DIY Mud Kitchen

My kids have been in so much trouble for the last few months because of the mess they make with mud.  They know how to take playing mud over the top.  It was everywhere all the time.  I decided to embrace it.  I have been thinking about it for awhile.  I've looked up ideas and then today, when the Bigs decided they wanted to help, we got busy.  We had so much fun that  while I'm not giving play by play instructions, I am showing you a bit of the process to inspire you. 

We gathered up some random supplies from around the house.  I had saved 4x4 pieces because I knew they'd come in handy and they did.  They made the perfect legs for their kitchen counter.  A box of nails, hammer, a wash tub from the "Dolla Gentral", two pallets, a sawzaw (not pictured)

Using the sawzaw I cut the main pallet in half.  I thing cut through the nails and took off two boards from the bottom so I could attach the legs.  Baby girl helped to hold it together while I nailed. We made two of the above pieces.

I offset the legs about an inch so that we could reattach the bottoms from where we hand just removed them.  The Littles helped with making sure the nails were nice and tight.

I had one of the Bigs finish the other side.  He's holding the hammer all wrong and it took him forever so we made a few adjustments to how he was gripping the hammer and it made the next end much easier.  (Hint: Don't choke the hammer.)

Using the sawzaw again we cut a center piece out between the vertical pieces of board and the wash tub from "Dolla Gentral" fit perfecting.  

I totally forgot to document how we cut the back to fit.  We cut off a section from the pallet we were using so that it had two horizontal pieces.  At the bottom of the piece we left the vertical 2x4's long and cut a 3x2" notch out so that it would rest on the the top.  If you look closely you can see how it is put together.  We attached it with 16P nails but deck screws would have been a better option for support.  Still it looked perfect. We then cut additional pieces from the left over pallet to fill int he gaps on either side of their "sink".  We used a piece off another pallet to put a from on the counter top. (See below).

If you look carefully above you can see little round knobs that we found laying around.  We are doing some plumbing now so the hole saw left the perfect little pieces for knobs.  We finished the top and using a stencil we spray painted black circles to represent the cook top. 

We made a little trip back to the "Dolla Gentral" and picked up some tools for mud kitchen play. Using some vintage metal pots and pans, a few hooks, a potato masher, funnels, a screen, a mini laundry basket, and a few other fun kitchen items.  They played for hours.  Then it was time to hit the pool and get cleaned up.

We now have designated mud clothes for the week too.  :D. 

If you feel inspired and you happen make one too for your kiddos, please give me a shout out.