A Creative Outdoor Solution

  If you want to keep kids from tracking dirt into your house during your next pool or sprinkler party, just construct an instant outdoor dressing room. All you need is a large, sturdy umbrella with a hook handle, two shower curtains and a tree branch.

How to Build an Outdoor Dressing Room

Open the umbrella and suspend it from a branch so it hangs about 6 feet off the ground. If your branch is too high, fear not. Tie the umbrella to the branch using a piece of rope.Slip the holes of the first shower curtain over the tips of the umbrella ribs (the holes and the ribs are spaced exactly the same distance apart.) Continue around the umbrella with the second shower curtain and overlap the last two holes to create a door. In minutes you will have a changing room that is just as easy to take down as it was to put up.

Transform It into a Portable Playhouse

By using the outdoor dressing room instructions, you can also make a portable playhouse for the kids. For windows, cut two squares out of the front curtain. To make the glass for the windows, sew or glue a piece of clear plastic into each cut-out square. Use black electrical tape to make window panes. Finally, stencil flowers on the bottom edge of the curtain to create a garden. Not only is this playhouse terrific for a backyard party, but it is also mobile enough to take with you to the park.