5.06.2007

4 Pc Peeling Fruits Set


Peel a banana, unzip an orange or shuck an ear of corn-just like the real thing! Made of durable, easy to clean vinyl, these realistic produce open through a variety of clever methods to reveal their insides. Note the Strawberry and Broccoli do not open. Ages 2+
dimplesanddandilions

Make a Kiddy Kitchen Using an Old Entertainment Center


Spotlightmama at Craftster shows us how her and Mr. Spotlightmama made a kiddy kitchen using and old entertainment stand. So very creative!

"First we took off the two cabinet doors, removed the hardware, and covered them in silver contact paper ($10, Home Depot - one roll should be enough) to give it a stainless steel look. Then we moved the handle on one of the doors to open from the top (instead of the side) so it was more like an oven. Most entertainment centers have magnets on those doors, so you should not have an issue keeping the door closed. We used all the original hardware, so this was free.

Next, we cut a hole where the TV originally sat and placed a silver mixing bowl (free from our kitchen) to use as a sink. We bought a real faucet ($7, Home Depot) to install behind it. Ideally you would have a jig saw to cut a hole for the sink, but we actually used a drill to cut out the hole since we didn't have a jig saw. We measured just below the rim of the bowl, cut a hole, and placed the bowl in the hole - we didn't need glue or anything. Same thing for the faucet - measure, cut, and screw into place.

For the stove, we removed the glass door and covered the bottom part in the same silver contact paper. For the burners, we spray-painted plastic lids (sour cream lids for the small burners and large, Sam's size cottage cheese lids for the large burners) with a high-gloss black spraypaint. We screwed a flat-head screw through the middle to screw it into the wood. The knobs were given to us for free by a friend who was trashing her stove. If you can't find a stove that is being trashed, you can buy the knobs at Home Depot for $15. We used a large bolt and washers to attach the knobs in place so they could still turn. We added the oven knob directly to the oven door using a bolt and washers.

For the back, we bought two pieces of heavy cardboard from Home Depot ($5) and covered one with floral contact paper ($3, KMart). We attached it to the back of the entertainment center using screws and lots of nails. If your entertainment center still has a backing, you can use that instead (ours was totally trashed). To give the appearance of a real backsplash, we raised the bottom piece a few inches and hung it in front of the top, wall-papered piece. We painted the portion that would hang above the stove black to match the rest of the stove. If I were to do it again (and I had a truck), I'd probably just buy one larger piece to hang. Working with two pieces was a major pain. You can buy a really big piece of the pressed board for $8 and have it cut at Home Depot and then contact paper the whole thing.

The long beam that runs the width of our entertainment center was totally chipped, so we also covered that in silver contact paper. For decorations, I bought push lights ($4, Home Depot - not yet hung as they need batteries) to hang above the sink and stove, a kitchen mat that matches the backsplash ($0.60, KMart), and two metal baskets to hold all of her dishes and utensils ($10, KMart). Total cost for materials and accessories - $40."
Craftster

Captains Mistress


"Although corporates have produced successful modern copies of this game such as MB games Connect 4™, the truth is that it goes back in history at least a few centuries and it has also been known generally as 'four in a row' or 'four in a line'. The game was taken on his exploration voyages by Captain James Cook and he became so engrossed with it during the long periods at sea that his crew gave it the name 'Captain's Mistress', a name which has lodged itself in history.

Players take turns to drop a disk down a chute, the aim being for a player to get four disks in a row, diagonally, horizontally or vertically. Masters Traditional Games has no less than 4 giant Captains Mistress games for you.

Connect 4


At last, the official Giant Connect 4 game - as licensed by Hasbro.

The game is tough and hard-wearing - ideal for children, public events or corporate entertainment. The game board stands 110cm (43 inches) tall, is packed in a strong cardboard box and is strikingly colorful. The game includes 42 colorful plastic disks."

Mastergames

Free Kid's Castle Playhouse Plans

Build your kid an awesome castle using these free plans!
Buildeazy.com