Amy Field spotted an old bookcase and decided to use it to create something new for her son to play with – and it cost just £11.
The 28-year-old mum-of-two turned the piece of furniture into a Mario themed play station for son Theo, six, who is obsessed with the video game character.
The play unit comes complete with working Mario pipes to each world, and artificial grass.
Amy, from North Wales, posted her creation on the Latest Deals, Extreme Couponing & Bargains Group on Facebook, where she received hundreds of likes and comments praising her clever project.
Amy told money-saving community LatestDeals.co.uk: ‘We originally saw the idea on Facebook, where a lady had done one for her son using storage cubes.
‘My son is Mario obsessed so we showed him and he instantly wanted one… but it had to have working pipes!
‘We already had the bookshelf and we’ve recently renovated a house so we already had the paint. We used a mixture of masonry, normal wall paint and some acrylic.
‘The pipes we used are plumbing pipes and fittings which again we already had from the house renovation.
‘All I needed was the artificial grass which I ordered off Amazon for £10.99.’
They started by cutting holes for the pipes so they could create a world on each shelf but join them together.
They then glued on the pipes and started painting.
Amy added: ‘The process of painting took an afternoon with my son’s help… He’s very particular!
‘We then stuck the grass down and added his toys which he has collected over the years.
‘It only cost £10.99 in total, which was the price for the grass.’
Amy says the activity has been the perfect bonding project during lockdown.
‘We loved doing this project together,’ she said. ‘It was something we could get stuck into and create something that would provide hours of fun after.
‘Theo loves it – he has spent hours playing with it and enjoyed the fact he got to pick the levels how he wanted it.
‘It cost very little and of course gave us somewhere to store all those Mario toys!’
Do you have a DIY tip to share? Get in touch at metrolifestyleteam@metro.co.uk.
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