DIY Interactive Inside Out Plush Holder

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #InsideOutEmotions #CollectiveBias

Last weekend I took some time out to go see the much anticipated movie Inside Out. I’m a sucker for Disney movies and I have so many favorites but Inside Out knocked it out of the park!

If you haven’t seen it, Inside out is the story of an 11 year old girl who’s emotions take over after her parents move to a new town. The main characters in the movie (and this is what I found to be genius) are not people, they’re her emotions: Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear and Disgust. You’ve got to see it!

I have three teenage boys, a 10 year old tween boy and Joseph who’s now a toddler. There really aren’t many emotions I haven’t seen played out in my house and usually all at the same time by multiple kids at once. They’ve gotten disgusted, which led to me getting angry and sad, but after a couple of rounds I’ve learned to walk away and not to take things personal. After all, they’re supposed to learn from me how to control their anger, face fear and overcome sadness. At times it’s hectic and a bit overwhelming but I always try to step aside and remind them (and myself) that these are just emotions and they can easily be controlled and managed. As my youngest Joseph becomes an active little toddler and shows me his personality and emotions, I find myself a lot calmer even when he’s deliberately testing my patience. I always try to take into consideration that I’m being watched by my older boys who are learning from everything I do with the littlest one. It’s a challenge that I find rewarding on so many different levels.

Watching Inside Out has brought on new conversations about feelings in our house and the role they play in our lives but oddly enough it wasn’t just the movie that sparked these conversations – it was also the plush Inside Out toys that we picked up at Walmart immediately after watching the movie.

As soon as we brought the Inside Out plush toys home they were immediately put to use. Robert is my fourth youngest, he often tends to bottle up his feelings rather than deal with them and that night he got very upset with his older brothers over a turn on the computer and he stormed into the living room and grabbed the Anger plush. Normally he would have sat there in silence but this time he expressed he was angry by grabbing the Inside out plush and in return I had an idea. Instead of having these little guys laying around the house I figured I’d make them a little home where Robert and I can also interact with them and hopefully help him communicate his feelings with me a little better.

Below are the steps to make the exact plush holder that I made and how we interacted with them.

Materials:

Five empty wipee bins

Five high gloss spray paint

One 2×4 piece of wood paneling

3 yards of chevron fabric

Staple Gun

Staples

Scissors

Chalk Board sticker sheet

Chalk

4×6 x 7×8 screws and ribbed plastic anchors

Instructions:

Cut off the wipee bins lids.

I then took the bins and spray painted them according to the color of the Inside Out plush emotions.

Allow bins to dry over night.

Staple fabric onto the wood.

Measure the front side of wipee bins and cut chalk sticker sheet accordingly. Write out feelings and place on bins.

Secure bins onto the wood using screws or staples and then screw wood onto the wall.

Place Inside Out plush into their bins and you’re done!

Robert loves this interactive plush holder! Now when I ask Robert what’s wrong and he won’t answer me, I ask him if he’d rather show me with the plush and he immediately jumps up and shows me. Fills my heart with so much joy!

If you haven’t seen Inside Out you need to just make sure you bring along some tissues cause you’re gonna cry like a baby (or maybe that was just me) and maybe even bring a box of Kellogg’s Inside Out Fruit Snacks also sold at Walmart.