Curb Trash to Play Kitchen Treasure

There it was.  The beauty by the roadside.  My heart went pitter patter and I knew in an instant this entertainment center was for us!  But not for TV entertainment...Momma had it in her brain to turn this into a play kitchen for the kids.  (Hmmm...that's two blog posts in a row I've referred to myself as Momma.)

A few saw cuts, some paint and some screws later... 

Ta-da!  It's actually been done and in the house being played with for a few weeks now.  Just took that long to hang the dowel rod for the under-the-sink curtain.  :-P  I still want to make a window to put on the wall above the sink. 

I've been looking at play kitchens for a while, but I was just never a fan of the plastic ones.  From plastic to wooden ones, they range in price from $75 to a couple hundred dollars.  I knew I could make something that was a little more sylish than the plastic ones, for much less moolah.



Microwave with decoupaged button numbers done on my Cricut machine.




Stove top with sewn felt burners.





Oven with candle cup knobs and a pantry shelf.




Sink bowl with candle cup knobs and letter "J" faucet.





Under sink storage with curtain hung on a dowel rod.





Having fun with the play kitchen!!!

The entertainment center "came" with an extra shelf and door not pictured, so that was extra wood to cut up (thanks Nick and Dad!).  I used the hinges that were provided, so I only had to buy one pair of hinges for the microwave.  I splurged on the door handles, as I wanted them to look really nice.  I debated about the oven shelf.  I thought about making one or making one work from one of my cookie racks...but nothing that I could find laying around fit just right, so I ended up buying something. 

Here's the supply list:

FREE! - Entertainment Center
On hand - Wood glue, wood filler, screws, acrylic paint for knobs and faucet
On hand - Felt for burners
On hand - Bowl for sink...My favorite sized bowl from my kitchen.  Thankfully, it pops out of the play kitchen, so I can still use it if I need to.
On hand - Fabric for curtain
$5 - Gallon of Oops paint from Home Depot
$10.13 - Three door handles from Home Depot
$4.15 - Two small sheets of plexiglass from Home Depot
$2.17 - Two-pack of hinges from Home Depot
$2.39 - Candle holder cups from Jo-Ann's (eight in a bag!  Woot!)
$1.49 - The wooden letter "J" from Jo-Ann's
??? - Dowel rod from Jo-Ann's.  Can't remember the price and I threw away the receipt.
$3 - Shelf for the oven from Dollar General

So, the entire project was completed for less than $30.

And look what I saw while shopping for my niece's birthday present.  So much smaller and so much more money :-P:

The End of Optimus Prime???

I think not!  Momma's got the favorite boots duct taped to live another day!  These are the favorite boots that Grandma Cinder and Popper got Emory a year and a half to two years ago.  They have become all he likes to wear...although, we are currently waiting for them to dry out from playing out in the rain so much!

Emory is my dress up, role play guy.  I laugh when we watch Toy Story 3 and see Bonnie in her cape and in her boots...because that is Emory.  Each day is something new and the fun never ends!

Playing "baseball man" in Evander's uniform

The Halloween costume that keeps on giving

It's a football named Lilo!

Wearing his Lowe's stuff around the house

Super Why!

Ready to sweat and play!

Dry

It has been anything BUT dry in our neck of the woods for the entire month of April.  I tell myself I am okay with that, and I think I am...but it sure was nice to see the sunshine we saw alllllllll day today!  No rain!

These past couple days, I've felt emotionally, spiritually, and creatively...dry.  Used up.  Did you know that a Mommy cannot be "dry"???  Whether it happens, or not, your kids make it impossible to remain in any sort of stagnant or negative state for too long.  I think that's a blessing.  I suppose having to be "on" all of the time for your kids is a good kick to practice this:

1 Thessalonians 5:15b-18:

...seek after that which is good for one another and for all people.  Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

So, today, the boys and I went through a thankful list.

Evander said that he is thankful for (in the order that he said them):

• Flowers
• His bird book (he's been into drawing and writing books lately.  I'm also thankful we've moved on from dinosaur and volcano books...at least for now)
• Pine trees (we planted some trees at my niece's birthday party recently)
• God
• Us
• The plants that grow
• Jesus
• Bumpa & Barbie

Emory is thankful for:

• Jessie the Yodelin' Cow Girl
• Woody
• Buzz
• Books
• Nana (after Evander asked, "Are you thankful for me, Emmer?")
• Mommy's apron

That last one was certainly one of those look around the room and see what I can come up with things.  Just like Evander named his Pillow Pet "Closet Door."  Ha.

I am thankful for:

• God's love for me
• My family
• Cheese (trust me...I'm putting together a week's worth of Vegan meals. I miss cheese already just thinking about not eating it.)
• The most beautiful bread I've ever made with my bread machine.  Must be the fresh yeast I bought.

In case you couldn't tell...I labeled it for you.

• The sunshine today, of course!!!  Wow!  It even reflected off of things.  I forgot it did that. 



Ahhhhhhhhh!



Resurrection Cookies

A friend introduced me to these cookies last year and I thought they were such a neat idea to celebrate Easter with the kids.  I had never heard of them before and definitely wanted to make them with my children.  They are meant to be done the night before Easter, but we couldn't wait!

INGREDIENTS
1 c whole pecans
1 t vinegar
3 egg whites
salt
1 c sugar
Bible



And yes, my Bible looks like a furry animal.  Doesn't yours?


Preheat oven to 300°. 

Place pecans in ziploc baggie and let the children beat them with a wooden spoon.  Explain that after Jesus was arrested, he was beaten by the Roman soldiers.  John 19:1-3




Spoons are going wild!!!


Let each child smell the vinegar.  Put it in a mixing bowl.  Explain that when Jesus was thirsty on the cross, He was given vinegar to drink.  John 19:28-30

Add egg whites to vinegar.  Eggs represent life.  Explain that Jesus gave his life to give us life.  John 10:10-11

Sprinkle a little salt into each child's hand.  Let them taste it and brush the rest into the bowl.  Explain that this represents the salty tears shed by Jesus' followers, and the bitterness of our own sin.  Luke 23:27

So far, the ingredients are not very appetizing.  Add sugar.  Explain the sweetest part of the story is that Jesus died because He loves us.  He wants us to know and belong to him.  Psalm 34:8, John 3:16

Beat with mixer on high speed for 12-15 minutes until stiff peak forms.  Explain that the color white represents the purity in God's eyes of those whose sins have been cleansed by Jesus.  Isaiah 1:18


The beauty of this mixer.


Fold in broken nuts.  Drop by teaspoons onto cookie sheet covered with wax paper.  Explain that each mound represents the rocky tomb where Jesus' body was laid.  Matthew 27:57-60

Put the cookie sheet in the oven, close the door and turn the oven off.  Give each child a piece of tape to seal the oven door.  Explain that Jesus' tomb was sealed.  Matthew 27:65-66



No pecans are going to escape this oven!


Go to bed!  Explain that they may feel sad to leave the cookies in the over overnight.  Jesus' followers were in despair when the tomb was sealed.  John 16:20 & 22

On Easter morning open and give everyone a cookie.  Notice the cracked surface and take a bite.  The cookies are hollow!  On the first Easter, Jesus' followers were amazed to find the tomb open and empty.  Matthew 28:1-9

I just wanted to peek in the oven so bad after the kids went to bed!  Like the yogurt in the slow cooker, I was so excited to see, "Did it work?  Did it work?!?!?"  It worked.  :-)

And look!  Resurrection Bread!

Eggs-tra Fun!

One thing I look forward to each Easter is fussing with eggs!  Here's what I painted this year:



Toy Story eggs



My goal is to paint at least three eggs each year with something that the kids are into at the time. And when they are older and have their own homes and families, we will give them each their eggs.  So, I started last year with Thomas:




Thomas & Friends eggs

 

And I discovered THE BEST way to blow out eggs.  Simply poke a small pin hole in the top and bottom of the egg, and then use an ear bulb syringe/snot sucker thingy, they give you at the hospital for having a baby, to squirt all of the guts out.  Amazing.  My poor mother used her lungs to blow the contents out for many, many years.

Painting eggs is something we always did when my sister and I were little.  We always had an Easter egg tree to display our craft on.  I tried last year:

It looked more like the Charlie Brown tree, and since then the branches have gotten destroyed.  I didn't get one cut this year.  :-(

Here's a pic of some of the eggs from over the years that my mom still displays:

There's a couple old old ones at the top there, but most of these eggs are from throughout the 1990's...it's strange, there seems to be a lack of eggs from the early 2000's.  Oh yeah, that's when I was a college student and college sucked all of the creativity out of me.  :-P  I've also lost a few that I did when Nick and I were first married...they were cool with embroidery floss wrapped around them and candy foil Mod Podged to them.  Haven't seen them since we lived in an appartment.  :-(

These are some of my favorites...I should do more.  They are at my mom and dad's house:


Quilled eggs



The boys and I have been doing all sorts of things with eggs this year.  Of course there's painting:

Paper mache eggs...very cool:

Scuba eggs...on a beach of lentils:

His face when I told him he'd have to hold the egg there for five minutes straight:

Gospel message eggs:

And of course, Jell-O eggs!

I just love decorating eggs.  Can you tell?  There's so many different things to do with them, and they are nice and small so you can complete what you're doing fairly quickly. 

I hope this has inspired you to have some egg fun!

Kanzashi Flower Tutorial

Ooooo, oooo, oooo!  Pretty little flowers.  I love kanzashi.

Traditionally, Japanese Hana Tsumami Kanzashi is a beautiful art form of folding squares of silk into petals and gluing them together to be worn with the Japanese kimono.  Here's a list of what flowers are worn with the kimono during different times of the year: Seasonal Kanzashi  I know very little about Japanese culture, so I'll probably just stop there. 

Making westernized kanzashi is fun and easy! 

Select your fabric, and start out by starching your fabric pieces.  I like to work with strips, because it's easy.

Remember this from an earlier blog post?: Does your spray starch stick?

And the answer is, yes.  My spray starch sticks.  

I think that shirt and sweater warrants me a spot on a commercial for some mop or cleaner.  But hey, stay-at-home moms don't want to wear  t-shirts and sweat pants all of the time! 

Anyhoo...starch your pieces.  I don't know anything about starching, but I did read the label on the can.  Maybe I should call my grandmother, who used to starch my grandpa's underwear.  Nick says he'd like his starched...I still haven't decided if he's serious or joking.

Starch your pieces already!  Spray them evenly and let the starch soak into the fabric.  I find it best to iron the wrong side of the fabric so that WHEN your starch sticks and makes flakes, it's all on the side of the fabric you will never see.  Spray and iron about four or five times until it's nice and stiff.  The goal is to make your fabric act more like paper than fabric. 

Cut your fabric squares.  Your completed flower will turn out approximately the same size as the squares you use.  I cut eight 2 1/2 in. squares, but you can experiment with size and the number of petals on your flower.

Take a square with the right side down

and fold the top point down.

Take the left point and fold down to the bottom point.

Do the same with the right point.

It's completely okay if your points do not meet up exactly, or if you have fraying edges.  You will not see them.

Flip your square over.

Bring the left and right points to meet in the center.

Fold in half vertically like you're closing a book.


Ooooooo...that picture you can see where I stabbed my thumb with the drill working on the play kitchen.  :-P

Sew a stitch into your petal

Or, you could add a pin.  I like to use a small stitch since I never know how long I'll get to sit at any given time, and I also never know where little fingers might end up and poke themselves or undo my progress!

Pinned, I think they look like little locusts.  Maybe that's just me. 

Repeat this process with the rest of your squares.

Trim your petals in a straight line beginning at the lowest point of the diagnoal.

Next, double thread a needle...don't bother tying a knot at the end.  Begin threading your petals.  Needle should be placed about 1/8 in. from the cut edge right in the middle.

Continue stringing.

Cut the needle off your thread and pull the two sides of your string together so that the petals form a flower shape.  Tie a surgeon's not once your petals are nice and tight.  Tug a little...move some petals a little...fuss with it until you are happy with the flower shape.  Cut the thread.

Turn your flower over so the bottom side is up.  Cut a circle out of matching fabric and hot glue it to the bottom of your flower.  This keeps all the petals stable and in their place.

Turn it over again and add an embelishment for the center of your flower.  Tada!

You can see that I put this flower on a cilp.  To do so, trace the clip shape on some matching fabric.  Trace with about a 1/4 in. extra around it.  You will be turning this under to sew so as not to show any raw edge.

Cut.

Fold under and sew.

Hot glue to clip.

And hot glue your flower to your clip!  Bing.  Bang.  Boom.

The end.  :-)

And since the baby won't keep any cute thing in her hair...I had to find another, more willing, model.

And here it is on meeeeeee...

 And baby girl on the run!

 




Other blooms.  :-)





Such an easy model.