Using a stuffed animals zoo is a great way to keep your soft toys organized and store them when you or your kids don’t play with them. As any owner of lots of soft toys will they you, they can quickly take a lot of space and get in the way when you don’t want them.
But you should not just throw your stuffies in the closet and slam the door in their faces. You can build them their own special home. It can be with an easy access for kids and also make organizing your stuffed friends easy.
Building the stuffed animals zoo
Yes, this is what their home is usually called. There are quite a few ready made zoos for soft toys already available. You can buy them for about $150 a pop, depending on their sizes. But you can also make one yourself for a lot less.
A classic stuffed animals zoo is usually a big wooden frame with a few ropes for bars that hold the toys in place. The idea of using ropes for bars is that they are flexible and can allow the kids to easily pull the toy they want or return one. They also keep the soft toys in place without harming them.
Start with making the bottom wooden frame. Use wooden beams that you can cut down to your prefered size. You can join the beams with nails or screws. Basically you need to connect four beams to make a rectangle. Then make another two exact same frames that will serve for a middle one and a top.
Then take another four beams, this time much longer as they will be the standing struts. Put one of the long beams standing straight in each corner of the bottom frame and nail them in place.
Next step is to slide the middle frame in place and also nail it. Then put the third one on top and also nail it in place. You can then paint the completed frame in the desired color.
Now comes the slightly tricky bit. The ropes. It’s best to use bungie cord or other similar elastic ropes for best effect. Generally is best to have the ropes about 15-20 cm apart and keep in mind you will be running them straight from the top to the bottom.
Put eye screws in each of the frames one for each rope. So basically three per rope. Measure the rope and tie one end at the top eye screw. Then run the rope through the hole of the eye screw at the middle and tie it up at the bottom. Repeat for the other ropes and you’re done.
You can also leave some slack rope for adjusting. Or you can run one rope through the bottom eye screw then to the bottom eye screw of the opposite site, then up through the middle one and tie it up to the top ot the other side. This way you will create a rope “floor” for the stuffed animals zoo which will make it easier to move about.
That’s about it. Of course you can make other types of stuffed animals zoo constructions but usually a flexible one is the best choice as it safest and easiest to work with. If you have any questions about stuffed animals zoos go ahead and ask them in the comments or in the forum.
