Frugal DIY Play Kitchen!

For little Man’s 3rd birthday party I decided that a play kitchen would be a good addition to our playroom! I didn’t have a lot of money to spend (none really) but I still wanted it to be cute! I found a possibility on etsy.com for a cardboard one and bought the PDF. I loved it but it required a lot more materials than I had available at the time. So I looked around and found some materials that I thought would work.
I first saw this end table that I was using as a cable box stand and nothing else. I grabbed that and replaced it with my file cabinet as the cable box holder lol
I knew I needed room for a sink too so I found an old drafting desk that the top ‘lift up’ portion of the desk was damaged on one edge but was long enough on the ‘good’ part to cover the top of the end table and then have overhand for the ‘sink’ portion.
So I had my handsome hubby cut down the desk top to the right size, cut the hole for the pie plate sink and screw it on to the top of the nightstand- lining up the edges. I caulked/used wood filler on the seam where the top of the end table and bottom of the wood came together. Then I taped off the half that overhang with painter’s tape and newspaper and spray painted the entire nightstand/remaining portion of desk top white. It took a couple coats and I didn’t do the back, the inside or the side under the over hang since those wouldn’t be seen. The reason I did this is that I wanted it to have some separation between the  stove/oven side and the kitchen side. It ended up looking like the sink is in a butcher block countertop- love it!

Next I took off the tape/newspaper and placed the pie plate in the hole. It has a lip and we measured the bottom of the plate (which is a bit smaller than the rim) so it fits in tight and the lip keeps it from falling all the way through.
I traced a saucer four times onto the ‘stove’ side of the kitchen and filled in the circles with black acrylic paint. Handsome Hubby drilled some small holes and fitted them with these little metal pegs I found laying around and that’s what we used to hold the ‘oven’ knobs on with. The knobs do come off but I didn’t want to glue them because I wanted them to be able to spin. I wrote the ‘temperature’ & ‘on’ ‘off’ with a thin line Sharpie.

Then hubby measured and cut plywood to fill the front of the end table for an oven door and he cut a ‘window’ in the middle for the oven window. I spray painted that white and we attached it to the kitchen with hinges at the bottom, magnetic tape to hold it closed and upright and a handle to pull it open with.  The ‘window’ of the oven is covered from the inside with a sheet of transparency film and it is just taped on using packing tape (so it’s clear and blends in). I might hot glue it on later but for now it works!
 

After that we just screwed the handles through the overhand/old desk top part of the kitchen for faucet handles and used Gorilla Glue to attach the wooden J (I painted it sliver first) upside down to look like a faucet. I would have loved to do a screw up through the bottom of the over hang into the bottom of the J but when we tried it started to split the J- so glue only was what worked for us!

I used sticky backed Velcro on the edge of the over hang and sewed the matching Velcro (using sew on Velcro obviously lol) to the bandanas to make a sink ‘skirt/curtain’
And that was that! I had everything but the hinges, handles, J and knobs on hand. The oven ‘knobs’ were free and the rest was all $1-$5 each.

 


So here are the materials you would need to make your own. I have linked to similar or the same products where ever it was possible!

Materials: End Table(I used one similar to this- only mine had two shelves)    
Pie Plate with rim (but no handles) (mine came in a pack of 2 and was similar to this)
wooden or paper mache letter “J” (mine is wooden- this link is for paper mache because I couldn’t find the right ‘font’ of J that looked like a faucet)
Kitchen or Bath Replacement Faucet Handles (mine are similar but couldn’t find them online)
Acrylic Black Paint
Metallic Spray Paint -Silver
Satin White Spray Paint
Replacement Oven Knobs (mine are actually from an old Helicopter)
Plywood (got mine at my local Lowe’s)
Sharpie Fine Point Permanent Markers
Wood to form ‘countertop’ (the same width as your end table from front to back and then about twice as long-mine came from the top of an old desk that part of the wood was warped. We cut off the bad part and used the good part)
Solid Color Bandanas - (Whatever Color you want)(mine are leftover bandanas from the Pirate Birthday party!)
Small Hinges (you’ll need at least two to attach the oven door with)
Magnetic tape (you can get this at Wal-mart or a craft store also)
Kitchen Cabinet Handle (this is similar to the one I used but I would have loved to use this kitchen cabinet long handle because it is longer-more like an oven handle)
Velcro (both sticky backed & sew-on)
Transparency Films
Packing Tape
Gorilla Glue
Screws

I hope you all find some interesting materials to make your own play kitchen! Just know that you CAN do it without spending a fortune on those wooden play kitchens they sell!
In fact, I’m not the only one who has made their own play kitchen.

Have a Happy Day,

If you like what you see please consider subscribing so you don’t miss a thing!

All Amazon links in this post are affiliate links

Pro-CRAFT-ination. Do you have it?

I tweeted earlier today that I had 'pro-CRAFT-ination' and it really got me thinking. I have a LOT of projects 'in process' right now and I can't seem to finish them before starting a new one.

I once heard that procrastination is the worst form of perfectionism- it's the paralyzing fear that if it's not going to be perfect why even start? Or you are too nervous it won't turnout perfect you can't even start. I believe I have pro-CRAFT-ination because I'm not afraid to start a new craft project but once it is underway I can't finish it because of this underlying fear that it won't turn out exactly as I envisioned it- aka: perfectly.

Yeah totally realized all that from a tweet.

SO I've decided to list all my unfinished projects here in a post and I hope to check in with you all weekly and be able to cross a project off! I need motivation to get 'er done! (ok that was totally lame and cheesy but I'm leaving it in!)

Here is my monstrous list:

1. Bathroom floor to be painted & sealed
2. Completely empty old craft room & put it into windowless room.
3. Move Lil Man into old craft room
4. Strip & repaint nursery room door & frame (lead paint detected)
5. Paint nursery walls.
6. Lay nursery floor. (currently plywood)
7. Try to reconfigure crib.
8. Make curtains for nursery
9. Make mobile.
10. Make Lil Man curtains
11. Finish lining living room curtains
12. Make playroom curtains
13. Finish fabric storage for playroom
14. Sew Velcro to play kitchen curtains to hang them.
15. Tank top refashion
16. Maxi dress refashion
17. Doggie door painting & install
18. Train table
19. Old window into craft room storage
20. Paint new countertop to match my painted laminate counters.
21. Finish sanding & sealing kitchen floor.
22. Paint trim, stair risers, & railings in dining room
23. Paint kitchen
24. Paint new light for dining room & hang
25. Make Miss E some dresses
26. Strip wallpaper & paint on hallway.
27. Type up & digi-scrap my recipes.

Ok there is more than that but I can't make you read forever. Just a note- most of the curtain projects & paint projects I haven't started yet so maybe I don't have pro-craft-ination on those.
Do you ever have pro-craft-ination? What one project have you been putting off just finishing??

Alright that's all I can type out on my iPhone right now lol! Sorry for the lack of photo- it wouldn't let me add one because I'm using a phone. Hopefully I'll remember to log onto my computer tomorrow to add links & pictures!


Oh and in case you noticed the slow down of posts: I took an unofficial and unplanned bloggy break & rested up while enjoying my babies!!

Have a happy Day,

How to Make Hummus

Ok we’re going to completely gloss over the fact that I didn’t do a WIDTW (What I Did This Weekend) post yet again this week. Why? Because I really didn’t do much that I can blog about (since I don’t share pics of the kiddos on here and all that jazz).
Ok moving on. Today I have a photo tutorial for how to make your own homemade hummus!
Making Hummus is actually very easy & I do it about once every two weeks! It saves a lot of money because the size container I fill cost me at least $4 in the store!

Ready to make your own homemade hummus?(Psst: you will also find close ups of my painted countertops in these pictures! Just in case you wanted to see more detail!)

Here is the picture tutorial:
You will need:
1 can of Chick Peas
Lemon Juice
Olive Oil
3-5 cloves of garlic (or some garlic powder if you want)
Red Pepper Flakes (or whatever ingredient you need to make the flavor of your choice.
Food processor or blender or good old fashioned muscle/potato masher (notice I am using the worlds tiniest food processor-its for making baby food actually)
Note: If you have tahini on hand put some in too but if you don’t no big deal! You can also substitute sesame oil for the olive oil if you want.

Ok lets get started:
1. Open, drain & rinse your chick peas. Place in your food processor.

2. Add a little bit of lemon juice. I always eyeball this but its like 1/8 of a cup.

3. Add your cloves of garlic...more if you want a stronger garlic flavor- less if you want less. If you are using garlic powder I don't know the conversions so you'll have to either go for it & see how much you like or Google the conversions lol

4. Run your food processor a little to mix it all and start creaming the chick peas. Add your flavoring.

5. Run your food processor & stream in your olive oil until you get the texture/creaminess you want. I can't stream in while my food processor is running so I add a little, process, add a little, process etc. until I get there. You may have to stop a few times and scrape the sides of the food processor bowl to make sure it’s all getting mixed/creamed evenly.

6. Place your hummus in a container and refrigerate. I washed out an old hummus container and my homemade fits perfectly in it!


That's it for homemade hummus!
Other Flavorings you can add are:

• Roasted Red Peppers
• Feta Cheese
• Jalapeños
• Sun-dried tomatoes
• Parsley
• Ground Cumin
• Plain black pepper

Have fun with it and enjoy!
Have a Happy Day,

If you like what you are reading please consider subscribing by clicking here:

None of the brands featured in this post have paid me or provided me with product to review. All opinions are my own and I bought all the ingredients/supplies myself.

From built-in to pantry

My house was built in 1932. For me this means amazing trim work which I showed you here but it also means lack of adequate closets, one bathroom located on the 2nd floor that is the size of my thumb which I showed you a little here, and a built in in the kitchen which was perfectly charming but really un-useable.
We were using the top part as a coat closet of sorts but it wasn’t deep enough for hangers so everything had to be smooshed in there to close the doors. Also it had 3 drawers on the bottom which we used for flashlights, batteries, etc. but they were hard to pull out and put back in. I wanted a place to put my vacuum and trash can away. I was tired of having my cleaning supplies sitting out. I was also very very tired of my dog emptying the contents of my trash can every time I left the house if I didn’t remember to put it outside before I left.
SO. Handsome Hubby took my vision of an actual floor to ceiling closet/pantry and helped me make it possible.
Here is what we started with once we removed the drawers:

Then we proceeded to use a reciprocating saw- my Dad’s by the way, he lends me all sorts of things totally LOVE my Dad!- (Hubs would like to point out that some people call it a ‘saws-all’ because it saws everything but I prefer to use the proper names thankyouverymuch) to cut the drawer supports and the dividing shelf out.

I am obviously using the term ‘we’ very loosely here. But in my defense I did swing the hammer a few times and broke out the shelf! Just not all the way, obviously by the following picture…..plus I was 6+ months pregnant at the time!

 

This is what we were left with once all the supports/shelves were removed:

Here is when we noticed that one of the previous owners had put sheetrock over the plaster in the top portion so when the shelf was removed we had un even walls. So I did what any resourceful girl would do….I called Dad. I knew he had to have enough sheetrock in his garage/basement/somewhere to give me.

Who was right? :) Thanks Dad!

So the parts I don’t have pictures of are the mudding/taping the new sheetrock, the caulking of seams/gaps/imperfections all over and then the painting. I just used the rest of a quart sized can I had previously used in Little Man’s nursery. It is a shocking lime-ish green. I thought it was an unexpected surprise when you opened the pantry door….plus it would make it lighter in there since there is no light source.

I also had Military Man (aka Handsome Hubby aka Hubs) cut down a glass panel door that we had removed from the playroom last year to fit the opening. I sprayed one side of the glass inserts with frost spray so you wouldn’t see all my junk.

Here is what the door looks like in place

 

I still need to ‘finish’ this project by painting out the door and trim but if I didn’t post this now who knows when it’ll get finished….I do have a one month old & almost 3 year old…projects for me now include potty training and spit up catching ;) he he.

I added some command hooks to hold my cloth shopping bags (above left) & my homemade plastic bag holder-tutorial found here- (below right). I also added those wire shelves (that I got at Lowe’s) to hold Ziplocs, parchment paper, cans, rice, etc. (and by ‘I added’ I really mean I added- not taking credit for Military Man’s hard work here…I did it myself!)

Below you will see my much longed for storage of trashcan & vacuum! YAY!!


So that’s how I added storage to my older home only spending money on the shelving, command hooks & a dishtowel for the bag holder!

What cheap-o projects are you most proud of?


Linking up to: