DIY Milk Crate Storage Bench

We (my husband and I...plus a little help from my 2 yr old) finished my new storage bench! I'm so excited!

I really wanted to create some alternative seating in my classroom, and with a need to accommodate potentially 30 fifth graders, I wanted to create a bench for one of my tables. This would allow for more storage, plus it can easily seat 3 kids on one side (potentially 4)...and at the core of most of my classroom desires, I wanted to create something fun!  

First and foremost, I got the idea from http://afirstgradejourney.blogspot.com/2012/07/diy-crate-bench.html - thank you Cathlin! However, I made some changes to make it a little bit cheaper! 

Materials
* 3 milk crates from Wal-Mart
* Wood, hex bolts, washers, nuts, & zip ties from Home Depot (the dimensions are shown on the receipt if you are wanting to make this yourself)
* Padding and fabric
I used padding from a random pillow in my house and an old body pillow cover for the fabric so that I would not have to buy those materials. I spent $29 in all! 

Process
This bench was super easy to make!!! We zip tied the crates together and then drilled holes for the hex bolts in the wood. Next, we screwed the hex bolts into the wood but we did not attach them to the crates. After that, I covered the wood with the stuffing from a pillow, covered it with a sheet and then stuffed it all in the body pillow. I over stuffed it because I know it will flatten out! I then took scissors and snipped a hole in the body pillow for each bolt to come through. Finally, I screwed all of the washers and nuts on the crates. Now my kids have a fun new bench! Hooray!