes, all the way from 3 foot to 3 inches.
The larger sizes are easier to keep on display as a 3' R2D2 can easily stand in the corner of a room with little thought. But what happens when your husband wins a bid on Ebay and the mailman delivers a box FULL of little 3" toys? (other than the obligatory eye roll)

We took this old drawer found at a garage sale this summer and gave it a quick coat of black paint. Nothing special, just some spray paint we had lying around.

We then busted out the scissors and some scrap book paper. And although we haven't caught the scrapbook bug we still like to have a few sheets of it on hand for random projects such as this.

Using a ruler to measure out the basic size of each cubby hole, we cut squares to fit inside. Seeing as this drawer had seen better days, it wasn't 100% square, so some small adjustments needed to be made to make each square fit in it's assigned spot. (Just don't forget how each piece needs to be turned in order to fit back in the hole once it is removed for gluing.)

Rubber cement was our friend (craft glue will cause the paper to bubble and spray adhesive can be messy in such a small space) as we adhered the papers down to the drawer.
It helps to coat both the backside of the paper you are placing in the hole as well as the drawer itself. Allow them to dry and then stick the two glued surfaces together. And even thought this is what the instructions tells us to do on the bottle, if you are like us we rarely ever follow the advice. Following the letter of the law on this one will allow your piece of paper to fit into the hole without any wrinkling or smudging of glue-y fingerprints onto the surface of the paper.

Toys can usually stand on their own in each space without any assistance. Some toys however might need a tiny piece of ticky-tack under a foot to keep them from dive bombing your guests, incase a herd of elephants rolls through your living room. You can also add eye hooks to hang your project from the ceiling by, or attach sawtooth picture hangers to the back allowing it to hang it on the wall.

You now have a space to rotate the small toys in and out without having them overpower any certain area of your home. So keep your eyes peeled this summer for drawers or small cases that could be used to display your little vinyl treasures.