I'm going to attempt to walk you through some of the steps I took to make a play kitchen set out of a pair of nightstands. It ended up being a lot of fun and fairly easy to make. We hired a contractor to make the most difficult part, the door. The contractor was able to use the two drawers to make the custom door. This allowed us to use the same wood and cut down on supply cost. I didn't take pictures of every step mainly because I did most of the work in between naps and didn't always have time to grab my camera. I hope this is helpful! Please comment if you have any questions and I will be happy to help.

Here are the step by step guide on how to make a play kitchen.

Find two nightstands that are at the height of a toddler or the child that will be using the kitchen set.

I removed the middle shelf from the nightstand that would become the oven.

This opened up a groove to allow for the oven rack {aka cooling racks} that were cut off to fit the space.

I left the middle shelf on the kitchen side.

I removed the backs from both nightstands to replace it with beadboard.

I used mending plates and trim to serve as the backsplash.

Little Miss helped me install the backsplash. At this stage she had no clue that I was working on something special for her.

We went to Lowes and had them cut a piece of plexiglass to fit the oven door. When I came home my husband caulked the inside of the door with silicon and we carefully placed the plexiglass in it.

My husband made the cuts for the kitchen sink and faucet. I used a corning ware casserole dish as the sink mainly because we have an apron front kitchen sink and the porcelain is more familiar to her than stainless.  I found the faucet at the mission for $5. I really wanted a "J" faucet but couldn't justify spending $40+ on one. I will just be patient until I find one that is used and then I will replace it to look more like a kitchen sink rather than a bathroom. It's not like she can tell the difference.

I found the antique stove knobs at the local appliance repair shop. They had a bucket full of old vintage and antique knobs.

I initially placed a battery operated touch light in the back for Little Miss to use as the oven light and quickly realized that we were going to blow through touch lights in a hurry. If the oven light wasn't on, then the oven didn't work and her food wasn't "makin" so I had to make a quick modification.

I borrowed our friends "hole cutter drill thing"

and cut a new hole for a nightlight.

The nightlight has a switch on the front of it so Little Miss can turn it on and off herself.

It's secured with hot glue on the inside and caulk on the outside. It's plugged into an extension cord that's plugged into an outlet.

We aren't quite finished with the dining room but I just couldn't wait any longer to share it with you! We have one long shelf to install at the bottom and then it is done. We are both so in love with this new space and are reminded how filling a space with the things that speak to you can totally change the way the entire room feels. While I loved the plate collection that was there before it just didn't do the wall justice. Now we not only have a place to display some of our favorite finds we will also have room for a little school storage.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

The other night I was bathing the Littles and began to look at the ingredients listed on the liquid body wash bottle and started to think about the fact that the majority of it is water, then I looked at the hand wash and same thing.... aqua. Because most people have turned to liquid soap rather than bar soap I figured there must be a way to convert the cheap bar soap into the expensive liquid soap we all know and love. After I tucked the littles into bed I began my google research and there it was...a wealth of information on the subject. I combined a number of "recipes" into one that works perfect!

Here's what you need:

• Cheese grater (from the dollar store)
• 2 Tablespoons of Liquid Glycerin (found in the band aid section at any drugstore or grocery store)
• 1 - 8 oz bar of soap
• 1 gallon of water

Below are the step by step guide.

Step 1:

Grate the entire bar of soap

Get a cute little girl to help you do the hard work. Don't worry she's not using an actual cheese grater with a blade.

Step 2:

Fill a pot with 1 gallon of distilled water and add the soap shavings.

Step 3:

Add 2 Tablespoons of liquid glycerin and turn the heat to medium/high and stir until the soap dissolves.

Step 4:

This is what it looks like once it's dissolved, basically just soapy water.

Step 5:

Leave it alone to cool for at least 10-12 hours. It begins to cloud up after 3-4 hours.

Step 6:

After it has cooled completely around 12 hours later it will harden and look like liquid soap.

Step 7:

If the soap is harder than it should be you can take some beaters and blend it while adding just a little bit of water until the consistency is more like liquid soap.

Step 8:

There you have it....Liquid Soap!!!

Step 9:

Now you can refill your 12 ounce bottle of liquid soap (that cost $3.99) with your gallon of refill that cost around $4.99. That's some huge savings!!!

This is a fool proof project that results in huge savings. For my favorite Mrs. Meyer's Basil scented soap
1 bar at $4.99 produces over $50 worth of liquid hand soap!!! I'd say that's worth the 20 minutes it will take you to make it yourself. The hardest part about this project might be finding and choosing your favorite bar of soap. Mrs. Meyer's is kind of tricky to find. It can be ordered on their website or your can special order at your local health food store.

• I also made liquid body wash using this same recipe.
• After many have shared Dove soap does not work well with this recipe.
• Use your gallon container that the distilled water was in for storage of the soap.

(UPDATE)
I have had many emails regarding runny soap. Because I have had the opposite problem both times I've made it while using different soaps I can't give you a tested remedy. What I have read on the internet is some soaps have extra moisturizer in it making it harder to set firm, Dove being one of them. I read that you can heat the water back up and add more soap shavings and allow it to cool again, once cooled if it still hasn't set you can whip it in a blender. If this still doesn't work then google until you find a solution to your particular situation.

• Texas folks I have found Meyers bar soap at Central Market but not Whole Foods.
• The soap can be a snot-like consistency, gross description I know but it still works.
• Soap does not create a big lather.