our diy play kitchen

so here's how the whole kitchen thing started.

belle's been asking for the longest time...for a kitchen.

she fell in love with a wooden play kitchen from ikea. but it was $140.

my parents were really set on getting it for her. but i was really hesitant.....$140!!? for a toy??

the ones i researched online are basically the same price.

the ones in toys r us weren't "talking" to me.

but binh gave me the idea of making one after seeing one on pinterest. but hello? i am no handy girl. hesitation again.

then one day my dad gives me $100 for belle's christmas gift, "here, get belle a kitchen"

but i still didn't wanna spend that much. haha. so i researched on pinterest & googled.

and i was inspired by the other diy kitchens i found!! (lightbulb moment)

i asked binh if she was up for it. & of course she was.

we went to a thrift store to see if we could find a night stand, or something to work with & we found this....for $14.99!! whaaaaat? and i already planned on having the kitchen be white.

didn't even need to paint. it was a sign.

we bought this in the beginning of december but we only started working on it last thursday. cause we are just crazy procrastinators like that....

the faucet is a plastic one from home depot. it was $11.

the handles were originally those plastic clear ones. it really turned me off so i had to spray paint that part!

then binh screwed a hook, i sewed a curtain. and just used velcro to stick it on cause we were running out of time. & it works just fine!

looking at the pictures, it looks so easy.

ok, the concept was easy....but we are 2 girls who spent over an hour in home depot, getting lost. cutting that circle for the "sink"...HA! don't even know how long it took. & when binh was able to cut it out, her brother comes home & tells us the "knife" we used is for cutting sheetrock. HAHA! we have no fancy tools, our only fancy tool was to drill screws in....& we still had a hard time with it!

so yeah, building it was really an adventure & so funny! cause we didn't know what we were doing half the time. it's more fun thinking about it now. but this handy manny stuff is definitely not our territory!!

all the utensils & stuff ...we bought separately. my mom found tiny utensils at an asian store....i found a couple at the thrift store....& the microwave, belle already had.

so all in all...the nightstand & all the materials (spray paint, faucet, plywood, screws, L shaped things, hooks, etc)....came out to $50-$60.

everybody do a happy dance!!! whoo hoo!

still can't believe we were able to do it. even aris was impressed!

success!!

that's insane.

"i don't want santa anymore, i want art"

when belle starts to act up i threaten her with: "stop it or santa's not coming for christmas"

it works! (i imagine it would with most kids).

the other day i told her in the morning she could do a craft. she got all giddy & got her stuff ready. but before she started...she was getting cranky & whiny.

& she knew exactly what i was gonna say,"stop it or...."

before i finished, she said, "i don't want santa anymore!"

"then what do you want?"

"i want art"

:)

that's like the sweetest thing i've ever heard!! that this girl would prefer art over santa...

she made this with binh.

i went to the gym, while binh babysat. & they crafted the whole time.

binh said she only asked about me once.

they made that tree handprint & a few more paintings. i forgot to take pics of the others since they weren't hung.

on monday we spent the whole afternoon making christmas cards. & she says we're not finished. every time aris called, she'd yell, "DAD!! i make you a christmas card!!"

it was suppose to be a surprise!

and if she picks up a pen, marker, or whatever....i know exactly what she's gonna draw first, smiley faces.

smiley faces of all kinds!!....just a few from her notebook.

she never says why she draws smilies. she just does!

i need to take more pics of her little creations. it makes me so happy.

so bribing her with santa doesn't work anymore. only lollipops & art!

she's so mini me. except, you can't bribe me with a lollipop.

3 things

1. i FINALLY made a tree skirt.the past few Christmases my mom's been complaining about not having a tree skirt. i always say i'd make one...but i guess i was never interested cause i was never inspired to make one. i'd always say, "the bottom of the tree will get covered with presents anyway"

but then i saw a pic of a ruffled tree skirt on pinterest. & i was inspired!

didn't need to buy anything, just used an old tablecloth to make a circle and used left over muslin to make tons of ruffles & sewed it on. but let me tell you, it's not neat at all. it looks pretty from afar. but upclose, there are no hems or anything! the beauty of ruffles though, it's easy to cover anything ugly! AND, my mom's happy!

2. belle gets her own ornament every year. either she receives it as a gift, makes it, or picks it at the store. this year, we bought it. our last trip to wal mart, i told her to choose. she picked this....

it came in a pack.

when it comes to christmas, i'm more on the traditional side. i would much rather have her pick out a traditional ornament....but she chose that "diva" pack. haha.

i couldn't refuse because it's so her. it describes her at this stage.

the dress, the bag, all the pink! & i call her a diva all the time.

that's her 2011 ornament. diva!

3. last weekend belle & i went to my friend, Stephanie's son's 1st birthday....

birthday boy, Sean was grabbing the mic to sing along to Happy Birthday!

he's just like his mom, a singer :)

Steph made sesame street character cake pops! all the kids went crazy and it was gone in seconds. belle loooved it. she loves everyone on sesame street, even oscar the grouch! i don't normally eat cake pops, but after belle licked off all the icing, i got a few bites and it was GOOD!! thanks again son! (i call steph, son. because when we went to school together, we thought it was funny how people talk in slang, call each other 'son').

it's a good feeling to see great friends after so long! but i'll be seeing you more son, since we each have a kid now....play dates!! hehehe

two crafts & more

last week belle did 2 crafts.

got both ideas from here.

first one she did with karen.

i drew out a tree for them with marker then they used watercolor to fill in the white space.

belle took awhile to finish hers cause she was obsessed with painting on particular parts of the picture.

you can tell here...cause parts of the tree started to bleed through the paint. haha

karen had to help her finish.

the second craft...

i found a circle punch on sale at michael's.

used it to punch out circles from construction paper, used as gum balls for a "gum ball machine"

this was good cause she's able to practice memorizing colors.

she wouldn't let go of the glue stick. using it was her favorite part.

multi-tasking... gluing, eating a banana & something on the tv caught her attention.

finally done!

she took days to finish this cause there's lots circles. love it!

& totally off topic...............

wiam, long lost friend & diaper buddy of mine came to visit last week before she heads home for the philippines soon.

it was her first time seeing my parents in over 10 years!

my dad was excited. haha..
she came with aris, his friend, & sister, bingle.

& of course binh came over.

all of us went on a field trip to target & was starving after.

we ordered pizza & binh got cookin' on some pad thai with my grandma & bing.

after dinner we had hot (MINT!) chocolate. mmmmm!!

the evidence is on belle's face.

the girls altogether.

wish we could do this more please!

craft day

we had craft day on friday.

we as in belle, karen, & binh. we had fuuuuun!

belle gets so bored easily & i hate when she depends on tv for entertainment.

she likes to draw, color, & she recently saw pics of other kids painting & she realllyyy wanted to try.

& knowing me..."of course you can paint!"

painting was my favorite class in high school. stef & binh were in the same class & it was the best.

for this craft, we used watercolor.

i first drew an octopus for belle to paint.

then everyone else wanted to do a sea animal.

karen did the whale.

binh started out with a shark, then it ended up looking like a dolphin & also a seashell.

i did a seahorse.

& belle also painted a stingray & little fish for bonus.

the only time we helped belle was to get the colors she wanted on her brush.

everyone so focused.

then when our sea friends dried, we cut them out.

& also cut out a giant fish bowl. then we glued them altogether!

belle's octopus!

it's so cute!! it's proudly hanging in the living room.

i remember karen saying, "that's not fair! how come all of belle's looks better than mine?!"

;)

& i also love my fat seahorse.