When I saw this collection of children's food toys at the thrift store, I decided that the $5 price tag was worth the potential. Read on to see how I up-cycled old toys into cute home decor:
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First Up - Refrigerator Magnets
I really enjoy the nostalgia of kitchen/ food toys, they remind me of fun times playing as a child. I thought a good way to display some of these colorful toys would be to make them into magnets. This was super easy to do: just grab some mini magnets and a bit of hot glue and you are ready to go!
(You can find both the magnets and glue sticks at Dollar Tree)
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Here are some photos of how the magnets turned out:
Super cute!
Second Up - Fake Bake Mugs
For these little mugs I simply took a couple of my faux miniature cupcakes and dropped them in. Though you could certainly make these into fake bake drinks as well. I liked how the playful pop of color and tiny size went along with my Easter decor.
Want to make your own?
More Fake Bakes
So I went ahead and made a couple of the mugs into actual fake bake drinks too! I also used the lavender bowl to make an artificial carrot dessert. This was done the exact same way as the mug (link to my cupcake tutorial above), it just isn't a mug container 😉
Once you realize that almost any container can be used for fake baking, the possibilities are endless!
Serving Plates
Some of the dishes, like these green plates, I left to use as colorful display pieces. These plain cakes could be romantic, elegant or fun depending on how they are displayed. By combining the cakes with the bright green plates and arranging some colorful faux chocolates on top, I was able to incorporate them into a spring themed cabinet.
You can click here to read about the chocolates.
But what about those cakes? I don't have a faux cake tutorial but I can describe them to you. I hot glued foam rounds together to the height that I wanted and then 'iced' the cakes using light weight joint compound. For the flat cake I used a spatula and for the floral cakes an icing tip with the joint compound in an icing bag. Each of the cakes were colored by mixing acrylic paint into the joint compound before applying.
And Lastly - Acorn Stir-fry 😄
I thought the orange color of this frying pan was perfect for fall, so I glued in a bit of moss and artificial acorns. It will be adorable this fall displayed with some faux acorn hot cocoas that I also put together!
Recap
So there you have it- for five dollars I was able to make magnets, fake bakes, display ware and still have items left over. Some of the leftover food pieces I added to my toy food collection (I have a big bin), while others (like the strawberries) I used as toppings on other fake bakes. The stainless steel pots and pans are sitting in my 'miscellaneous' supply drawer, I'm just waiting for inspiration! Who knew that old toys could go so far?
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I hope you enjoyed this thrift store up-cycle post, thanks for stopping by!
-Jennifer
© Studio 27 by Jennifer Adams 2021
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This post was added to the following link parties:
Wonderful Wednesday (Oh My Heartsie Girl)
Wonderful Wednesday (Penny's Passion)
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