Changing table

Making something out of nothing. I am yet to master this skill, but none the less I am still trying at it. I think sometimes I drive my husband bananas wanting to save random boxes, newspapers, and odds and ends that normally would have been thrown out- but just the same he is still supportive of me trying to make new random things.

My most recent attempt: making a changing table. I know that when this baby comes there will be a good chance I will just change my baby's diaper wherever I am or the baby is (most likely on the floor somewhere), but I still wanted to try this one out. When I was a nanny, way back a while ago, they also had a changing table, and I loved it. It was nice to be able to change them standing up, and the mess of the diapering was all in one spot, not all over the house. Granted there were occasions I would change them on the floor if I was up stairs and didn't feel like going downstairs, but overall, it was great- so I wanted one of my own.

Back to making something out of nothing, I know they aren't super expensive, but with everything else we have been buying/getting, this was one more thing I didn't want to have purchase (or at least too much money on it), so I put on my thinking cap and put this together....

 Here are some random foam pieces of foam I sized and blocked together.The foam came as padding with our new desktop computer we got a little while ago.

 After laying out the pieces I cut them down to the shape and size I wanted them to be in, then for a little extra padding in the middle I added some leftover cotton I had from my most recent baby blanket I made. Then I super glued all the foam pieces together and in place (note, hot glue doesn't work so well in gluing foam, more or less, it likes to "melt" it together, not as much "glue" it).

 Then for the outside cover. For this part I cut out the shapes I would need for all sides of the foam except the bottom, leaving myself about a half inch seam allowance, and then sewed it together. (the outside material I used was part of our table cloth. But before it was that, it was a excess scrap piece we got a Walmart in their discounted scrap pile in the material section. When they get to the end of a bolt of material they wrap it up and put a price on it, when I get a chance I like to look through this pile and see if there is anything good in it, which is where we got it) This material is also plastic like on the top and flannel like on the bottom, just like a normal table cloth would be like, but this time I used part of it for the changing pad!

 After sewing all the sides together, now for the bottom. I didn't want the changing pad to be sliding all over the place, since the table cloth material is slippery, so I got some of that rubbery shelf lining stuff you can get in the kitchen sections of stores. This roll was only about $4.50. I cut out a piece just the right size of the bottom of the foam.

 Then as you can see, I sewed the scratchy side of Velcro to the edges of the shelf lining. Because the inside of the table cloth is flannel like, it will wrap and stick well to the scratchy side of the Velcro without needing to sew the soft side of the Velcro on, as seen below.

 I pulled the flannel side of the cloth over as tight as possible onto the Velcro, giving it a nice tight fit!

 The finished product: what it looks like on the top!

 Another great deal, we found this dresser for sale on the school's bulletin board (kinda like craigslist, where you can buy/sell used items from local people) for only $15, and it works as a perfect fit to hold the changing pad on top, and now plenty of drawers below for all out little ones clothes and goodies.

With the shelf lining on the bottom, this foam should have a nice grip on top and not slide around too much, plus, when I will be changing diapers, I will be right there to make sure the little one wont fall off.

Anyway, hope you have a wonderful day! Till next time....