Cubby house tower part 1

We have been slaving away at the tower for our cubby house, with no real plan, it is just sort of evolving.

First we put a few posts in the ground. 
The fence next to the tower will be moved out a bit more.

Tower (view from the front)

Decided it wasn't tall enough so extended the posts.

Then framing. 

There is an opening for where a slide  platform will come off, with room for a ramp up for our dogs. 

We discovered at our last house our dog Holly loves the slide, she could spend hours racing around and going down by herself.

Tower (View from the front)

A climbing net will come off this side.(back)

Tower (view from the back)

The lower level of the tower is open its entire width to the main house.

The upper level opens into the main house onto a mezzanine floor that extends a few feet into the cubby house and then has a ladder for access.

cubby house windows

Our cubby house has a window, well two actually so far.

 I will be putting perspex in the main house window.

main house window from the inside

main house window from the outside

 I put bars in the window at the bottom of the tower.

tower window

timber frame sign

Our sons parking for fire fighters sign looked a bit plain. 

I added a timber panel behind it and stained it to match the furniture in his room. 

 Much better.

extra hanging rail in a little boys wardrobe

Our sons wardrobe, like most had one hanging rail right at the top. 

Not only was it a waste of space at the bottom, he could not reach his clothes.

Frustrating for both of us.

I put another shelf and rail in by copying the top shelf and rail.

 

left side

right side

 

The only tip I can really offer if you are going to do this is put the shelf in first before you screw the timber supports that hold it to the wall. 

Hold it up with string or something to get it out of the way while you work. 

If you don't do this you will never get it in once the timber supports are up.

Fire Station Lego storage/playhouse

Our son has a lot of Lego, especially fire engine Lego. 

It was spread out everywhere and we needed to contain it.

This fire station playhouse is perfect, the plan comes from Ana White

I added a ramp so the cars and trucks could get up to the top level and garage doors on one side as this house is more like a garage then a fire station.

I used scrapbooking paper on the upper level walls and painted a H on the roof for the helicopter. (or in our case a plane).

Now what to do with all the police station Lego.

House shaped pencil holder #2 and #3

House pencil holder number 2 and 3. 

Well one is a pencil holder and the other one hides the modem.

Much neater on the desk. 

They are made out of ply and mdf and are just glued and nailed together.

pencil holder

box to hide modem

cubby house verandah roof

The cubby house has a verandah roof. 

No deck yet but one step at a time.

I should have taken one with the iron on, but you get the idea.

peg rack for sand pit toys

Now this was really easy. 

Just a piece of timber. I used hardwood decking and dowel cut to length.

The tools are at hand when needed and being so close to the sand pit, they get hung up more often.

Cubby house secret boxes/safe

Our son loves these, he hides special stones in them. 

Perfect for inside the cubby house.

They are heaps of fun and simple to make. 

Just a pine box with a frame and door on one side.

Oh we needed a telephone too.

Wooden robot stacking blocks

I first saw something like this on etsy, and as usual they don't ship to Australia and they are out of stock.

 So I made my own.

I've made a lot of robot inspired gifts of late to give to our son when we board the plane for our NZ ski trip this year. 

He loves it and it keeps him busy for quite a while.

We ski every year now. 

My husband grew up in the snow and is a very good skier. 

Our son has lessons every year and is progressing well. 

I however still on occasion resemble Lucile Ball from one of her movies. 

Last year I ended up clinging to a snow boarders leg half way down the slope. 

But I am improving. 

This year I aim not to take out any other people.

Timber cat cutout

This little timber cat cut out sits above the swings.

It is made of marine ply and glued to the rail.

You can use clip art images upscaled of any shape you want.

Triple Zip Pouch

The pattern for this pouch comes from a quilters table. 

A bit tricky but a nice pouch.

Cubby House Roof

The cubby house has a roof. 

It took a lot of work, and lots of thinking.

Getting the pitch right.

Inside, only three walls so far. 

The back wall of the cubby has a door which leads into a small storage room.

Screwing the iron on. 

Still have the verandah roof to put on. 

On the left there will be a two story tower.

Inside again.

The only photos I seam to have of my husband is on roofs, I think its because he can't get away.

kids mixer inspired by kid kraft baking set (Instructions)

I love making small timber things, especially for our son. 

He's 5 now but still likes to play with his kitchen on occasion. 

I liked the kids kraft mixer and thought it would be easy enough to copy. 

And here it is.

INSTRUCTIONS

Shopping List

1 inch timber scraps

4 - 1 1/2 inch screws

6 inches or 15cm of 10mm dowel

4 inches or 10cm of 25mm dowel

6 inches or 15cm of 16mm dowel

Scrap of 9mm ply or similar for mixer knobs

 Cut List

See  diagrams 
(If you click once on each inage it will open up, then save it to file and print from your saved file.)

 Step 1 - Cut out all the pieces from the pattern, trace around each onto 1 inch timber, with the exception of the mixer knobs which should be traced onto 9mm ply or similar. (You need two of the stand sides and two of the mixer sides).

Step 2 - Cut the pieces out with a jig or scroll saw and sand the edges

Step 3 - Cut the 16mm dowel into two

Step 4 - Cut the 10mm dowel into two

Step 5 - Glue the two side pieces and centre piece of the mixer together

Step 6 - Clamp side stand pieces onto mixer body and drill a 1 inch (25mm) hole through all pieces at the centre of the curve of the stand pieces.

Step 7 - Glue the 1 inch (25mm) dowel into the hole, making sure the ends are flush with the outer sides of the mixer stand pieces, (You may need to trim this and test its fit before gluing)

Step 8 - Drill two holes in the underside of the front of the mixer to accommodate the beaters

Step 9 - Drill the same size holes into the two 16mm dowel pieces a short way in.

Step 10 - Glue one end of the 10mm dowel into the mixer body and the other end into the 16mm dowel, ensuring they extend to the same length. ( the beaters should look the same)

Step 11 - Glue and screw mixer to base board with 4 screws countersunk.

Step 12 - Glue the knobs onto each side.

Step 13 - Finish paint etc. (note you may find you get a better finish by painting each piece before assembly).

Give it a go, its not that hard.

Zippy wallet

The pattern for this comes from noodle-head.

 It is so quick and even more simple then it looks. 

I love it and plan to make a few more.

Ana White work apron

This apron pattern is so cute, the plans or should I say pattern comes from ana white. 

It is the perfect place to hide all those pencils that my husband keeps walking off with.

It now has pride of place on a hook just inside the shed door.

magpie cutout

At our old house I made a cat out of timber and glued it to the fence. 

This time, at our new house, I decided to do a magpie. 

I used marine ply and cut the shape out on my scroll saw.

(You can use clip art or any other image to copy)

Painted it the best I could and screwed it to a post in our sons play yard.

Our dogs (who are young and a bit silly at times have had a few glances at it).

Felt robot toy

The pattern for this little robot comes from a book called A Boys Story by Anni Downs.

Kids Travel Pack

This was super quick to make. 

The pattern is at how does she and it's super easy.

Large pencil case or zipper pouch

This pouch holds stickers and colouring in pages.

Again it has a little robot stitched onto the front. 

It also used the last tiny pieces of fabric and painters drop cloth.