Here's a recent project. Ben's school had an auction last month and our class decided to put together a Lego Gift Basket - classroom parents generously donated building sets. I was in charge of making the seat/pouf and Lego table.
I picked up the table at our local thrift store for $5. It was looking forlorn and in desperate need of some TLC.
I sanded it down, gave it a nice paint job, and then glued down these Lego baseplates in the form of an island surrounded by water.
The pouf took a bit more time. The pattern I used is roughly based on this one, with small modifications to the height to make sure that little knees could properly fit under the table.
Basically, sew a cylinder, do some math (pi!) to make a circle that will fit the top, sew that on, stuff it, and then put a sturdy base on the bottom. This last step is optional; most poufs have fabric tops and bottoms, but I needed mine to function as a sturdy chair so a floppy pouf was undesirable.
I used 1/4" plywood for the bottom disc.
A quick note about gear: recently I've really enjoyed using a very light pair of rubber gardening gloves when doing any project that requires tool use or wood handling. They certainly won't protect from saw cuts but I find that I've cut down on my splinter count and general wear and tear on my palms.
Once the pouf is sewn and the base cut, the next step is to stuff it. Most folks use beanbag pellets or cotton batting but I found that something with less give was necessary to provide a firmer seating experience. I used an old (clean!) duvet covered by an outer layer of cotton.
Foam around the outside of the wood provided additional cushion.
Afterwards I simply hammered the fabric to the wood using upholstery nails and added furniture feet. Project completed.
Ben made me swear that I'd win our own basket at the auction but I was promptly outbid by a parent that clearly loves their child far more than I. :) Sorry kid.
