Play Kitchen

Quick Breakdown:

Carcass: $15 entertainment shelf from the thrift store (YES-finally found something that would work)! I love the granite-looking top and the curved front, as well as the height.  It fits perfectly under the kitchen bar).  This is the "before" shot-though I guess it's actually the "during" shot.  Originally it had some short feet, and that black thing on the left was attached to the bottom and would swing out-perhaps for hiding a remote?  The panel on the left was originally some shelves that were the same width as the ones on the right.  I moved the panel over and added a door.  I'd also already cut the hole for the sink before I thought to take the "before" photo.

Doors, drawer and added shelves: reclaimed particle board from Habitat for Humanity.
Knobs: unfinished wood wheels from hardware store, painted and bolted loosely so they spin, unfinished wood handles and a black sphere knob for the drawer (~$12.50, not including the two handles I broke before I realized the bolts included were too long).
Sink: brownie pan from the dollar store. I cut a hole in the top of the entertainment center the size of the pan minus the rim, and dropped it in.
Faucet: pvc p-trap ($4) spray painted copper (because that's what I had already).  I thought at first I'd use some blue ribbon for water, but found this cool yarn in my stash and decided to use it instead.  I just tied it together at one end, ran it through the pipe, and tied it to one of the bolts I used for the water taps. 
Oven Door: cut hole with jigsaw, then attached a $4 piece of plexiglass to the back.  I found the stove rack 2/$1 at the dollar store. I originally planned on putting one halfway up but they were too short.  I may do that if I find one that fits.
Stove Burners: painted wide-mouth mason jar lids
Hardware: I used four of the smallest hinges I could find ($1 for a two-pack), and two magnetic cabinet fasteners to keep them closed ($1).  I spent a lot more on screws and bolts than I thought I would, about $5 total including the bolts.  You'd think with all the random hardware I already have that I wouldn't have to buy anything...but nothing I had quite worked with that silly particle board.
Paint: One can of red spray paint, and some crafting paint. $3
Accessories: The dish set was part of the present, and his aunt sent the cute wood condiment set from Plan Toys.
Apron:  I made this in a hurry a few days ago when he insisted on an apron like mine while helping me cook.  I just used what I had on hand-but love how it turned out. I may make a pattern up and post it if there is interest.


My little buddy is still at the stage where he wants to do everything I do-and cooking is one of his favorites.  Tonight he helped put the chopped apples into a pot and to his delight, he got to sprinkle them with cinnamon sugar.  This concoction went over some pork chops, yummy!
For his second birthday I wanted to get him a play kitchen.  I looked around, and of course fell in love with the most expensive ones...and suddenly all the plastic ones just wouldn't do.  Some of my favorite play kitchens were re-purposed nightstands and entertainment centers.  A few months before his birthday I started watching the thrift shops and ooggled every garage sale I passed, without finding anything that would work.  A few weeks before his birthday I decided I'd need to make one from scratch.  I found some particle board at our local Habitat for Humanity shop-it was odd stuff, and had a light wood laminate sticker on one side, and a darker color sticker on the other.  It was the right price though- $3 per 8' board.  Luckily the darker color was pretty close to my kitchen cabinets so I drew up plans and started cutting-and immediately ran into problems. 
I soon found out the wood I'd bought was NOT intended to be cut with a jigsaw...but ya work with what ya got.  The particle board just fell apart when the teeth pulled up.  Switching to a scrollwork blade helped, at least the side I'd have facing outward wasn't too jagged but I started to have my doubts.  I am the ultimate amateur when it comes to woodworking.  I just jumped into the deep end and used black paint to cover up the worst of it...You'll notice I didn't take any closeup photos of my cut edges.
The night before his birthday I'd cut a few pieces but hadn't gotten very far.  I happened to try the thrift shop one more time, and found the entertainment center!  I don't think I could have made anything out of that particle board that would have lasted more than a week.  That entertainment shelf really saved the whole project.  I just had to move one support side over to make it wide enough  for the fridge, and add the drawer and stove door to the middle.  Sounds simple right?  It worked fine but took me two weeks of irregular use of nap-times and evenings.  Throw in multiple trips to the hardware store...I guess maybe I should sign up for that rewards card...and two weeks later I got it done. The point is I GOT IT DONE!  That's kind of a big deal in itself, judging by all the half-finished projects cluttering my craft room.   In hindsight I should have just bought a sheet of nice plywood and I would have been a lot happier with the results, rather than trying to be thrifty and green by using reclaimed wood.  I did learn from the experience, and I have to keep reminding myself this is for a TWO-YEAR-OLD.  I still might replace the doors later-most of the hard work is done already.  The project was not as cheap as I thought it would be considering I went the most inexpensive route I could-it just cost a bit here, a bit more there...  In the end I'm happy with the result, and think it was worth it, but I definitely could have bought a decent play kitchen for what I spent-and probably will do that next time.

You know what's the funniest thing is about all this? I found a table saw at a garage sale for $10 tonight!  Wish I'd found it a few weeks ago...

Waterwall

My little buddy is definitely a water baby.
I thought I might as well encourage some good old scientific inquiry-I mean fun playing in the water.

Water walls are a frame that holds a variety of containers and tubes that can be rearranged to explore how water moves-and is a great way to cool off on a hot day. It always seems to be the simple things that provide the most fun!



To make your own waterwall, first construct a frame. I took two 1 1/2" x 3/4" boards, and cut them so the short length would be as wide as a roll of plastic hardware cloth I had. I put two screws in each corner to keep it square and spray-painted it.
You can skip building a frame and use some pegboard, hang everything on a chain-link fence, or just duct tape everything to a wall. I found one person that used suction cups with hooks on her shower wall.

For the inside of the frame I stapled some plastic hardware cloth to the frame.
It turned out the roll wasn't quite as wide as advertized on the package so I had to run three strips across the frame instead of running it the length of the frame. I figured that when the cloth wore out I could easily replace it with something more durable.

Next you need some containers and something to fasten them to the frame with. I'd saved some plastic containers, and really lucked out at the dollar store where I found some accordion tubes that hook together and hold their shape when bent. (Pop-toobs can be bought here). I cut the containers up, taped the tubes to the bottles and poked holes in various places to create drips. I also found a few tubs at the dollar store to catch (most) of the water. I looked at a lot of options for attaching the containers and tubes to the frame, from wire to Velcro, and finally decided to use pipe cleaners. They added color, were kid friendly, and are easily removable so I can re-arrange things when this configuration gets old.

My one year old loved it, so mission accomplished.
I think next time I'll tweak a few things: I didn't think to raise one of the short lengths of board to make a gap for the tubs to go directly under all the dripping. I also think I'll use chicken wire or some metal hardware cloth when I need to replace this though.




(Safety note: Be sure to secure the frame so it can't tip over on kids, and don't leave kids unattended-I'm sure you are aware toddlers can drown in a few inches of water in a tub like these. You might want to tape over some of the cut plastic edges if they turn out a little sharp.)

Here are a few blogs that inspired this waterwall:
Share and Remember Blog
Let The Children Play
Pre-School Play

How to Hack your Swiffer (Because You are Thrifty, or because You are Trying to be Environmentally Responsible)

I was given a Swiffer Jet mop. It is a lot more convenient than mopping, but I have a hard time paying for the disposable pads and solution. I usually use three pads each time I mop, and it adds up. I'm not terribly fond of their cleaning solution either, it always seems to leave a film on the floor.

After a little research I found it is easy to make this device more economical and cut down on waste.

You need a Swiffer Jet or similar wet mop, microfiber cloths, pliers, and a sewing machine or serger.



When I first got the mop I tried to figure out how to refill the bottle but had given up. It turns out you just need some pliers to give you enough grip to twist the lid off. The first time I tried it the lid came right off, but the second time I refilled it the lid didn't come off as easily, but I got it off eventually. I'm not sure why. Once the lid is off, you can refill it with your favorite floor cleaner, or just use a vinegar-water solution. (If you have hardwood floors, make sure your solution is safe to use on them).

I bought the thickest microfiber cloths I could find at the dollar store and used an original pad for a guide as to how to fold it. It doesn't matter much if it's a little bigger than the original pad.

I folded it so the edges were inside, and I surged the sides to hold it together.
My Swiffer has some Velcro that holds the pad on, if your mop doesn't have this, you could sew some elastic to the pad to hold it to the mop. Microfiber sticks well to the Velcro, but you could use elastic to hold a pad made out of other fabrics, like old towels to the mop.

The homemade pads are machine washable, and you can flip them over once one side gets dirty. After testing the new pads, I decided to sew across the pad a few times to keep all the layers together. The microfiber worked so much better than the disposable pads ever did, and I only ended up using one (flipping it over once) instead of the three disposable pads I usually use.

I'm feeling so thrifty and eco-friendly right now! Now I just need a steamer mop...

Fused Plastic Bag Bibs

My little buddy just decided that he was done with all this spoon-feeding, but his hand-feeding skills generate a lot of interesting kibble on the seat of his chair and on the floor. Maybe it's time to get a dog, but in the meantime I thought a bib with a pocket would cut down the crumb zone a little. I looked at pocket bibs a few times at the local box stores, but I have a hard time paying over $5 for something I can make myself. (Even if I know I'll never get around to it). When I saw a tutorial on how to fuse plastic bags together to make a thicker, sew-able plastic, I thought it would be fun to try this and make a few bibs.

The tutorial I followed left out a few important pointers. I've since found a better tutorial that shows this process in detail here.

I took eight plastic bags and cut the handles and the seam off the bottom. I cut one side to lay them flat and layered them with the printed sides on top of each other. I used parchment paper under the bags, and had one piece I moved around with the iron.

After a few seconds I realized the iron must be too hot, because this is what happened:














I turned the iron down from the cotton setting and tried again. When I finished it was a bit bubbly in places where it didn't fuse completely, but at least it didn't immediately begin melting holes. Each iron will be a bit different, but I'd suggest you start with the iron set in the middle and turn it up or down as you need.
My finished plastic fused together for the most part but there were bubbles where a layer or two didn't fuse. The tutorial I followed didn't mention turning the plastic over partway through, or re-ironing it until all bubbles fuse. I guess I don't mind the bubbling so much on a bib, it made it a little softer, but if you want to sew something like a tote you would need it completely fused so it won't rip.
I also learned the hard way that any printing on the bag would stick to the paper, so printing needs to be on the inside. It wasn't a huge problem but it made it a little messy.

I then used a bib I had to trace a pattern. This bib didn't have a pocket so at the bottom I flipped the bib and turned it out a little so the pocket would stay open all the time.















The fused bags cut easily, and though my little buddy will be advertising for a major box store, he'll just be making a mess all over it.















To finish the bib, I dug in my stash and found some bias tape. I didn't have any double-fold tape, which would have worked better, but I figured it would be silly if I went out and bought supplies to make this when I wouldn't pay for a finished product. (The age-old crafting trap!) I also had some sewable Velcro in my stash. I sewed the tape across the pocket first, then used one long piece to go from one bottom corner of the bib to the other. I sewed on the Velcro, and was finished. The bib was far from perfect but I had to keep reminding my perfectionist self: "Self, this is a BIB!".














Only 45 minutes had passed from start to finish, so I used the other half of the fused bags to make a second bib. Wow, I got two bibs done in one naptime AND I helped save sea turtles!

An alternate, also eco-friendly material to use would be to cut up an old plastic tablecloth, like the one you happened to set that hot pot down on one spot...

Here is a pattern for this bib. I think I might make it a little longer next time, this can be done easily by adding an inch or two where the pieces join. The images should be printed at 8 1/2 x 11 for it to be the correct scale. Remember printing from your browser will resize the image, so save it then print it.