I’m not sure if you remember this Fisher Price Play Yard. Rainforest theme. Cute little monkeys.

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Anywho, I was lucky enough to have 2 of these when they were recalled back in January. The company however didn’t want you to send the entire play yard back. Heck, that would have cost them a fortune in shipping. Instead they wanted you to cut the 4 panel sides off, mail those and then throw out the rest. Throw it out. Are they crazy. There’s some pretty good stuff here that can be turned into new things for the kids.

For starters, I turned the mattress from one play yard:

Rainforest play mat

into a portable train track play mat for Flynn:

play mat makeover

with a little help from fabric paints and a map of Sodor. Okay, don’t look too closely because it’s not quite to scale, but shhhh, Flynn doesn’t know that. He’s having a great time with it.

Portable train mat
play mat to a train mat
handmade gift for the train lover

This new play mat folds up nicely for storage and will come in handy on road trips and going to the park with his favorite trains.

As seen on:

Zen Play Surface …  Plaid Kids Crafts .. . The Crafty Crow

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14 comments

Shannon April 26, 2009 - 5:00 pm

That is so cool!! Looks like its a huge hit too 🙂

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Manic Mother April 26, 2009 - 5:00 pm

Super creative! You should share it tomorrow, for Manic Martha Moment!

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Pink April 26, 2009 - 5:00 pm

I wish I had one of those as a kid! Glad to see you were too smart to just throw it out…

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Knit Purl Gurl April 26, 2009 - 5:00 pm

You’re so creative!! ‘Love it!

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Amber, That's Me! April 26, 2009 - 5:00 pm

what a great idea! and a way to reuse!

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Bridget Smith April 26, 2009 - 5:00 pm

That is too awesome!!! I have also used those just a as a pad to put under the sleeping bag when traveling with little ones.

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Lisa April 26, 2009 - 5:00 pm

That’s so cool. My son is a Thomas fanatic.

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Cindy April 27, 2009 - 5:00 pm

I love that!! What a wonderful thing you made for him. Im sure he his pals will enjoy that for a good long time 🙂

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JunkStop April 28, 2009 - 5:00 pm

This is such an awesome idea! (Throw it away? You’re right, they’re stark raving mad!!)~ Rhondacraftybitch101.com

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Sharlene April 30, 2009 - 5:00 pm

OKay you are so crafty its ridiculous!

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Liz May 7, 2009 - 5:00 pm

as others have said…AWESOME!!!

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cheap beds February 13, 2010 - 9:40 pm

You made a best out of waste. Good to read this. Can you post more such tips to convert unused mattress in to a something usable?

– Mathew J.

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Tonya Staab November 21, 2010 - 10:27 pm

No flaking at all (so far), you can find another one I made over here https://www.tonyastaab.com/2010/01/a-barnyard.html and my son still plays with both play mats and loves them. 

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Joe November 21, 2010 - 9:32 pm

Were there problems with the paint flaking off over time?

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