Cloud Cart Recipe

I am having so much fun working on Emmental's new bedroom. I thought it would be fun to make a few little special pieces to add to her room to add character and charm. So, I came up with the idea of a Cloud cart. A place for her to store some of her toys or to use during imaginative play. As you can see I am making great progress in her little room and I am loving how it is turning out. I especially love the vintage vibe it has going on...which is just what I was going for. Anyway, Let's get started!

Ingredients:

1. paint stir sticks

2. a ruler

3. wood glue

4. mini hand saw

5. miter box

6. sandpaper

7. pencil

8. scissors

9. cereal box cardboard

10. white paint

11. a drill

12. 4 small wooden buttons

13. 1 tiny wooden bead

14. cotton string

Step #1.- Mark 3 -2" long inch long pieces on your pant stick using your pencil and cut with your hand saw. These will be your bottom and long side pieces. Then you will need to cut the end pieces. Mine worked out to be just a tiny bit more than 1.5" long but because these paint sticks are not perfect double check to make sure of your measurements.

Step #2. - Run a thin bead of glue on the bottom edge of the side pieces and glue them to to bottom piece. Make sure they are standing up straight and form a 45 degree angle. Let dry.

Step #3. - Glue your end pieces to the sides and let dry...Once it is dry you can lightly sand the raw edges to clean it up a bit.

You should now have a little box that looks like this. Now just think of all the things you could make now that you have the basic knowledge of how to put together a little wooden box. Think storage crates, toy boxes, window boxes, etc. etc... the list is endless. But let's keep going on our cloud cart.

Step #4. - Use an empty cereal box to cut out a cut cloud shape. You can set your little box laying on it's side to get a better idea as to how big you should make it. And remember not to have it too "fluffy". you want it to hide to box but not be overpowering. Just nice gentle curves.. You will need to cut out 4 total but make sure two of them are identical and the other two are mirror images so that when you glue them together and the ugly print on the box wont show through. No worries one you paint them all your pencil marks will vanish.

Step #5.- glue your cloud pieces together so the printed side is on the inside of your sandwich and no one will ever see it. You may be wondering why I had you double the cardboard. It's just to give it more strength nothing more. Once your pieces are dry, paint white on both sides and let dry completely. You may want to use several coats depending on the type of paint you are using. I find chalk paint fantastic for this application. It has a bit of texture and it only took 2 coats for my clouds to be complete.

Step #6. - Place your box on top of a few paint sticks or dowels to bring it up to about 1/2"off your work surface. This will make it much easier for pacing the "cloud sides on as well as your button wheels so that your box is slightly elevated off the ground. You can now attach your cloud sides to the cart making sure to have to box hidden, centered and nicely placed. Take care to make sure your "mirror images" are also lined up so the cloud is the same on both sides of the cart. once you have them placed where you would like them glue and let dry completely.

Step #7. - basically repeat the same process as above to place your button wheels on the sides of your cloud cart. Glue and let dry.

Step #8. - time to add the pull string. Drill a small hole in the center of one end and lace one end of your string through tie several knots in the string on the inside so they will not pull back through the hole. I also use a dab of glue at the hole to secure the string to ensure it stays put. Now just add your wooden bead, tie, and Voila! You are done!!!

Of course, this is a very, very simple version but that is the look I was going for for Emmental's room. You however, can use these basic ideas to create whatever you want for your cart. Then decorate it any way you want! Imagine a circus wagon, a cute little car, a ladybug, the possibilities are endless. I really hope you enjoyed this fun little tutorial. Send me messages and pics of the sweet things you make if you decide to give it a try!

Emmie loves her new cloud cart and already has it filled up with some of her favorite treasures!