A mum is hoping to inspire others to carry out fun DIY projects during lockdown, after creating a “pirate ship” for her son in their back garden.
Michelle Barclay-Dunbar, from Oyne in Aberdeenshire, decided to use excess materials she had taking up space around her shed and garage to get creative while spending time in isolation.
Using old pallets, cable reels and more, Miss Barclay-Dunbar has built a home-schooling area, a bar, a DJ booth, a scarecrow and other eye-catching features for her garden.
Her seven-year-old son Brandyn has been enjoying playing on the makeshift pirate ship his mother made for him out of old pallets, complete with a slide and skull-and-crossbones flag.
Miss Barclay-Dunbar has encouraged others to have a look around their house and see what they can build to help pass the time, and learn some DIY skills at the same time.
She said: “It’s a little bit of escapism from what’s going on right now.
“I’ve always been keen on DIY and gardening, and realised I had loads and loads of pallets and things like that leftover.
“I had always wanted to build Brandyn a pirate ship, so that was my first project and there’s been loads more.”
Miss Barclay-Dunbar, who has previously competed in gardening competitions, hopes to welcome friends over to enjoy her creations once the lockdown has finished.
But in the meantime, she is keen to spread the word of the benefits of DIY work.
She added: “I’ve also made a sun lounging area that we’ve been able to use for home-schooling in the warmer weather, which is a very nice environment to work in, and then I’ve also made a bar too, with a DJ booth.
“Brandyn has been a super supervisor, making sure everything is working and he’s just absolutely over the moon with the pirate ship.
“He’s really excited for his first play date with it, whenever that may be somewhere in the future.
“I’ve already had a few friends get in contact and ask about the projects I’ve been doing, and they’ve been coming up with their own ideas too, so it’s been really fun.”
