Disney Lover Upcycles FB Find Into Stunning Playhouse For £153, Saving £347
- Sarah Exley, 31, bought a second-hand playhouse on Facebook Marketplace for £100
- She upcycled it using Frenchic paint, stained glass window film and gold Sharpie
- The Disney playhouses new online are £500: Sarah did hers for £153
If your kids are begging for expensive toys, you may have despaired about how to afford them.
But one mum came up with a genius idea to give her daughter the Disney playhouse of her dreams on a budget.
Sarah Exley, 31, a civil servant and mum of one from the Wirral, Civil Servant, bought a second-hand playhouse on Facebook Marketplace for £100.
She then set about upcycling it into an incredible Disney house using Frenchic paint, stained glass window film and gold Sharpie.
Sarah told money-saving Facebook group DIY On A Budget UK: "I was looking for a second-hand playhouse for my daughter for the garden on Facebook Marketplace and found that someone local was selling a castle.
“As a big Disney fan I immediately thought it would be the perfect playhouse but it was well faded and the stickers had all disintegrated.
"We paid £100 for the castle and I started researching paint we could use to do it up. I never thought it would look as good as it does now though!
"I found that Frenchic was a well-recommended paint for playhouse makeovers so I spent a while learning about that and deciding on colours.
"I eventually decided it would look great in the colours of the Disney castle so we went with a tin of Frenchic Ol' Blue Eyes at £19.95 and for the gold, we used Frensheen Gorgeous Gold at £23.90 including the finishing coat needed to mix with the gold).
“My husband is much more patient than me so he did all the painting; it took a few coats.
"It took a long time to decide what to put in the windows but then I found online a roll of static window film made to make windows look like they are stained glass on sale at Studio for £9.
"I had no idea if it would work but thought it was worth a try. I'm glad I did as the windows are one of my favourite things about the castle.
"I was able to stick them in place with a little glue quite easily.
"For the clock above the door, I used a stencil and a gold-coloured Sharpie pen!
"The wreath on the door I made myself as I have a small Etsy shop where I make bouquets with artificial flowers so I had plenty of flowers to use.
"I then got the Tinkerbell decal from ebay as I felt it was missing the finishing Disney touch.
"My tips for others would be to research your paint colours and types fully first and don't rush the project.
"I didn't have the idea for the windows until months after we'd started - we were in no rush to finish it so took our time - so I think it's well worth sitting with an idea for a while in case a better one comes up.
"I was originally just going to paint a lattice effect on the windows which would have looked nowhere near as good.
“These kinds of castles are around £500 new so we saved about £347.
“The total cost was £153: £100 for the castle, then £53 for paint and the stained glass window film.
"We simply wouldn't have been able to get one if we had to buy it new.
"Buying second-hand means we can give our daughter so much more than we could if we bought everything new.
"Most of her toys are second-hand, I intend to bring her up to appreciate having things second-hand.
"I've already started telling her that Santa Claus takes some of her old toys she doesn't want so he can pass them on to other kids and that is also why some of her presents are second-hand at Christmas (because Santa can't possibly have time to make everything brand new!).
"It's also so much better for the environment.”
Tom Church, co-founder of LatestDeals.co.uk, comments: “Buying second-hand and upcycling is the way forward - not only is it an amazing money-saver, but as Sarah points out, it’s much better for the environment as less ends up in landfill.
“Her Disney playhouse looks fantastic, and just shows you should always keep your eyes peeled on local selling sites for things you can transform into a totally one-of-a-kind project!"
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