6.1K
Nowadays it would seem the only way to get kids to play outdoors is to spend half your savings on expensive toys and entertainment. But let’s go back to basics for a second and look at tyres.
Available from most panel beaters and wheel fitters, second-hand tyres are easy to acquire for next to nothing. And with a little imagination and patience, they can be turned into a variety of quirky kiddie pastimes, not to mention stylish outdoor décor pieces for mom:
- Stack a whole lot of tyres on top of each other in a random fashion for kids to crawl over and under.
- Burry a large tractor tyre and line it with durable plastic before filling it with sand – to make a sandbox!
- Start a veggie garden with the kids, filling tyres with potting soil and planting a different veggie variety in each.
- Make individual seesaws! Cut a tyre in half so you have a half-moon shape and attach a length of timber to the open side. Paint it beautifully and attach a handle bar.
- Plant the tyres halfway in the ground for the kiddies to play leapfrog with.
- Stack two tyres on top of one another and top it with a piece of round wood. Simply top with a cushion for excellent weather proof outdoor chairs.
- Make a good ol’ tyre swing and hang it from the tree outside.
Original images and their credits available on Pinterest
Join the List
Subscribe to our mailing list and stay informed on what's happening on MomTalk!
Awesomeness! Thank you for subscribing!
Oh dear! Something has gone wrong. Please try again.
1 comment
Some tips: use a small brush and paint inside the tread first. Then a sponge brush to paint the tyre. Leave to dry and apply second coat. Painting inside the tread is a tad tedious, but well worth the effort.
Watch out for nails, screws, and even tiny shards of glass stuck in the tyres. They pull out easily with pliers. Oh and wear gloves!! Those yellow kitchen gloves work well. They tyre is rough and after working with several of them your hands and nails will be a tad worse for wear.
I used a water based enamel (outdoor). I bought 1tin of white and then a couple of the tint colours to mix myself (too expensive to buy a tin in each colour). The tires were scrubbed with handy Andy and left in the sun to dry. Each tyre has 2coats of paint. No primer necessary.