12.06.2010

thrifty gifts:: fort building kit

I had one of those "where the heck have I been" moments last week, when my nephew brought his Build-A-Fort kit to Thanksgiving - complete with sheets, clips, rope, suction cups, and more.  

The kit was a handmade birthday gift from his friend Joli.  When I emailed her, she sent me a link to this tutorial over at BLOOM - thanks Joli! ...How did I miss this?

 

Fort building is a wonderful open-ended activity, because it can be played with in a variety of different ways.

I did make one adjustment to the tutorial to cut down on time, and added an accessory bag, but for the most part, my kit is the same.

Oh yeah, and I made a custom tag to explain the gift, as well as a matching birthday card using this tutorial.

This particular kit was made for a little girl in my son's preschool class.  It was a lot of fun to make, and I was able to use up the pink fabric in my stash. 


Now to the Thrifty part of the gift...

Here is the breakdown:
Thrift Store:
2 sheets - $1.25/each
pillowcase (for the bag lining & accessory bag) - $.50 
Dollar Store:
clothes pins, clamps, and rope ($1/each)
Home Depot: 
flashlight & suction cups - $2/each
My Stash:
The bag and ties were made from thrifted fabric & shirt in my stash - free!

... so if my math is correct, that comes to $10.00!


to check out the mini-tutorial click the button below:



------------------ UPDATE ------------------
  more kits & a great tip!






Here is a great tip from a reader: Littel Holts suggested that instead of (or in addition to) sewing ties on the sheets, create casings for the rope. Fold down each corner, and half way between each corner, about an inch, and sew.  This is a simple, but sturdy, way to thread the ropes through.



fort kit in action!





Thanks for stopping by! 

 



Check out the Fort-Kit tutorial at BLOOM HERE!



44 comments:

  1. What a fantastic idea. This is something I definitely would have loved to play with as a child. I will have to put together some fort building kits for my nieces and nephews.

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  2. WhAt a fantastic present, idea! Thanks for sharing my kids would love this! Have to make one up for Christmas.

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  3. I'm thinking this would be a great gift to keep on hand "just in case" - because we always seem to be in need of last minute gifts!
    I am going to be scouring the thrift stores for extra sheets!

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  4. FANTASTIC! Just added this to my must make list!
    tai @ taidye original

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  5. love this! what a fun and creative gift! I might just have to try and pull this one off for my girls for christmas, love a good fort!

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  6. This is amazing Em! Not only will the kids love it, but so will their parents. My mom would have enjoyed something like this...she spent so much time digging up safety pins and tacks when all of us got in to "fort making mode." Great work!

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  7. What a terrific idea! Thanks for the tip!

    -Amy
    Crafting by Candlelight

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  8. Awesome idea, thanks for sharing!

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  9. I think this is GREAT!! I just started collecting stuff.

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  10. Oh my gosh! You are a lifesaver. I'm absolutely doing this for my nephews for Christmas.

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  11. This is great I featured you on my blog today - Today's Top 20. Would love if you could stop by!
    Amanda
    todaystoptwenty.blogspot.com
    P.S. Also, would greatly appreciate it if you could click the widget in the top right corner. Each click we get P&G will donate 1 day of clean water! It's free! And you get great samples and coupons if you would like! Thanks!

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  12. I absolutely love this idea ... what an awesome kit! I'm bookmarking this for some upcoming gift ideas ... I'll be sure to link back to you when I make some. Thanks for sharing!

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  13. totally awesome idea! Will be gifting these to all my son's little pals for their birthday's this year! Thanks for sharing!!

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  14. This is SO FANTASTIC!! Just wound my way here from someone else's link, and am so appreciative of your detailed tutorial. Will be getting a move on this one while winter's keeping us on.

    Many thanks,
    xo,
    Molly

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  15. This is brilliant! My sister sent me here....great kit. And fort building was always my kids top choice!

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  16. So glad you liked the Fort Kit Tutorial, such a fun idea. Thanks for linking to us; your blog is lovely - maybe we could collaborate some time. Don't be a stranger!

    xo

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  17. Thank you for sharing the tutorial, I am always so inspired when I visit your blog. The fort-kits have been a HUGE hit! I would love to collaboration some time - thank you!

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  18. Love your fort kit ideas. It has been a big hit with my kids and our cousins who received one from us for Christmas.

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  19. I LOVE this! I am making one for a party Saturday on my quest to only give handmade presents this year. Any tips on handmade gifts for a grown-up man(my dad) would be awesome too ;) Would you please be willing to share what you wrote on your awesome gift tag and card shown above? twocrazycupcakes@yahoo.com

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  20. Made one today for a birthday gift and it's great. Made a tote bag out of a pillowcase and used ribbon for the ties on the sheets and tote bag accent(kept it simple!). Found a 16 piece bag of clamps at Walmart for $9, so we have extra for our house. Most stuff came from the dollar store. Since I had to buy 2 full size sheets and pillowcases it was about $30 for the gift, definitely would have been cheaper with thrifted sheets though.

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  21. Thanks for stopping by, Emily. The gift was a huge hit! I'll be making more for Christmas.

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  22. You could also use silk scarves (varying sizes are available at dharmatrading.com) if you don't find thrifted sheets that you like. You can even dye the scarves with packets of Kool Aid mix, if you want them more colorful.

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  23. That is SO awesome! I can't wait to make one for my kids! Do you have a tutorial for the two bags?

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  24. Hi Angie, (I hope you get this, I wasn't able to find your email address).

    I don't have tutorials for the bags in this post, but here is a simple tote bag tutorial that is similar(minus the color blocking): http://thelongthread.com/?p=3257

    And here is a great tutorial for a drawstring bag: http://www.purlbee.com/easy-drawstring-bag/

    Thanks for stopping by!

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  25. Thanks much for sharing this. I am currently making these for Christmas gifts. I am blogging about it, sorry no photos yet. Here is my blog: Off & Running at www.makolbfamily.blogspot.com

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  26. Love Love Love this idea! I am going to be the best aunty on the planet!!
    I have also included them in a list of great tutorials to make for little boys and girls for Christmas.
    If you would like to have a look you can see it here…
    http://allysonadeney.wordpress.com/2011/11/28/handmade-gift-ideas-with-tutorials-kids-little-boys-little-girls/
    Thanks for taking the time to put this together for us.
    Ally on harrysdesk

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  27. What did you put on the tag to "explain" the fort kit?

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  28. Hi Carla, I listed the items included in the kit (sheets, clips, suction cups, etc...) and the top just reads "Deluxe Fort Kit" - that is the only "explanation" I provided. If you click on the picture of the tag above it will open a larger image that you should be able to read. (the tag behind the fort kit tag is a Happy Birthday tag). I hope that helps.

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  29. I've been preparing my own fort making kit for my nephew this Christmas and decided to search online for further inspiration and stumbled across your fort making kit. I must say thanks because I hadn't thought to include rope or suction cups. I was planning on typing out some instructions and tips (I am a nanny of two girls who LOVE making forts so I DO feel a tad bit like a pro at it by now...) but I also like your idea of making a tag!
    Unfortunately the dollar stores where I live aren't actually dollar stores: spent $4 on the rope. But I really lucked out at the thrift store: 15 clips for $.69 and a mini battery operated lantern for $1.99!
    I can't wait to put it all together! He (and his parents) will LOVE it!

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  30. I was thinking of sewing on little patches of velcro to the bed sheet and include in the kit a bunch of glow in the dark stars with the other side of the velcro on them. So you could "charge" them and then velcro them in your fort and you would be playing "under the stars". HOW fun would that be!??!!

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  31. I love the stars idea - so fun!

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  32. This is too cute! From the idea to the packaging and presentation, it's one of the most unique gift ideas i've seen in a long time! I could be the new favorite aunt if I whip one of these up for my nephew!! Thanks so much for the great idea!

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  33. My son received this kit for his birthday. I was so inspired that I am paying it forward by making them for my nephews. I found a great camo sheet set! I also added Command wall clips in clear. They can be left on the wall for easy building. I also found an inexpensive walkie talkie set to make it extra special.

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  34. Wondering why there are sheetS?
    Is one sheet enough?

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  35. Great gift idea. I need to remember this for Christmas!

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  36. your effort make it easy to follow...I will bookmarking this for upcoming days.

    Send gifts to pakistan

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  37. Excellent budget conscious fort kit idea. Sometimes people are looking for a low cost way to build a fort experience for the kids.

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  38. Hand made gift has different charming effect on others. Thanks for sharing such a unique idea with us.
    send gifts to Pakistan

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  39. Excellent post !!!!
    Really amazing idea with thanks giving gift...good post. love this post! The information mentioned in the article are some of the best available...Thanks a lot for sharing post !!!!
    http://www.smithwelchlaw.com/smith-welch-webb-white/home-page.aspx

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  40. I saw this post months ago and ever since I've been so excited about doing them for my niece/nephew birthdays this year! So thrifty and adorably cute! Can't wait to give them to the first 2 tomorrow :)

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  41. Frequently visiting the great info is visible in this website that to using the great info is visible in this blog. Thanks a lot for providing the great info is visible in this blog that to sharing the great technology in this website.

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  42. i love this idea but what age would u recommend it for? I am afraid to give a rope to kids as say a school birthday present. I don't want the parents to be upset. my youngest is 7 would that be ok for a present for kids in his class?

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  43. I hate to be so dense, but...

    what do the ropes tie up with?

    how do you know where to put the holes for the ropes?

    how much rope do I need?

    i get the idea of the rope providing support to the structure, and the suction cups providing the attachments, and the loops of t-shirt helping at the corners and edges. I'm not sure how to provide the rope for maximum flexibility and utility?

    thanks, great idea, I'm motivated to try this!

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  44. I love this idea and plan on making one for my grandson for Christmas. But I don't have a sewing machine. Is there another option for attaching the ties.

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