play kitchen inspiration

Over the weekend I bought a funny little nightstand on Craigslist to start on a project that has been at the top of my list for months:  a play kitchen for Oscar.  Can I just say ... people of Santa Barbara, you overprice your Craigslist items!  Also, you apply the word "vintage" to your furniture posts far too liberally.

After weeks of diligent searching, I found a workable nightstand, which is now living in the in-laws garage next to their precious power tools.   The nightstand has kind of a odd shape, but the price was right (only $5).   My plan turn it into something beautiful like this:

Nightstand Play Kitchen by Vintage Songbird

(I love this one so much!)

I also dig this larger version using an old entertainment center.  If I had the space in my apartment, it would be on.

 

Entertainment Center Play Kitchen by Sutton Grace

Lots of inspiration has turned up in the Play Kitchen Group on Flickr.  Have you seen a nightstand-turned-play kitchen that I should know about?  If so, please share!

Hand-Painted Matryoshka Dolls Mini-Tutorial

 

 

For my last project on So You Think You're Crafty, I painted a set of Matryoshka Dolls.  Also known as Russian Nesting Dolls, these sets of dolls traditionally represent motherhood.

I started out with a plain wooden set of matryoshka dolls.  I spotted mine randomly in the clearance section of Urban Outfitters, but you can find sets online at Amazon.com or other online retailers (just do a google search).

First, paint two coats of your base color.  I chose vibrant colors because I made this set with my toddler in mind. 

 

Using round sponge brushes, paint a circle in a skin-toned color to make the face.  The sponge brush won't give you a very tidy face, so use a brush to smooth out the paint, especially around the edges.  Depending on the size of your sponge brush, you may need to enlarge your face circle, but it gives you a nice starting point.

 

 

Add a face, hair, clothing, and any other details.  I used a ball-head sewing pin to paint most of my details, such as the doll's eyes, rosy cheeks, jewelry, buttons, polka dot patterns, scalloped hem, etc.  For very tiny dots, like in the bow tie on the yellow doll, you can use the sharp tip of the pin.  Just dip the pin generously with paint and place your dots.  Very easy, and gives you a consistent dot.  I painted other details with a fine tipped paint brush.

When you've painted all your details and the dolls have dried, give them a few coats of clear polyurethane varnish to protect the paint and give it a little shine.

 

And there you have it ... a custom set! I painted mine to look loosely like our family.  The only real resemblance is the little Oscar (the green doll).  I'm pretty sure Jared has never worn a bow tie, and I don't have a cute red and white polka dot apron (hmm ... maybe I should make one?).  Oh yeah, and there are a few phantom children in there.  Room to grow, I guess.

The fun part about this project is that you can paint a plain set of nesting dolls anyway you want.  I choose to paint mine as a little family, but storybook characters, groups of animals, or a modern approach with only stripes or geometric designs would look great as well.  Or, can you imagine a set of GLITTER dolls?  ooh.

If you do this project, I'd really love to see pictures!

Printable Burp Cloth Template

I decided to make a new and improved, and more importantly - printable - version of my most popular project, the rag edge burp cloths (click on the link for the full tutorial - the new printable template is located there as well).  I get more requests for a printable template for the burp cloths than anything else.  So here it is!

 

Right click on each image to save, and then print them as a full 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of paper.  You'll need to print two copies of the end piece and one copy of the middle, cut them out, and tape them together to form a full-sized template.  It will look like this:

The assembled template should measure about 19 inches long and 9 inches wide (the burp cloths will shrink in the wash if you don't pre-wash your flannel, which I never do).  The trick to getting a correctly sized template seems to be to right click on the template image, and save it to your computer.  Then, open it up as an image file and print as a full page image. 


I used a four-pack of Carter's flannel receiving blankets to make this coordinating baby set for a friend.  I was able to make 8 burp cloths, a drool bib, and a set of 3 soft blocks and still have some fabric left over.

I know satin ruffles and drool bibs typically don't spell practical, but I thought it might be nice to have a pretty drool bib on hand for Sundays or other dressy occasions.  You can find my baby bib pattern here.

I didn't use a pattern for my blocks (all you need are six equal squares of fabric and a little geometric know how), but I guarantee you can find a tutorial using your BFF, google.

Happy sewing!