Fire Truck Pinata and Box

There wasn't much prep involved in this party. Lots of printing and laminating. I did make the pinata from scratch and it was very straight forward. 

 Not my finest piece of work, but Duke was thrilled!!

The fire trucks that the kids had their race in was a little more complicated and they turned out so much cuter Than I had hoped! I started off spray painting a couple of diaper boxes black. I then did a light uneven coat of red over the top. 

I taped white paper to the front and cut out a few windows from construction paper. The bumper is tinfoil. 

 i made a grill from tin foil and added a few lights. 

 I cut out a glittery 4, cut out the words FIRE DEPT and 911 on my cricut. 

 I used a mini solo cup for the light on top and put a battery operated light inside so that it would light up. 

I just love them! They turned out great and where super simple! Now it's time to party!

Super Hero Pegs

I have been wanting to make super hero pegs for Duke for the longest time. So this month I finally got around to doing it. I would have to admit I think my painting has come a long way from when I first started making these things.

Designing the super hero's was a ton of fun. I used some pictures from Pinterest for inspiration but I also went from actual pictures of the characters which was neat.

These pegs were slightly wider than the pegs I used for E's doll so I was only able to fit four across. I also wanted the Hulk to be bigger than everyone else and I just love how he turned out. My favorite one is Captain America though, while Batman is my favorite super hero I loved painting Captain America, I am really pleased with how he turned out.

The box was such a challenge for me. I knew I wanted the inside to be all "secret hideout" but I had no idea what to paint. I figured while most of the super hero's don't use guns, Daddy would appreciate a few firearms, an American flag (even though I'm Canadian), and a computer.

The outside had me baffled, and finally after staring at the box for more than a week I decided to just paint it as though it were hidden in the forest. I don't love it, but Duke was pleased as punch and that is what mattered!

So glad to FINALLY have this project off of my list!

DIY One Board Step Stools

Once you have made something, it becomes an addiction. Gretchen and I were perusing Pinterest and came across these step stools. SO cute, had the instructions right there, and were made from one board! So we shipped off to Home Depot. Armed with our $6 boards, we decided that we would cut the boards at home, and it was a good yet, tricky thing. Cutting wood with 5 kids it gets tricky to keep all of the measurements straight. We realized that we would need a table saw so I asked the neighbor across the street if he had one. He did and for a candy bar he cut the wood for us! It was a beautiful thing and a table saw is next on my wish list for tools! 

All of our wood cut, sanded and pocket holes drilled.

 

 This was a super fast project to put together! 

My super cute assistant Gretta who sat there watching me the entire time. :)

 And done! I went with a grey wash for the steps and solid white on the sides and I LOVE it! The painting was the longest part! We use it all the time!

 Love the little angled sides!

 I then decided that I needed a second one since the kiddos were stealing it to use elsewhere in the house! This time I went with a Dark Walnut top and I couldn't love it more!!! 

 The only issue with having step stools in the house, it means nothing is safe. Duke now climbs into all of the cupboard but really, these stools are just beyond functional, sturdy for me and the kiddos and $6 a piece!!!!!!! So in love! Now, what else should I build?

DIY Chalkboard

 I have wanted to make a chalkboard for the LONGEST time. And now that we are in the new house I had the perfect place for one in my kitchen! I saw this tutorial on Pinterest and figured, it doesn't get much easier than that! I decided that I would rock it out the day before Mom and Dad Tobler were to arrive, so we headed over to Home Depot for supplies. While reading her post I was a bit nervous about spending $60 on supplies, I knew I could do it for cheaper. So I went down the wood isle and I found a sheet of MDF already cut at 4'x2' +/- for $6. Score. I then got 2 1x4's and used them to cut a long and a short side from each board. My friend Gretchen already had the chalk paint, I purchased a can of stain (which will last me throughout the rest of my life!! and then I got some short wood screws, and some d ring picture hangers. Total Cost approx. $30. First I painted my MDF board with three coats of chalk paint. I painted in both directions as well.

 Using my miter saw I cut my boards at a 45 degree angle. This was a bit of a learning curve and I would use a fresh blade next time as mine is pretty old. Then I stained the boards. 

 Let everything dry, add a sealant to the 1x4" boards (which I already had.) and screw it all together. This project took me one afternoon! It was super simple and I LOVE the end result!!!! 

And so do my kiddos! Now we're ready for Grammy and Pa!

DIY Kids Wood Kitchen

I have been wanting to make E a kitchen for quite sometime. In my original minds eye I had planned on making her one out of an entertainment center. I even went as far as purchasing one and hauling it up 100 stairs from some mans garage. Then it sat in my garage for 6 months and I decided it wasn't exactly what I had in mind after all. So I went exploring on Pinterest (where would I be without you?!) And I found this. It was perfect, came with instructions and was cute as cute could be!

With my new saw and my best friend we set to work. There was cutting, sanding, measuring, and more cutting and sanding. 

And sometimes your projects fight back!

This sweet girl was the best helper! She is really good at hammering!

Oven assembled.... man I can hardly stand how CUTE it is!! This bad boy was a bit of a pain. In the original plans it doesn't have you cut the board small enough to allow the oven door to be flush, so I had to change that. Then I cut a board at 4" out of my scraps to save some money instead of buying a 4" board but forgot that 4" boards aren't actually 4" they are more like 3 3/4" (+/-) so I had to sand down that top lip where it meets the oven door....

I was squatting a bit too long while I was sanding and this is what happened to my toes.... Ouch! 

Putting in a few more nails! 

And they are assembled (I still need to put in the sink and per E's request I made cupboard doors for the sink instead of a curtain.)

So we don't have a jig saw and by this time my budget for this project we pretty tapped, so I got creative and used a drill to drill as much as I could out and then I used an exacto knife to cut out the remaining wood. Let me tell you.... it was a pain in the butt... but it worked. 

I did the same process for the sink....

 And it ended up being TOO SMALL!!!! AHHH! So I grabbed Jakob's scout knife (okay it's a bit bigger than a scout knife) and I started carving away.... it was ridiculously frustrating... BUT IT WORKED! 

 

It was at this point that I decided that I really wanted an extra shelf in the "freezer" section of the fridge. But I didn't have enough wood. Some wood glue took care of that and I pieced together another shelf. 

Time to paint it Elsa blue!

So much paint!!! I painted the inside of the fridge, oven and sink white and then I painted thhe outsides blue. I really liked how it gave it a bit more dimension!

And the big reveal! Drum roll please!!!!

 Seriously though, I couldn't love it more!!!!

 I love that it is three separate pieces which makes for a lot of versatility.

 I love how tall and skinny the fridge is. I saw a few others that were wider but this really just is perfect!

 I added a galvanized piece of metal that I purchased on Amazon here. (You can find them at Home Depot too.) It was too wide and I didn't have any way to cut it so I just folded one side under which worked brilliantly. I then screwed it to the side. Looking back, I'm not sure if I would have done the magnet board as E really doesn't do much with it. She does on occasion hang up some of her pictures but not sure if it was worth the extra $6 for the metal. I had considered doing a chalk board along this side, but then I didn't want them coloring all over the set, which I knew would be inevitable.

 This little magnet was a must! I got in the clearance section at Michaels.

 The oven is my favorite piece. I got the knobs on Amazon here. The pull is from IKEA. Which is the same pull we used on the fridge. I love the plexiglass oven door (which has been jumped on and replaced 3 times now ;).)

 But my favorite feature is the little light inside the oven. I used one of the sticky back lights that you can push on from the dollar store and I stuck it behind where the knobs are so the kiddos could reach it. It just adds that extra little something something!

 As mentioned before the E requested that we putt cupboard doors on instead of a curtian which I love! They magnet shut, and the curtian while adding color just added a bit of chaos in my OCD mind.

 The faucet I purchased on Amazon here. And it was my most expensive accessory. I also ordered a bowl on Amazon that was 9" in diameter and it was TOO BIG! There wasn't enough room for the lip and it just didn't fix. I was soooo disappointed. Thankfully I have a collection of bowls in my kitchen and so I just used one of those. It's approx 6" in diameter which seemed super tiny, but once it was installed it worked like magic!

 All of her pots, pans, tea set and cashier. 

 Oven with the Pizza!

And all of the food fits in the fridge. Most of her pretend food is from IKEA. I love their felt food and their pots and pans. The felt pizza I made last year.

This was SUCH a fun project to make! I seriously was in heaven the whole time!!! Now I want to build sooo many things. Next up, a step stool, and a kitchen table with benches!!!