DIY Water Table and Toys for our Outdoor Play Area

BySarah
4 Comments

Spring time is a lot more fun now that we have this garden-themed DIY water and sensory table for our outdoor play area!

Green water and sensory table with aprons, watering cans and a garden themed sign

I have been dreaming about building a DIY water table for a few years now, mainly because the tables you can buy are usually short and meant for toddlers. My girls are tall, and they aren't toddlers! But they do love playing with water and sand - what kids don't?! I knew I would need to make my own to have one that fit those specifications. 

To personalize the water and sensory table, I used my Cricut Explore Air 2. I added a sign made with permanent vinyl, made iron-on aprons, and put vinyl decals on some of the water toys. I love how it all looks together with a garden shop theme!

This is just one of many fun Cricut projects we've done for our kiddos! You should also check out these DIY Bath Toys and our Gratitude Journals for Kids.

DIY Water Table 

I used DIY Water Table plans from Anika's DIY Life, making a few modifications. First, I made the legs longer, added supports for the legs, and then added the top bar with hooks. The garden shop sign is the cherry on top!

Since this is my first woodworking project, I don't feel comfortable answering questions about how to build it.  Anika's blog and plans are a great resource and I followed her directions and figured the rest out as I went. 

Two little kids playing with water at a DIY water table

Below on the left, you can see the water table when I had first assembled it, before I had filled in the holes or added my extras to it. I think that it would be an awesome table just like that! 

On the right is the table after filling holes, sanding and adding the top bar that we added hooks onto soon after. 

DIY Water table process shots, left, just assembled, right sanded and holes filled

Resources Used:

Water and Sensory Play Ideas

little hands pouring water and playing at a water table

This water table is great for any kind of sensory activities. My daughters have used it to played with water, kinetic sand, faux flowers, and water beads so far! I can't wait to see what else they get into with it this summer. We are going to try gravel and toy  trucks next.  

little hands playing with water beads in plastic bins

How to Make the Water/Sensory Table Toys with Cricut

Forest Green Water Sensory table with white watering cans and pots and pink flowers

I used my Cricut Explore Air 2 to cut permanent vinyl decals for the garden shop sign and the toys, then used Everyday Iron-On for the aprons. 

Cricut Materials:

Blank Items and Toys:

blank aprons, a white watering can, popsicle sticks, and rolls of black and green iron-on vinyl

Here is a collage showing the process. Full, printable instructions can be found below! 

collage showing the steps to put a vinyl decal on a white watering can

If you use this tutorial, please let us know how it turned out by leaving us a comment and a positive review! 

DIY Water Table Toys for Kids

Use permanent vinyl to personalize outdoor water toys for kids. These little garden toys are perfect for a water, sand or sensory table!
5 from 3 votes
Print Pin Rate
Active Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
Makes: 1 set of water toys
Author: Pretty Providence
Cost: $5

Equipment

  • Cricut Machine (Air 2, Maker or Joy)

Materials

Cricut Materials

Toys to Personalize

  • Watering Can
  • Small Buckets
  • Popsicle Sticks

Instructions

  • Create a design that you want to put on the toys, using Cricut Design Space.
    Garden Shop design in Cricut Design Space
  • Make sure that you measure the items you'll be putting vinyl on. Size each image to fit on the items.
    blank aprons, a white watering can, popsicle sticks, and rolls of black and green iron-on vinyl
  • Put vinyl onto a green StandardGrip mat and click 'Make it' in Design Space. Follow the instructions on the screen to cut vinyl.
  • Weed extra vinyl from around edges and in between letters.
    Weeded vinyl images on green cricut mat
  • Use transfer tape to transfer the vinyl images onto the water toys.

Notes

The little girl with flowers silhouette image is #MA7A9A0B in the Design Space image library.
 
Did you make this?Mention @prettyprovidenceblog or tag #prettyprovidence!

Materials for Iron-On Aprons 

Here is a collage showing steps to make the aprons. Full, printable instructions can be found below! 

Cricut iron-on apron for kids

Here is the finished apron! I think this is the cutest thing, and it really does help keep the clothes clean when they are playing with certain things like sand or rocks!

little girl holding flowers and wearing an apron with flowers and garden shop logo on it

If you use this tutorial, please let us know how it turned out by leaving us a comment and positive review! 

little girl holding flowers and wearing an apron with flowers and garden shop logo on it

Garden Shop Apron for Kids

Make an adorable Garden Shop apron for little gardners or florists. These go perfectly along with our DIY water and sensory table!
5 from 3 votes
Print Pin Rate
Active Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Makes: 1 apron
Author: Pretty Providence
Cost: $10

Equipment

Materials

  • 1 roll Iron-On forest green
  • 1 plain canvas apron

Instructions

  • Create or upload a design in to Cricut Design Space canvas.
    Garden Shop design in Cricut Design Space
  • Make sure to measure your apron and size your images to fit the area you want to iron-on to.
    blank aprons, a white watering can, popsicle sticks, and rolls of black and green iron-on vinyl
  • Put vinyl shiny side down onto a green StandardGrip mat and click 'make it' in design space. Don't forget to mirror your images! Follow the prompts to cut the vinyl.
  • Weed the extra iron-on vinyl from around the design and from in between the letters.
  • Place the design where you want it to go on the apron.
    Iron-on vinyl placed onto a canvas apron on top of a heat press mat
  • Using an EasyPress 2 or Iron, use heat to transfer the iron-on to the apron.
    Cricut EasyPress 2 iron on top of an apron and heat mat
  • Enjoy the cute, new apron!
    little girl holding flowers and wearing an apron with flowers and garden shop logo on it

Notes

The little girl with flowers silhouette image is #MA7A9A0B in the Design Space image library.
Did you make this?Mention @prettyprovidenceblog or tag #prettyprovidence!
Sarah

More DIY Projects

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




4 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    I love it! This is the best water table I've seen. I like how it works with taller/older children. I also really appreciate the tutorials on how to make it. Awesome!

    Reply