Entertainment Center to Child's Kitchen

Santa's elves have been putting in a lot of overtime hours in my basement. Look what they've been up to.

Before: An entertainment center I got from the online classifieds for $15

After: A Child Sized Kitchen

I used this tutorial as a guide

Here are some close ups of the elements:

The sink is made from a buffet steam tray. The faucet was a yard sale find.

The counter top is modpodged fabric. Doesn't it look graintey?

The stove. It is the original door with a window cut out and plexiglass added. I attached the plexiglass with E600. The burners are formula can lids. The knobs are things I found at a thrift store, I have no idea what their real purpose is. I got a whole bag of them for $.50 (email me if you'd like me to send some to you. I have a TON left over). The oven door handle is from Ikea, the pot holder is from Ikea, and so are the pots and pans.

Aren't these the cutest? I found them at Sears. Here's the mixer, but I don't see the toaster online.

The window scene was a print from a picture I got at a thrift store for $1. It was modpodged to the back of the kitchen. Then I bought another $1 frame. I painted the frame and glued it around the picture. I used an 18" curtain rod from WM.

Here is the total cost breakdown:

-entertainment center: $15

-paint: $20

-sink: $10

-faucet: $5

-hardware: $10

-fabric: $8

-window: $2

-misc: $5

Total: $75

I'm in the Army Now

Hello everyone. I haven't done many crafty things this week. My husband is in Qatar for a business thing and this single parenting thing is hard. To top it off Magoo came down with a cold. He's not napping well, and has been really clingy so crafting has been almost obsolete. I did manage one quick recon this week.

Specimen A: $1 thrift store hat. Looks sort of Army-ish

After Magoo went to bed one night I got out the dreaded unpicker and went to town on those stars. Added a silk flower attached to a hair clip (that way I can switch it out, or wear it in my hair later) Looks pretty good I think, and I don't think I'll be mistaken for an Army recruit.

Yes, that's me. Yes, that's the nose God gave me. I think I must have gotten in the wrong line when He was passing out noses. :)

P.S. All these pictures were taken at different times of the day. It is not a magically coloring changing hat :)

Stuffed Animal Child Harness

I'll admit it, I used to make fun of people who put their kid on a "leash." But now that I have a one year old, who thinks he can do anything himself, I am all for "leashing" my kid. I've seen quite a few stuffed animal backpack style harness. Here is my homemade version (please click on the pictures to make text easier to read):

To make this harness you will need:

-a stuffed animal

-3 3/4 yard nylon webbing

-1 D-ring

-2 buckles

-2 adjustable strap pieces

-sewing machine, thread, embroidery floss, thimble

I couldn't find packaged adjustable strap things, so I bought a back pack from the dollar store and took the these pieces off.

Next cut your nylon webbing to the following lengths:

3- 3"

2- 23"

2- 6"

2- 11"

1- 42"

Take a lighter and burn the edges on all pieces to prevent fraying.

This completes the "leash" part.

Grab a thimble for these next steps. You are going through a lot of layers so a thimble really helps.

To Finish it off, thread the 23" pieces back through the adjustable strap pieces. Fold the ends over twice and stitch to prevent the straps from slipping all the way out (like you did for the chest straps)

Attach the "leash" to the D-ring and you're good to go.

Questions? Leave me a comment or send me an email.

p.s. I know in the picture there are a lot of extra straps hanging down, but I wanted to leave plenty of growing room. Magoo is 15 months and 22 lbs. This should definitely fit throughout the toddler years. But feel free to shorten the straps if you're child doesn't need the extra room.

Magical Halloween

Ever wonder what the heck you are going to do with those graduation gowns hanging in your closet? Well I made mine and the hubs into wizard costumes for Halloween.

It was fairly easy. I bit time consuming, but easy. I cut out star and moon shapes from felt. On mine (purple) I sewed them randomly all over the gown. On the hubs (black) I sewed them down the front, right over top of the zipper. This makes it so the zipper no longer works. So check that the person can slip it over their head without unzipping it.

As for the hats, I cut out a basic cone shape using poster board and this tutorial. After forming them into a cone shape I rolled the cone along a piece of news paper, tracing it to make a pattern for the cover. I used fleece to cover the hats. At first I used cotton to cover the hubs, but the fabric laid wonky. The fleece stretches and fits nicely around the cone. I added a strip filled with polyfill to the bottom for a brim.

Magoo was a dragon, hence having wizard parents. Happy Halloween everyone!

Magical Family

Dragon Magoo

P.S. I got the dragon costume at Old Navy. Unfortunately you just can't make a costume like that for $20

I need your help

Question to the blogger community? Do you spray paint or paint toys for your kids?

I bought something similar to this last week at the new Harrisville, UT DI. I got it for $1.50.

My ultimate goal is to turn into into a homemade version of this:

and be able to turn any shopping cart into a car cart.

My son loves car cart and the only time I can have an enjoyable shopping experience is to let him ride in one. There are a few problems with these car carts though:

1. They are ALWAYS dirty and disgusting

2. They are almost twice as long as a regular cart and I have nearly knocked over displays trying to navigate one.

I didn't love the dorky vibes that my thrift store steering wheel toy was giving off so I took it apart, removed the stickers, and spray painted it. When my husband saw it he got upset and said I couldn't spray paint toys, that my cheapy spray paint might contain lead, that Graham would chew on the toy and scratch off the paint.

So, do you spray paint toys? Is my husband right? Should I scrap this project, look for a new steering wheel toy, and let it be dorky in all it's glory? HELP!

Repurposed Entertainment Center

I CANNOT stop staring at this repurposed entertainment center. My jaw is literally on the floor right now. AMAZING. Sutton Grace is responsible for this masterpiece. Here are her instructions of how to make this yourself.