Do you know what’s synonymous with kids? Stuffed animals, to name just one thing. Stuffed animals can make children giggle, give them comfort, and they can even be used to decorate their rooms. Sure, you can do like many people and string up a stuffed animal hammock to hold them all, but you have something more creative in mind, don’t you? I know I do! Use some of the stuffed animals to make adorable bookends that will go along with the decor of any small child’s room.
Stuffed animals are generally lightweight so they’re usually not thought of in terms of being able to hold a lot of weight. But, when you make ordinary stuffed animals into bookends, they can keep books all in a row without letting them fall. There are a couple of different ways to make the bookends but all require the use of a matching set of stuffed animals. Gigantic, overly fluffy animals aren’t ideal to use as bookends. Better choices are stuffed animals that are about as tall as a book, and preferably, ones that easily sit or lie down on their bellies.
Whether you’re making elephant bookends or puppy dogs the design of the bookends will be determined by the type of stuffed animals you use. For example, if the ones you’re using have zippers you can easily slip in a weight of some sort. Weights for the stuffed animal can be heavy, metal washers, a piece of wood, or something else. Position the weight so that it rests in the bottom of the particular animal. If the animal is one that will sit place the weight in the rear area. If the animal will lay on it’s stomach place the weight in the belly area of the animal.
If the animals you’re using don’t have zippers there are other ways to weight them so they’ll hold the books. One quick and easy method is to simply glue the animal to a thick piece of wood. Whether the animal sits or lies on its stomach the wood method is simple. Glue the animals to the identical pieces of wood and set them on each side of the row of books. One look is one where the wood doesn’t actually show. The animal appears to be sitting or lying without assistance.
Create something different by making the wood part of the finished design. Paint the wood, decorate it with rubber stamps, stickers or other embellishments, then attach the animals. These bookends will work out best if you use animals that stand about as tall as the books. To make really soft animals more sturdy you can add a dowel rod. Cut a hole in the bottom or stomach of the animal, slip in the rod, and glue it to the piece of wood.
There’s another way to make weighted bookends out of stuffed animals but it’s a little more time-consuming and a little more of a hassle. Cut an opening in the back of the animal. Often, you can look closely at the animal and see where it was stitched shut – usually down the back or on the bottom. It’s easy to cut these threads for access to the stuffing.
Remove all or most of the stuffing from the animal. It’s a good idea to leave stuffing in the head area, if possible, to keep it shaped. After removing the innards fill the cavity with beans. The beans will give the stuffed animal enough weight to prop up a whole row of books. Other things you can fill the animal with include rice, marbles, pea gravel or small rocks.
Animals that stand, like a giraffe, can still be used as bookends. The legs are best mounted on a piece of wood. These animals should be stuffed with something fairly solid, like cotton, rather than batting. The kind with batting is very lightweight and will allow the books to lean. A different bookend set can be made by taking most any stuffed animal – standing or sitting – and mount it to two pieces of wood. Glue the animal to the piece of wood which will lie flat on the shelf. Glue the side or back of the animal to a second piece of wood. This “L” shaped design will easily hold most any row of books. Do the same thing by purchasing a wide bracket, instead of wood pieces, and using the bracket to glue the animal and hold the books.
Create different bookends by adding more animals. For instance, mount the main stuffed animal on the wood, then glue on additional animals. A small one can sit on the back of a larger one or the feet of the animal can be surrounded by much smaller animals. You can glue on additional items to the board like a small ball, a little novelty person, or other things from the toy box. You don’t necessarily have to use stuffed animals to make the unique bookends. Use a pair of rag dolls, a boy and girl doll, or even large Beanie Babies. The finished bookends will look fantastic in a child’s room or will make a great gift.
Reference:
- Find blocks of wood here: www.acmoore.com
