How to Build a Kid's Kitchen Set

Refrigerator/Freezer

• 1

  Tape closed one 18 x 18 x 24-inch and one 18 x 18 x 16-inch cardboard box. Stand each box with its taped end facing down. Glue the bottom of the small box to the top of the large box.

• 2

  Designate one side of the boxes as the front of the refrigerator/freezer. Use a box cutter to cut along three edges of the front of each box to form the doors. Make sure the doors open in the same direction.

• 3

  Draw a dot, 1/2 inch in diameter, on the opening edge of the refrigerator door, 1 inch in from the edge and 6 inches up from the bottom of the box. Draw another dot 12 inches directly above this one. Use a Phillips screwdriver to punch a hole through each one of the dots. This is where the door handle will go.

• 4

  Cut a piece of rope that is 14 inches long and 1/2 inch in diameter. Tie a knot at one end of the rope and thread the loose end through the back side of the bottom hole on the refrigerator door. Continue threading the rope through the front of the top hole and tie a knot on the backside of the door to secure it.

• 5

  Repeat steps 3 and 4 with the freezer. Cut the rope 6 inches long instead of 14 inches and make the dots 4 inches apart.

• 6

  Apply glue along three edges of one piece of 18 x 18-inch cardboard, then slide it into the refrigerator 8 inches from the bottom so that the glued edges contact the inside of the refrigerator. Press the outsides of the refrigerator along the edges of the piece of cardboard and hold this shelf in place for five minutes.

• 7

  Repeat step 6 to glue the other piece of cardboard 8 inches above the first piece. Leave both pieces to dry for at least 30 minutes.

Oven/Stove

• 8

  Tape closed both ends of one 18 x 18 x 24-inch cardboard box and one end of another 18 x 18 x 24-inch box. Lay one box--the one with both sides closed--with one of its long sides on the ground, and apply glue on its top face. This box will add height to the oven/stove to make it more easily accessible. Press the other box horizontally on top of the glue on the bottom box and press the boxes together. Leave the glue dry for 30 minutes.

• 9

  Draw a circle, 1.5 inches in diameter, on a sheet of poster board and cut it out. Trace this circle to make four more identical circles for the temperature dials. Draw a line from the center of each circle to the outer edge as the temperature gauge.

• 10

  Place the outer edge of a dial 7.25 inches in from either side of the top of the oven/stove, 1 inch from the back edge. Place dials 1/2 inch apart between these two dials. Stick a paper fastener through the center of each dial and through the cardboard, then open the fasteners on the other side of the box to secure the dials. Tape the top box closed.

• 11

  Glue a plastic water bottle cap onto the center of each temperature dial. Let the glue dry for 30 minutes while you write temperatures around each dial. Write temperatures ranging from 170 to 500 degrees F around the center dial in 10-degree intervals so that it resembles an oven temperature dial. Label the four outer dials from 1 to 10, designating 1 as "Low" and 10 as "High," to make stove temperature dials.

• 12

  Draw four circles, each 6 inches in diameter, on black poster board. These will be the stove burners.

• 13

  Glue a burner 1 inch below the leftmost dials, 4 inches in from the left edge. Glue another burner 4 inches right of this one. Glue two more burners to the stove, each 1.5 inches below the first row.

• 14

  Measure 6 inches in from either side of the front of the top box and draw a 14-inch vertical line (on each side) extending from the bottom edge of the box. Connect the lines to finish the outline of the oven door. There should be 4 inches of stove remaining above the oven door.

• 15

  Draw a box to create a 2-inch border within the oven door. Use a box cutter to cut out the inner box you just drew, which will be the oven window. Cut out the oven door.

• 16

  Cut a piece of plastic wrap 10 inches wide. Stretch it taut across the inside of the oven door and glue its edges to the door to form the window.

• 17

  Draw a dot, 1/2 inch wide, 2 inches in from either edge of the oven door and 1 inch from the top edge. Use a Phillips screwdriver to punch a hole through the dot. Cut a piece of rope 14 inches long and repeat steps 3 and 4 of section 1 to make an oven door handle.