Cuz boys cook too!

I've been eyeing these marvelous little kitchens made from end tables and entertainment centers around blog land and I love them. You can go here to see a couple of examples. Anyway, I have been keeping an eye on craigslist to try to find a cheap entertainment unit or end table to work with. But, I didn't know for sure how often it would get used and I have other projects I need to tackle before taking on a project that big. So I decided to do a mini version trying use mostly what I already had laying around my house.

Enter, my microwave cart. I had this in my pantry in our old house. Yes the pantry in my old house was big enough to put this table into it and still walk around. And yes, I still miss that pantry. Every. Single. Day! But that is not the point. Anyway, since I DON'T have that pantry anymore, this has just been sitting in my basement. It had a natural wood top, but I had already painted it black by the time I remembered to take the before picture. I also have a large toaster oven that was given as a gift a few years back. When Thanksgiving came around I was so excited to have an extra oven, but when we went to use it it no longer worked. Maybe it was in storage too long! Anyway, I thought it would be a great addition to the boys' little kitchen.

I painted four silver circles on the top in two different sizes and then painted some craft sticks black and cut them down to size.

My fingers looked like this after that step

I just used my hot glue gun to attach the craft sticks. Then I added a little red fabric around the bottom to cover the sides and back of the little oven.

I still have to permanently attach the knobs. I just set them on the top to take the pictures. (They were $5.00 on clearance for a pack of ten at Target! Score!!)

I also want hubs to make a little shelf to go above the oven. But other than that here is the finished product.



The little drawer with the utensils even pulls out!



Little hooks to hang their play skillets and aprons

They will need a stool to reach it better, but all in all, not bad for using up things I already had.

Total Breakdown:

Microwave cart - Free

Oven - Free

Craft paint - Free

Craft sticks - $1.00

Knobs - $5.00

Fabric - $3.00

Total - $9.00

I'll take it!