It’s amazing what can inspire parents. And since we’ve been trained by the children we love, if you show us a toy, we know if a child will play with it or not. So when Laura saw a musical fence on display at the Vancouver International Children’s Festival (VICF) last year, she became inspired to build a musical fence from up-cycled and recycled items to keep children entertained at the family fairs UsedVancouver.com attends. And since UsedVancouver.com is a sponsor of this year’s Children’s Festival that opened it’s doors May 27 and runs until June 2 – this article is a shout-out to the VICF’s team of talented people that always include great displays items made from up-cycled materials. This year’s festival is a must see for Vancouver families and creatively minded adults. Follow their lineup of featured performers here: http://www.childrensfestival.ca/.

Now back to the DIY musical fence. What did Laura have on hand to use for the project? This fence board had been adopted from a recent move, although an untreated pallet or fence panel would work too:

It’s always amazing what a little bit of paint can do:

Most of the examples of musical fences have a backdrop of all wood as it makes for hammering musical pieces easier to secure. Along with a few items recycled from home, Laura went thrift shopping to see what jangly, noisy, wooden spoon compatible pieces she could find to accompany the fence.

Wooden spoons to accompany the pots, pans, bangles, stainless steel utensils and drying racks really worked well! After all, you want to give children an instrument to strike the fence that won’t destroy it or injure a friend that is playing in tandem. And after using zap straps to assemble the fence for a community event – check out the finished result! The paper bunting banner was just the icing on the cake with cuteness! I also love the holder for the spoons so they don’t get lost.

And after attending a local family community fair over the weekend, I got to see close hand that children totally understood and loved this project. They banged, smiled, and made music! Can you see this little cutie smiling through her soother? Once she was handed the wooden spoon, she knew exactly what to do and grinned the entire time.

Watching children get so much enjoyment from a project that was built with all up-cycled and recycled items was amazing. Think about building a musical fence this summer and let the kids help! It’s a project that is born from your imagination and becomes whatever instrument or symphony you dream. Great project for backyards that have a sturdy wooden fence where up-cycled items can be directly attached.

For more great DIY up-cycled projects, check our Pinterest boards.

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