Thursday, October 22, 2009

If You Give a Girl a Table Saw...

If you give a girl a table saw, she will make a play kitchen out of an old entertainment center (see Sutton Grace Play Kitchen) which will lead another girl to start her own play kitchen business and auction one off for charity (see Charlotte Play Kitchens). Then, a mom with kids who are too old for a play kitchen will be inspired to turn an old potting bench into an artist's studio...

And, that is how it began....just like it did for Mouse and that infamous cookie.


BSD wanted to give this old potting bench away. It was just sitting on the side of the house rotting away. I had to think fast. The ballerinas were taking over his beloved tool bench with all of their "arts and projects" (as the big ballerina has called arts and crafts since she was 3) so I suggested we repurpose it into an artist studio for them a la Sutton Grace.



Knowing he would get his space back, BSD agreed. Since he has some time off from work this month, we were able to knock this project out in a few days. Here is what we did...
  1. Cleared out a tiny space in the garage next to his tool bench so they can all work on projects together. (Most of that hanging stuff will be sold in a garage sale as we don't need it anymore.
  2. Painted the wall behind it to freshen up the space.
  3. Cut the bench legs down a bit to make it a   more kid friendly size.
  4. Removed the upper slats and replaced them  with a piece of plywood covered with plexiglass for a smooth table top.
  5. Painted the bench.
  6. Hung shelves above the bench for supplies.
  7. Made an "Arts & Projects" sign.
  8. Added a hook in the corner for their smocks.
  9. Added a child size bar stool.
And, now for the "After" picture....



You can't see the smock hanging in the left hand corner. We also haven't labeled the jars or tins yet. I almost bought a cool label maker, but the fonts weren't any fun so I am looking for cute label stickers that I can just write on. Plus, if I bought the label maker I would have to actually use it which would mean being organized, and that is something I am not.

I also think we should paint the bar stool, but BSD thinks that's too "Martha Stewart". What do you think? Paint it or not?

Martha may not let me work in her test kitchen, but maybe she has an opening in her craft department? I can't take the credit for DOING most of the work here as BSD thinks I'm too messy to paint (which is true), but I do a good job of coming up with ideas and supervising. Martha, do you have any openings for messy cheerleaders?

5 comments:

Unknown said...

Painting the stool will be the first, official Arts-n-Projects project! Go for it! Let the girls design and paint it - keep BSD away. I really love the new art center! I can't even keep my kitchen clean and you're making this...can my kids just come to your house and pretend it's their's???? LOL! BTW...I'll take the partially rusted SLAH planter hanging in the first picture. How much? :)

Erin said...

I love, love, LOVE this. You are brilliant!

Anonymous said...

Awesome! Carina would be so, so jealous. I did not realize that reclaiming furniture into play kitchens was such a huge trend. (i like it!) I follow another blogger who makes them and sells them on Craig's list to make money for charity. (http://outofthecrayonbox.blogspot.com/2009/10/behind-scenes-confession.html)

Nicole said...

It's beautiful! When you guys set your mind s to something, it definitely gets done. I like it's placement so I can peek at the girls' creating from my house!

Kim said...

Anne - Hey, who said my kitchen was clean??! Quit your job and let's sell ice cream!!!!!!!!!!! Hugs..love you.

Erin - Thanks for the sweet compliment AND the inspiration. Your blog rocks!

Fawn - Wow! I didn't know that either. Guess I'm stuck INSIDE the crayon box as far as this one goes. Send Carina over and the girls can have a craft fest.

Nicole - Thanks so much! And, now that half the clutter in there is gone you will have an even better view. I promise not to let Nate use the glue guns. :)