Play Kitchen, part 2

I finished the kitchen! It's set up in the (real) kitchen now, and it appears to be a stunning success. Boozle washes her hands, bakes pizza, and boils pizza toppings.

Here's a video of her first time playing with it:



And some photos of the finished product:



[continued from Play Kitchen, part 1]

knit dress

Last night I finished a knit dress (er, tunic? it's short.) for the Boozle. It was an improvised design, so I'm happy to report that it fits and looks cute! The straps fall off her shoulders, so it needs a tie in the back to keep them together, but a piece of yarn sufficed for today. I'm also happy to report that she likes it (she saw me knitting it, and wanted to wear it long before it was done), and that she did not spill anything on it today (other than some plain noodles)!

I will post the pattern once I get it together.

Play Kitchen, part 1

For the last two weeks, I've been working on designing and building a play kitchen. I was inspired when Boozle and I took a trip to the super cool toy store in Northampton, and they had a really nice wooden play kitchen. Not willing to pay $150 for the kitchen, however, but more than willing to give Boozle her own kitchen (so when she wants to help cook, she can help on her own stovetop), I started thinking.

A trip to ReStore and then to our junk-laden basement, and a design developed. Starting with a cabinet we removed from our kitchen, I figured I could paint a couple burners on top, add a sink and faucet, and in front, put a cupboard and oven door.

It needs a little height, so I'll attach it (somehow, not sure) to this shelf thing (from a previous project, a part that doesn't get used anymore).

I took a cupboard door off another spare cabinet to make the door. I had to cut it down to make it fit. If I get really ambitious, I will try to cut the trim and glue it back together. I doubt such ambition will strike, however.

The inside needed a divider, since you can't bake stuff in a cupboard. Some wood from the basement did the trick for that. I found shelf supports and drilled new holes so that the oven and cupboard could both have one shelf inside.

I cut holes in the top to fit a faucet (thanks ReStore!) and sink (dog dish!). Miraculously, their undersides fit between the top piece and top of the cabinet, so I won't have to cut out holes in the cabinet. The bowl/sink sits about 1/4" above the counter top, but some caulk will take care of that (and keep the bowl in the hole).

There is always a point in any project I do where I do things out of order or backwards or upside down. And I have to rip out, undo, or break things to correct the error. I hit that point today when I nailed and glued the top pieces on the cabinet, then tried to put the oven/stovetop knobs on the front.

Since they need to be screwed in from behind, and I had just sealed off said behind, I had to pull the top off. Luckily, it came off pretty easily. The knobs were installed (also ReStore parts), and the top replaced.

After that, I decided to call it a day. Boozle will likely be waking up from her nap soon anyway.

Still remaining to do: oven needs a cutout with plexiglass (so you can see the pizza baking!); shelves need to be cut; lots of cleaning, painting, and probably some contact paper to be applied. Oh, and those legs need to be attached.

To be continued! [part 2]

Getting started

Hopefully this is not yet another started, but not-to-be-completed project.

I've been working on lots of projects lately and feeling the need to document them. So I begin.

For starters:

• a cake recipe. I found a great chocolate cake recipe and I'm trying to convert it to a lemony/vanilla cake. I have not had success yet, but I have gotten pretty good at making seven minute frosting.


• patchwork circle skirts for the boozle. Following a tutorial from Just Tutes, I made a sundress and I retrofitted a pair of ripped overalls with a skirt.


• I'm improvising a knit sundress, also for the boozle.


• I made appliqued blackout curtains from a pair of $15 Ikea curtains.


• I'm plotting out a homemade play-kitchen, after seeing how much the nice wood ones cost today. Mine will use ReStore and basement odds and ends. The plan is in development.


• I made a quilted tummy time mat for a friend's baby shower, complete with rattly toys that clip on to the mat.

These are the projects that are coming to mind that I will chronicle. I might also include work-related projects, like the screen-capture tutorials I'm working on. I'll describe them, add photos of course, and even try to detail a how-to if I can muster it.

This i pledge.
(fingers crossed.)

I do believe I will wait till I've posted at least one of these projects in its entirety before telling anyone about this blog.
Deal.