Play Cooker

This little play cooker has been a long long time in the making. Sometimes life just gets in the way and even though it wasn't too hard to put together it has been hanging around in my studio for at least a year. I'd thought about buying S a cooker for her second birthday but all the ones I liked just seemed so expensive. I had a look around online and discovered loads of brilliant DIY play cookers made out of old bedside cabinets and decided to make my own. I picked up this little cupboard at the local charity shop. It was the perfect size but it didn't have a door on the front so I roped in my brother in law to attach a door to it and that's when my project ground to a halt. Fast forward to the new year and I decided that the cooker would be a brilliant 'you're the best big sister gift' to try and ease the pain of no longer being the one and only!

I fixed some batons of wood onto the inside using 'no more nails' and cut out a shelf from plywood. I drilled four holes for the knobs which are I bought from an Ebay store in Hong Kong - Don't you just love the internet! I made them quite tight fitting as they didn't come with nuts to fasten them but you could easily find some in a DIY store. I painted the whole thing with peachy pink Farrow & Ball paint leftover from another project (Inspired by this gorgeous vintage play cooker). To stop it looking too pretty pretty I added a bright red 50's handle that I bought second hand from Ebay. I used blackboard paint on the interior of the door and hob tops which are just MDF circles glued on. Finally I added a few hooks to the side so she can hang up her pinny and tea-towels (another project in the making!)

She loved it and played with it straight away. She even has a little pad and pencil that she keeps in her apron pocket for taking orders.

As usual if you get inspired we'd love to see the results!

Kat
x

My First Sketchbook

Sometimes the tidying up is just as fun as the mess making!

Homemade Stickies

The nesting instinct has well and truly kicked in round our house and friends and charity shops have been striking lucky thanks to my current obsession with space and tidiness.  There are so many things I've hung onto but not looked at for an age including stacks of old magazines (which are now completely neglected thanks to pinterest). I was just about to chuck them in the recycling when I noticed all the cute images inside. A surprisingly cathartic evening in front of the TV with a pair of scissors later and Stevie had a big pile of pretty pictures to stick.  Her smile when I showed her what I'd done the next day was easily worth the time and she loved picking out her favorites to stick.

Easy Peasy Mark Making

Tip - Use a serving plate for the paint palette and add one colour at a time so it doesn't all go a lovely brown straight away!

Enjoy x

Watercolours For Toddlers

I had to think twice before posting this little tip - it's just so simple that it hardly seems worth it, but it is pretty handy, so for anyone who hasn't thought about it before here it is...

If you have a two year old like me who loves to paint then the quickest way is to set them up with a watercolour set. However, as I found, watercolour paints need LOTS of water, and my little one couldn't quite grasp the concept of putting water on the paint each and every time she went back for more, which led to a frustrated child asking for the 'big paint' - not always an option if you're in the middle of cooking dinner. So to get round this I poured a little pool of water on each pan of colour and voila, constant, vibrant paint with no chance of a water cup tipping, no mess and minimum cleaning up. Painting smock still firmly hanging in the cupboard, child amused for at least 20 mins and dinner on the table. It's a small victory but a good one! 

I picked up our watercolour set for a couple of pounds from Tiger

Bird Garland

This little bird garland is so simple to make even a two year old can do it - as demonstrated by our glamorous little assistant! You can easily adapt the colour and shape to whatever you fancy. You could make an autumnal garland by using oranges, golds and yellows and cutting out leaf shapes or cut out letters to make a name or message garland. Ours adorns Stevie's bedroom wall but they'd be great for a party. We're currently planning a running horses garland which will hopefully appear here soon. Enjoy! K&T xx

Leftovers Art

When we've finished a craft we always sweep up all the leftovers to use for another day.

Party Chicks

These little chick puppets are just the thing with Easter just around the corner. I made them with Stevie (age 2 ½) but they would easily entertain older kids too.  Stevie has been taking them around with her all week and they have even been seen eating her dinner. I have no idea why as we made them together, but she tells me very firmly that the orange and blue one is hers and the pink one is most definitely mummy's!

After I'd taken the photos I found this funny shaped pipe cleaner in Stevie's pen box so we wrapped it around the lolly stick and et voilà party chick wings!
Kx

Paper Plate Party Crown

 

Here's another fun thing to make out of paper plates. My mini person just loved all the sticking involved but you could just as easily go wild with paint and glitter. Have fun! Kx