Actually, I can. I have more trouble believing she's only 1. Then again, I have a weird sense of time. But that's a problem for another day.
Back to birthdays! Lowly had a lovely tea party at Paka's house yesterday. WeeBee restrained himself and only hijacked a few of her presents. He's not really buying into the whole, "It's Lowly's birthday, so you should be extra nice to her" thing, though. This morning he tried to convince her that it was a fair trade if she gave him the Matchbox car that she was playing with, and he gave her a shoe.
Anyway, remember how I had said I've been working on super secret craft projects? Well here's one of them!
Isn't it brilliant? It was one of those things that had been making the rounds on Pinterest awhile back, and as far as I can tell originated here. I'm rubbish at coming up with things like this on my own, but once I see an idea, I'm not too bad at adapting it. (At least, I think so.)
Basically, you take the Ikea Bekvam step stool, which is about $15, and then decorate it with odds and ends to make it look like a stove. I used Panna coasters from Ikea for the burners, and my husband came up with the brilliant idea to cut down old corks for stove knobs. I got little measuring cups and spoons from the dollar store to use as pots and spoons, and then wedged a wire basket in the middle to store everything. Then I used some old scraps of yarn to crochet little pot holders. After a little paint and Gorilla glue, you've got yourself a stove.
A few notes, in case you're inspired to do something similar:
1. The Bekvam step stool was a major pain to put together. I've put together my share of Ikea furniture (table & chairs, beds, bookcases, nightstands, dressers) and it was by far the worst. The instructions weren't terrible, as these things go, but it was extremely difficult to get the screws to fit properly. I suppose it could have just been a fluke (one never knows with Ikea) but I'm inclined to think they were a bit overzealous in their attempts to get the thing to be sturdy, and drilled extra small holes for the screws.
2. Olive oil and nail files work reasonably well for removing Gorilla glue. Or you could just wear gloves in the first place.
3. All in all, it's a fairly sturdy piece, but keep your kid's particular idiosyncrasies in mind. If you think your child will be hell bent on gnawing off the stove knobs, draw them on or something. Yes, I suppose in theory your kid could try to climb between the first and second step and get stuck. Yes, your kid could fall off it if they climb it. It's a step stool. You can fall off anything if you try hard enough. My point is, I am not responsible if your kid is determined to live dangerously.
Anyways, here's hoping Lowly enjoys this as much as I did making it. Happy Birthday, sweetheart.
