Wednesday, March 31, 2010

New Kitchen Appliances!

We've had a string of tough days lately.  Nothing dramatic, just the convergence of two two-year-olds fully embracing the Terrible Terrific Twos, a three-year-old learning about honesty, and a baby who's cutting teeth and climbing stairs.  And some days it just amazes me how much of my day involves poop.  Seriously, people.  It's the stuff of nightmares.

Anyway, despite the fact that I had two three-foot high piles of laundry to fold and probably needed to mop the floor or something,  I spent one day last week making this:

It used to be a giant cardboard box and now it's a kitchen set! It's only temporary until I can get Billy to make one out of wood when he has time.  (I've seen several online made out of old nightstands and entertainment centers.)  It's far, far from perfect (curtains aren't hemmed, doors don't always stay closed, etc.) but it didn't cost me one penny to make and the kids love it.  And that's what works for us!
The sink is a bucket, the stove burners are CDs, the stove knobs are baby food jar lids, and the "glass" door on the oven is a sheet protector.  I attempted to paint a design on the cabinet door and let's just say it's a good thing you can't see it in the pictures.  I still need to add a faucet and "hot" and "cold" labels to the sink. 
So far Joe's favorite is baking cupcakes, Mikea loves washing dishes in the sink, and Daniel likes crawling into the oven.  As much as the kids love it, the best part was how much fun I had making it.  I've got a big jumble of boxes in the garage and am waiting to be inspired to make something else...I'll let you know when it happens!

6 comments:

Laura said...

I LOVE THEM! Kids love card board things and they can last for a really long time! We made a whole store using cereal boxes and any other disposable item like that...things that could be used safely. It is a great frugal idea... and it looks great! You are really doing a fantastic job with your children!

Joy said...

That was WAY more productive than doing laundry!

Jamie said...

LOVE it! I'm on the hunt for the perfect nightstand to turn into a kitchen too...I hate the giant plastic one that we have now. maybe I'll get rid of it and make a cardboard one...it's amazing ANNA! You ROCK!!!

riversnake said...

That is truly amazing/inspiring! It looks like so much fun to make and so much fun for the kids to play with, too!

I might have to put a bug in my husband's ear to make something similar. He was blessed with FAR more creativity than I was. :)

Thanks for sharing the pictures!!

~Jill

K E Fleck said...

That laundry and floor will have to wait ... because this is WONDERFUL! :-)

What a creative and fun project - I love it!

Best Wishes, Kara

Mid-Craft Crisis said...

I made our kids a cardboard box kitchen. It got more and more involved because the kids kept on telling me things they needed. It lasted at our house for over 6 months. You can see it here http://midcraftcrisis.blogspot.com/2010/03/cardboard-kitchen-and-bit-of-felt-food.html
I love cardboard boxes! They are useful for entertaining kids in so many ways. I agree with the other commenters - housework will wait. Seeing kids bake and wash up is so cute!