The Making of a Play Kitchen

In May 2010 Santa's Elves let Cory and Tiff know that they were having trouble making a play kitchen for Christmas for Emily and Natalie, and that they needed some help.  So Cory and Tiff set out to see what they could come up with.
First, Tiff read some blog tutorials online, and then we braved the for reals LA ghetto (totally drove by The Projects, no joke) and went to DI in search of an old nightstand.
They found this beauty for $15. Done!

Cory took the drawer faces off, removed the actual drawer itself, along with the tracking parts that made the drawer slide in and out, and cut a hole in the top for the "sink." (We used a metal bowl, also found at DI for $1. score!)
Then Tiff primed the entire nightstand with this lovely stuff:

Then, since Aunt Phae found a darling pink fridge on KSL Classifieds, Tiff painted the nightstand pink, and hoped to heck that it matched.

Tiff found Target $1 bin items that could be painted and used as "burners" so Anna painted the burners.  Aunt Stacey was getting a new kitchen faucet, so she offered her old faucet for the kitchen sink.  Cory didn't have the tools to put the whole thing together, so we had to wait until we got to Grandpa Gary's house to put it all together.
Steve and Cory hauled the nightstand out to the car the night before we left for UT, all while saying they couldn't believe we were actually hauling this thing clear to Utah AND back! I kept saying, "It's for Christmas! That's what they are getting! If I don't take it with us, my children will not get a Christmas present." Steve's reply? "Cory is a Saint." Yep, he definitely is. :)
Once we got to Utah, Grandpa Gary helped Cory add the handle, (purchased at IKEA) the hinges, and the clasp to make the oven door, and allow it to open and close.  They also glued down the burners, drilled holes for the sink faucet, and attached the bowl for sink.
Grammie Jojo helped Tiff finish the curtains (on Christmas Eve, for heaven sakes.) and we finished it just in time for Santa to come! And, the pink paint matched the fridge perfectly! Wahoo!

We think it turned out awesome, the girls loved it, and Santa's Elves were very grateful for our help. :)