Monday, January 4, 2010

Christmas Part I

I hope everyone had an excellent Holiday! Ours had it's ups and downs but mostly ups!! Christmas started early for the girls since we were going to be in Montana for Christmas and Santa knew that some of the presents he was planning on bringing would not be easily transported back home! So the morning we left for Montana the girls woke up to find their stocking filled with things for the long car ride and and letter left from Santa himself!

They were so excited about the stocking stuffers I had to read the letter twice before they realized that the letter was telling them to go downstairs where they would find this....
Don't you LOVE it!!! Okay so imagine that it's not in an ugly unfinished basement and that the walls and table are painted super cute, and there are curtains on the window...these were all part of the original plan but this was a difficult project to work on without the girls finding out about it!
Jake really gets most of the credit, he is so good to put up with all my grand ideas that usually mean he works really hard and I reap the benefits. It all started when I saw a kitchen set in Pottery Barn magazine that I just fell in love with. Well of course it was all outrageously expensive and I could never imagine actually buying it...but making my husband make one was still an option! Jake agreed to do it and I think I LOVE it more than the girls. I honestly cried when I saw it all together for the first time thinking about not only our kids enjoying it but hopefully our grandkids!! This was certainly a labor of Love:)



It didn't take long for before the girls were cooking up a storm!
Jake built this entire stove from scratch and it's my very favorite piece!

This cabinet is one that was at Jake's house when he was growing up. It was a dark stained wood so we just painted it to match!
Jake also made the fridge from scratch...I LOVE how much storage he put in it!

I was so proud that we were able to do this whole thing on a budget. Like I said Jake built the stove and fridge so that was the only wood we bought. The handles on both of those pieces are made out of PVC pipe we had laying around and the sink was made with a bowl purchased for a dollar at DI. As I said we got the cabinet from Jake parents. The highchair is an old highchair Jake's dad actually ate in as a baby. Jake took it apart and put it back together nice and sturdy and cut the legs down. The table is an old table from Jake's Grandpa Smith that we also cut the legs down on. The 2 (soon to be 4) little folding chairs are old primary chairs Jake's parents picked up for us and they are covered in Wal-mart fabric. Even the rug under the table was half off at Target!! All in all with paint and everything we figure we spent $150-$170! Sure beats Pottery Barn $1000+ price tag!!
I love that each piece has a story! Thank you, Thank you a million times to Jake who worked so hard on this in his few precious moments of spare time, I Love You!!

12 comments:

Ashley Wray said...

Kenna, that is darling! Love it, and how fun that each piece has a unique story. You and Jake did great, don't you love handy husbands?
Can't wait to hear about the rest of your trip. I was so bummed I didn't get to chat with you at church. We left early thanks to some ornery little girls, but I did see Jake out in the hall with Lydia (she is so cute!) Anyways, there is always next year :)

Megan Ford said...

Kenna, that kitchen is amazing. That kitchen is way better than anything you could buy! Its amazing. So darling. I love using what my husband makes, it makes it so much more special.

Alicia Steere said...

That is SO cute! What a crafty way of getting it all together too, I love when you can get things done on a budget! It feels even more rewarding that way! :) The girls will love this for years to come, and like you said, the grandkids will love it too!

Cindy Spratling said...

First off... I love Lydia's bald head. Second off... Jake is AMAZING! The pumpkins are one thing and now he springs this on us?!! Who knew he was so talented? Did you know when you married him? I love that kitchen set. You are a lucky woman Kenna Bennion. Well... now I can't wait to see pictures of the whole Bennion crew at Christmas. Love yas!

Natalee said...

Wow! I had no idea Jake was so crafty/handy! That whole set is just darling! I'll bet it will last a lot longer than pottery barns set too! :)

What a fun Christmas! Lucky little girls! :)

Kimberly said...

Kenna, that kitchen is awesome, and i love the way the chairs turned out, did you cover them aswell? I can't believe jake made the fridge and stove! That little cupboard reminds me of one i had growing up that grandpa bennion made for us. All those cute little details, the towels, and rug! That is a lot of work! You need to post on my blog ;) Your girls and your fam is just too cute! Such a fun christmas!

Peggy Merrell said...

Kenna, this kitchen is absolutely precious! (Yes, Jake...precious!) I love the story behind it all as much as the finished project! What a treasure for generations to come! Don't you just love it when you can make something really neat, make is so special, and save a ton of money? Jake is really creative, and so are you! The girls are darling. Wish I could squeeze them...and you, too!

Joel and Lisa Wagenman said...

That is adorable! My girls would be jealous!

Cicily Bennion said...

Kenna - The little kitchen is so cute. With three girls you really NEEDED one. They will play with it forever. I remember growing up with my little cupboard and I've never outgrown play kitchens (have one upstairs in the attic now -ha!). Tell Jake great job. I wish we could have seen you guys when you were so close. We really do need to get together sometime. Your girls are adorable. Aunt Lynn (I found you from Nati's blog)

Kamey Jean Hope said...

Oh my gosh that is so cute. Katelynn my little girl who love that kind of stuff saw it and said mom can we go over there so I can play. Then she said she wanted one two. Jake and you should go into business with this kind of stuff. I bet you would get a lot of little girls wanting this. You guys are so creative and yes it's great to have husbands that are hands on and can do any thing. We should all get together again some time maybe when Scott comes in two town. We can get together somewhere or even at our place play games have good food and just let the kids play...

Kimberly said...

kenna, try cut and pasting the link again, i fixed it :) Thanks for putting me on your sidebar ;)

Bryce and Jamie said...

How Cute!!!! That is so neat that Jake made it! What a talented guy. I'm sure your girls just love it!!