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

Grocery Shopping, Felt Style

You Like? I made this set of felt groceries as a door prize for Ogden's New Moon, A Twilight Ball. One of my good friends is putting on this event to benefit the JDRF. I hope this set will make a fun door prize for someone.

I mostly traces things from my pantry for my patterns. The others I just winged. The set includes: Milk, Orange Juice, Cake Mix, Corn, Carrots, Soup, Tunafish, Bowtie Pasta, Fresh Fish, and a Reusable Shopping Bag.

A few close ups of the goods:

Bowtie Pasta

Soup, Carrots, Corn, and Tunafish

I'm linking this up at Poppies at Play

Bon Appetit Giveaway

I have a strict rule that I usually give away the first of something I make. (that is if it's logical and reasonable) Why? Because after you've completed a project don't you always say, "If I were to do it again I'd do this or that differently." Well, my OCD takes over and I can't stand looking at my mistakes forever.

So, to celebrate having ALMOST 50 followers I am giving one of you the first felt pizza I've made. I made this pattern up on my own. You will get 4 slices of cheese pizza with sauce made from a secret family recipe :) Also included are removable pepperoni toppings. I promise that the only flaws are the ones my OCD brain creates. Like, I swear the cheese is crooked on one of these... The pepperonis are done by free motion stitching. They are not perfect circles, but this was intentional. I think they look more pepperoni-y that way. P.S. The props, aka The Pizza Cutter, is not included in the giveaway.

If you'd like a chance to win leave a comment before Friday, November 6, 2009. I will draw the winner at 10:00 pm MST. Good Luck!

Homemade Car Cart

So in this post here I told you guys about how my son LOVES car carts. And for my sanity I LOVE car carts. But not every store has them, and the are usually SO DIRTY I hate to put my kid in them. So I came up with this.

BTW, he is feeling better, but not good enough to let go of the binky, so he's proudly sporting it in this pic.

Here's how I did it.

I attached two ribbons to the bottom of the toy and TA DA! Easy huh? I attached my ribbons through the same holes that were used to bind the toy will a million wires to the packaging (by the way, anyone want to join me in boycotting toy packaging? Seriously, who is suppose to be able to open those things?), but you could use hot glue or E6000.

See, threaded them through existing slots.

In addition to my other post about this project, here is the original toy I bought at the DI for $2.50. Isn't it dorky? I decided spray painting it was a bad idea so I threw it away. It took weeks to find this at the DI and I was inpatient to wait for another one to show up. I stopped in the toy section at Walmart to see what they wanted for a new one. When my son saw it he wouldn't let it go. He cried when the cashier had to ring it up. I usually never buy things for him if it isn't an occasion, but I caved and spent $15 on the one in the finished project. A little high priced for my taste, but shopping has been a breeze. Oh well.

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!

Go ahead, play with your food

Skip to my Lou has a darling tutorial here for a felt sack lunch. I had so much fun making this. I am going to donate it to the elementary school in my neighborhood for their silent auction.




Now I need to get working on the felt food to go with my sons play kitchen he is getting for Christmas.


By the way, I've created I really cool bulletin board collage. I hope I can get it on the wall and post pics before I leave for Nashville this weekend. {fingers crossed}

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.

Year Round Harvest

While blog stalking one day I found an amazing tutorial for a felt garden from Ikat Bag. You can find the tutorials here, here, here and here.

So after 2 weeks of sewing during nap times I had this:

Complete with pickable strawberries

Pickable pea pods:

Cornstalks with pickable corn on the cob:

And carrots:

Harvest Time!

The carrots and potatoes also came from Ikat Bag, here.