How to Make a Wall Shelf for Kids’ Collectibles from a Cutlery Tray (+ Little A’s New Nightstand!)

I’ve had another run-in with a cutlery tray and paint, and I have to say that the results of this upcycle are even more fun than the last cutlery tray project I did! Today I’m going to show you how to make a wall shelf for kids’ collectibles from a cutlery tray, plus I want to share Little A’s adorable new nightstand with you. Ready?!

The preschool years seem to be the age that kids start collecting the tiniest, most pokey little toys that they just LOVE to leave lying on the floor for mama to step on. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve stepped on jaggedy edged toys and felt the instant urge to toss them in the garbage! If you’re a mom of a preschooler or a grade-schooler, you might know exactly how I feel.

My two oldest daughters are obsessed with tiny little figurines and have amassed quite a collection. My Little A loves her “Shopkins”. We’ve tried keeping them in a shoe box, a tin box, and even one of her drawers, but she always takes them out so that she can admire them. That’s when they get lost and trampled on.

I finally decided that we needed to come up with a better storage solution for these teeny little collectibles. I thought about my jewelry holder that I made from a cutlery tray, and decided we could do a fun kid’s version of this for Little A’s collectibles!

I really love how this project turned out, and the perfect place for it is over Little A’s new nightstand. Isn’t it so sweet here? Little A can easily reach for her treasures with the wall storage at this height, and she stores all of the rest of her special things (and her pajamas) in her new Diamond Dreams nightstand from The Brick.

We chose this nightstand because it’s white and bright, because it has beautiful jeweled handles to match Little A’s other vintage furniture pieces, and because it was so sturdy. Plus, at only $160 this piece is a steal of a deal!

Little A is enamoured with her “diamonds”.

This is just a little peek at how her bedroom is being transformed from a baby nursery to a preschooler’s dream room – I can’t wait to share with you the full reveal soon! {Here’s how her “sunny woodland nursery” bedroom looked before.}

And she sure is loving her new wall storage shelf for her treasures too!

Here’s how to make this collectibles wall storage shelf.

Supplies:

• wooden cutlery tray with straight sides
• large wooden cutout shape (I used a flower shape)
• chop saw
• acrylic or latex paint
• paint brushes
• wood glue
• push pins

Gather your supplies and then cut your large wooden shape in half horizontally with a chop saw.

Paint the wooden shape and the cutlery tray with acrylic or latex paint. I used a white latex.

After a few coats of paint have dried, paint the interior bottom of the tray with a contrasting colour of paint. I used a pink acrylic paint.

Once the paint has dried, apply a strip of wood glue to the cut edges of your large wooden shape.

Adhere each half of the shape to the top and bottom of the shelf as shown. (The original sides of the tray become the top and bottom of the shelf so that you have long rows for collectible toys.)

Push some push pins into any vertical compartment you might have in your shelf to hang things. In my case, I used push pins to hang these little shopping bags.

Hang your shelf up, and have your little one fill it with their favourite toys!

When my oldest daughter, Little C, saw Little A’s new shelf, she announced that she wanted one too – but in gold and hot pink. Let the search for another cutlery tray to upcycle begin! 🙂

How do YOU store your kids’ little pokey toys? I’d love to get more ideas!

Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by The Brick. As always, all of the opinions here are my own. I only recommend companies that I use and love myself.