For our granddaughter’s first birthday we built her a toy box. I used frame and panel construction — clear pine frames surrounding a 1/8-inch birch plywood panel. The ends were actually decorated hardboard panels that we found and saved while clearing out our house.
We varnished the inside and outside. On the outside Sue cut out scraps of fabric and we varnished them onto the surface. I was hoping for an effect similar to what you might get with fiberglass cloth and resin — it was close, but not quite. The fabric bubbled a bit and wasn’t perfectly smooth. But otherwise, it came out great.
Casters underneath and obscenely expensive hinges designed to hold the lid open on top.