DIY Bedside Stuffed Animal Holder

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I’m not the most crafty person in the world, although I love to get my craft on every now and then.  I’m kind of a perfectionist, and I don’t like to copy other peoples ideas, except my sisters!  I also only craft when I have time and money and that’s not very often.  When it does happens, usually something comes into my mind that I want to make for my house and I go with it! The fun thing is, they usually turn out pretty good!  I don’t even have to use Pinterest!  This week I made a Bedside Stuffed Animal Holder for my kids room! Only problem is….Now I have to make 3 more!My kiddos LOVE stuffed animals.   We have way to many, but they are all mostly sentimental, and the ones that aren’t are slowly making their way to the D.I.  Just this last week we got some more that I knew my kids would love.  We just saw the new movie Inside Out a couple nights ago and loved it.   I headed over to Walmart and picked out some of their new plush toy for the kids.While I know my kids would LOVE these, I struggle with how many stuffed animals are on my kids beds. We have a HUGE bag in my daughter room that we keep our special ones in, but the kids still want at least 5 or 6 on their beds. When I walk in at night there are stuffed animals everywhere. So I had the idea of making a bedside stuffed animal holder, and I went with it. It turned out almost exactly how I wanted it!  One reason I really like these plushes (aka Stuffed Characters) is that I can use them to teach my kids about emotions.  With a 4 and 2 year old, I knew these plushes would be a great way to help them understand emotions and how to deal them.  We loved the creativity of the movie and how it explained all of the emotions we have each day and that in the end none of them are bad if we use them correctly. My kids learned a lot from that movie, especially my little 4 year old.  He and I laughed so hard last night when he said he wanted to “sleep with fear!” Funny kid!

Anyway, onto my…

DIY Bedside Stuffed Animal Holder

All you need is

• 1 Clear Multipurpose Vinyl Covering
• Tape or some sort of decorative Washi Tape
• An old broom handle or dowel
• Thread and Needle
• Spray Glue
  

Start by unfolding the vinyl.  I used the narrow end and rolled the stick around it using spray glue. You could also hand stitch it at the top, but the glue worked great also.   The vinyl already had fold lines that I used as a guide for where I wanted my pockets.  
Next I taped the edges.  I wanted cute Washi Tape, which I will use for my next one, but the boys liked this color so I went with it.  

I doubled it to make it stronger.  

After the tape was on and the handle was secure, I folded at the fold line, about 12 inches up and pinned all the way across the top.  Then I hand stitched each pocket with a strong needle and thick thread.  (I tried to sew it with my sewing machine but it didn’t work)
I stitched 6 places to make 5 pockets and then I put tape on the edge for decoration.To install it you just lift the mattress and put the handle under it and there you have it…a Bedside Stuffed Animal Holder! 
Another great thing I like about these is that if you don’t have a dust ruffle or something to cover what is under the bed then you can use these.  They look better than seeing all the stuff they keep under their bed.  The kids love these and have started putting their other stuffed animals in them also! If you put too many stuffed animals in them the string and plastic will rip.  I had to reinforce all the seams and they seem to be holding up better.  If you are worried about that use a thicker vinyl.  

If you want to see how crafty I really am check out these adorable 

American Girl Paper Dolls

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Have a wonderful weekend and don’t forget to come back tomorrow for my Saturday Weekly Deals!