Monday, September 26, 2011

Cardboard box or kitchen appliance?


It's been rainy and grey the last couple days here so we've been doing more indoor activities with my son.


And I finally made a low-budget version of something I've been wanting to make my son for a little while - a kitchen set.  Originally I wanted to make one out of a refurbished end table like I've seen out in blogland, but lack of tools and budgeting have held me back.


Instead, I just decided to repurpose a cardboard box.  This particular one was a diaper box, but as you can see it has been reincarnated as a hardcore stainless steel appliance.  It only took some silver spray paint, my hot glue gun, some painter's tape, and a little less than $20 in random "hardware."


A plastic valve, an elbow joint, and a little cap underneath became a faucet and a 15cm round baking pan became a sink.  Don't forget to wash your hands before you start cooking!


A pair of wooden cabinet knobs became the oven and stove dials.


A 6-inch burner pan and 3 jumbo craft sticks painted black for a burner.


Another cabinet door handle and a dishcloth for an over door handle and a dish towel.


And, for a little extra storage (because what chef doesn't need more storage), three cup hooks to hold a set of pots and pans.


Tip of the day: if you try this do not use clear packing tape - use painter's tape.  The spray paint will not adhere to the packing tape, but does adhere to the painter's tape.  Use a hot glue gun to seal the various parts to the frame where necessary and for added stability and extra masking tape across all the seams helps a lot too.  I know that typically you'd think that cardboard wouldn't hold up for long, but those diaper boxes are pretty sturdy.  I think we'll get plenty of use out of this one.


Not the clearest picture, but here's my little chef in action - baking an orange and an ear of corn for me. 

The plastic basket of fruits and veggies was $5 and the set of pots and pans were $12.88, both at Wal-mart.

I'll be linking this up at Met Monday and a bunch of other fun link parties...

Sunday, September 18, 2011

Taffy Rainbow

 I'm going to try something novel and write a post!  How crazy, right?!  Don't freak out.
 

Believe it or not, I have not fallen off the face of the earth.  I've been doing the school thing and the work thing and I've been doing a little crafting here and there. 


This particular quilt is for my brand new niece.  I called it "Taffy Rainbow" because I made it from a strip kit that was called Taffy.


 Just can't seem to get enough of bargello quilts. 



Here's a snapshot of the back.  I struggled a little with the first thread I picked out... too think.  I think the back up thread worked out just fine.


And this was the first time I had done pieced binding and I love the effect.  It was just the right tough for this quilt, I think.


It felt great to get in some quilting since I've mostly been knitting and crocheting a lot late.  Hopefully I'll get some posts together on some of those other finished pieces.


Oh, and don't look now, but here's that new little star!  Love her!


Linking this up to Met Monday and lots of other fab parties... check out my Linky Parties tab!