Upcycling Baby Toys You Probably Have Lying Around....

Unless you already donated it.. in which case, I'm sorry... but you can pass this along to your friends to do the same!

So when the whole geometric trend started showing up on everyone's shelves about 3 years ago (that's when I noticed it, I may be behind the trend... wouldn't put it past me...), I really wanted one!  Something gold and geometric would look so great on my books!  But when you have kids and are cheap like me, you kinda have to weigh the opportunity cost of money in my pocket right now versus having a wonderful design piece that will ultimately and most likely get destroyed by your kids...

As I was surveying all the baby toys that were put away to be taken out again when I had my fourth (and last) child the end of 2016, I started to see potential in some of the baby toys we had.  Specifically, the Manhattan Toy toys!  Their Skwish classic rattle and teether had been gifted to me from a coworker before I had my first child.  She said this was, "the best toy ever" and I believed her.  My son LOVED it, he would watch the attached wood go from one end of the stick to the other, all while grasping onto the elastic parts, and admiring the colorful sounds.  My firstborn was also lucky enough to get some pretty nice gifts from Aunties who visited, specifically my BFF who knew nothing about kids, but went perusing in a Manhattan Beach boutique for a special toy for my son.  The saleslady told her the Manhattan Toy's winkel rattle and sensory teether was top of the line, so she bought it.  Both toys retail for about $13-15 on Amazon, but purchased from any boutique, is normally $20-25.  My son loved it again!  This one has softer loops he could hold onto and a more prominent rattle in the red dice that sat in the middle of the cloister.  And to be honest, all my kids enjoyed these two Manhattan Toy classics, which is why, I knew, as soon as baby was done playing with it, I would do my upcycle project.

I could already see it.  Gold spray paint.  Gold tights while I painted it (I own a pair... seriously).  Short sprays.  Lots of layers.  Ohhh, the build-up was intense.  I could NOT wait!

To be honest, I had forgotten about the two toys in all my recent decluttering and organizing frenzy, and though I had already spray painted a bunch of stuff recently, I hadn't yet done the Manhattan Toys!  As we were getting ready to move our boys downstairs to the basement, I found the two toys, and put them aside, excited for the prospect of spraying it gold!

I'll be honest.  It was not easy.  It took about 7 coats because the angle to get around each piece of wood and loop, as well as the sliding wood pieces on the Skwish classic, all made it hard.  But give up I did not, and a gold display piece I did get!

I think looking at the photo of it, you wouldn't even recognize that it's a children's play toy.  The bright colors are gone, the geometric shape is still intact, and it's a lovely trendy gold.  Gold!!!    So if you have any of these two Manhattan Toy toys, hang onto them, and do yourself a favor once your kids are done with them... spray paint them gold!  Upcycle win!  For less than $4 (the price of a can of spray paint), I got two amazing pieces!

Pro Tip: use gloves if you don't want a little sparkle on your fingertips, it washes off pretty easily if treated immediately.  

Here are my two Manhattan toys before the spray paint fun. 

I had to move the little balls and spray paint from all sorts of corners to get every nook and cranny. But I did it!  Virutal HIGH FIVE!!

Ta-da!!!  

Next project: use that clear liquid I bought four years ago to solidify fake water and freeze my fake flowers from the Dollar Tree .... 

So what do you think?  What color are you going to spray paint your toys?  Gold?  Rose Gold? Copper?  I think I may be in the mood for some copper upcycling next week, so stay tuned!