The Southwestern Roombox
Originally this box was a shallow wooden container that was sold containing Melissa & Doug's Wooden Birthday Cake toy. My 3-year-old daughter got the toy; I took the box! It sat around while I debated what to do with it. It was very shallow (only 1-3/4" deep) and the bare wood was not pretty enough to stain. Then came a rainy day and my daughter's persistent, "Can I paint? Can I paint? Can I paint?"
I gave her the box and some washable Crayola paints. I also gave her a window I had and a piece of trim wood (which would become the shelf to the right of the window). When she finished I found that I had a home for my catci plants (on the shelf), my pull-toy donkey (above the window), and a few pottery pieces I had collected over the years. These items had previously been homeless, sitting in a glass jewerly box. Now they have a much more colorful home, thanks to my 3-year-old daughter and a rainy day!