Rainy Day Activity - Make a Table Playhouse!

Hello my sweets! Well, as promised today I have a guest post from a new blogger on the block - her name Emily and her blog is The Beetle Shack. Emily contacted me out of the blue on a day I received an 'anonomous' scathing remark from a reader about my noticeable lack of parenting skills (remember this post) and was considering throwing it all in (my blog, that is!) when a lovely email came in telling me how refreshing my blog was with its lack of sugar coating motherhood and thanking me for providing an entertaining read! Emily was just starting her blog but upon visiting her I was immediately inspired. She's from the Central Coast like me, she's crafty, shes into decorating, she's got little kids and - AND - coincidentally, her rainy day activity comes from a book I mentioned a while ago on my blog, called Cool Spaces for Kids! I love what Emily has done here, and I'm inspired to make one for Fern and Elliott... just as soon as I finish the other 47 billion sewing projects I currently have on the go.

Emily's project? A table cubby house! I'm loving the retro inspired fabrics; the cut-out windows, the little string of bunting across the doorway... love love love!

Check it out:

Wouldn't YOUR kids go spare for one of these? I know mine would.

Inspired? Why not give it a whirl yourself! The following instructions are sourced from Cool Spaces for Kids, which you can buy here. And I recommend you do -  it is full of ideas for creating fun and stylish spaces and projects for kids; I reread mine all the time! Have fun!

Materials:
Large sheet of sheeting fabrice to fit over your table
Tape measure
Tailor's chalk
Scissors
Fabric scraps
Pinking shears
Sewing machine and matching thread
Plastic sheeting
Dressmaker's pins.

Instructions:
1 Decide on the height and width of the door and windows needed. Measure and mark up on your sheet with tailor's chalk and cut out.

2 Cut a door 'curtain' from a scrap of fabric using pinking shears and making it 2cm wider than the doorway. Stitch it to the top of the doorway.

3 Measure and cut out plastic 'windows'. They should be about 4 cm bigger than the window opening. Pin these in place behind the openings and stitch down.

4 Measure and cut four curtains from matching scraps of fabric, using pinking shears. Attach thse to the 'outside' of the sheet, carefully stitching them to the house along the top of the window, and taking care to conceal the plastic window seam beneath. Make two fabric tie backs per curtain and stitch in place.

5 Cut out window box flowers from floral fabric and hand stitch to the 'house' just beneath the window. Or collect beautifully made silk flowers and glue into place.

Source: Cool Spaces for Kids (2009), Sam Scarborough, Octopus Publishing Group




Have YOU got an inspiring rainy day activity that you'd like to share via my blog? I'd love to feature you! Email me!