The Market: Grocery Store for Kids

I am so excited to show you guys “The Market”!
 
My kids literally adore this market.  I am not joking when I say that Ethan was in awe when he first saw it.  I walked him down to the basement and he stopped in his tracks, covered his mouth, opened his eyes wide and said “OH MY GOSH!”  It was so worth it once I saw his reaction.
The inspiration for the market came from our annual trip to the Please Touch Museum in Philadelphia, where they have an awesome kid-sized grocery store.  Ainsley has begged for a grocery store ever since.  Sure honey… here is your store.
 
I created the awning out of pvc pipe and fabric (full tutorial is HERE).  I made a scalloped banner out of chalkboard fabric so that the name can change at a whim… simply erase and rewrite with chalk.
Next to the market is a small chalkboard where the kids can write up the “Specials of the Day”.  I started it and had Ainsley tell me how much each item would cost 😉
Below the awning is a cubby shelf turned on its side that I bought at Target.  It houses all the grocery store food.  We simply saved empty boxes from our pantry and taped them shut.  (make sure they are clean and won’t attract bugs:) 
On top of the cubby is a basket full of “fresh” fruit and veggies and felt “fresh cakes”.

Behind the “counter” is the cash register shelf.  I took a sheet of wood we had already and covered it with some chevron shelf paper.  The kids love that it has a debit card machine.
This is where the kids come to be the “money man” (as they call it) and ring up the customers.
Hope you guys love it as much as we do!
Looking for the tutorial?  Click HERE!
 
Hayley
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Hayley

Hayley Crouse is a wife, mother and multifaceted designer. Her love of sewing, crafting, cooking and interior design infuses her daily life and naturally spills over into her online presence. She pushes the envelope of her creativity and hopes that others will be inspired to do the same. She currently authors the Welcome to the Mouse House Blog, is the pattern designer behind Mouse House Creations and is a collaborative designer with Willow & Co. Patterns.
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42 Responses to The Market: Grocery Store for Kids

  1. Justine/ Sew Country Chick August 3, 2013 at 4:06 am #

    How on earth did you put this together in a week??!! You are amazing.so,so cute! My kid would be in heaven if I did this.

    • Welcome to the Mouse House August 3, 2013 at 5:00 am #

      thanks Justine! I am not going to lie… we did it in less than 2 days. I had the idea, we sketched it out and just did it. There was no time to waste. I got this entry in with minutes to spare, haha. And yes, the kids love it to pieces!

  2. My name is Rita August 4, 2013 at 1:06 am #

    This is just darling, Wish I had room to do something like this for my kidos. Maybe one day 😉
    If you get a chance, please link up to the Suburbsmamam Sunday Linky Party going on now: http://suburbsmama.blogspot.com/2013/08/sunday-linky-19.html

  3. A to Zebra Celebrations August 4, 2013 at 9:51 pm #

    This is so adorable!!! my girls would love it!! I hope you link to my party- http://atozebracelebrations.com/2013/07/link-party-tuesday-july-30-2013.html
    Nancy

  4. Sheena Anderson August 5, 2013 at 2:31 am #

    It is so adorable! It would go perfect with the kitchen I made for my upcycle project too bad I don’t have space for something like it. Love it!

  5. kukafera August 5, 2013 at 11:58 am #

    It’s fantastic!!

  6. orachel August 9, 2013 at 8:53 am #

    Oh wow…. Love love love this! And love Flamingo Toes for telling me about your cute blog! Just pinned you up to my “I think I can pull that off” board at Pinterest. Don’t laugh… I don’t have kids! lol But I sooo need one of these! Perhaps done in Parisian cafe style, like an outdoor market, with books in the cubbies and some floor pillows in the ‘hidey hole’. Sigh…. silly for a middle aged woman, but I like it! 😉 BTW, I think there’s a super cheap Ikea bookcase (maybe the Billy?) that looks just like your target one. Not sure what target one cost, but might be cheaper.

    Oh, and make sure you post this to ‘instructables’ website! Would go over HUGE there, and there’s a huge section on up-cycling Billy bookcases by ikea. Just a thought. 😉

    Thanks HUGE for the inspriation!
    rachel

    • Welcome to the Mouse House August 12, 2013 at 1:11 pm #

      Thank you so much!!! I am so glad you like it… the idea of doing one in a Parisian style is awesome!

      I am definitely going to share this over at the Ikea website!

      Thanks for the super huge compliment!

  7. April August 10, 2013 at 4:56 am #

    This is awesome-so cute and not too hard-looking!

  8. Gina Wamsley August 10, 2013 at 12:42 pm #

    This is SO AMAZING!! I wish we had room for this!!
    Gina @ Gina’s Craft Corner

    • Welcome to the Mouse House August 12, 2013 at 1:13 pm #

      thanks Gina! Yes, it does take up a good bit of room… I wonder if you could do it with a little cubby shelf or something like that? either way, thank you!

  9. Jennifer Hobbs August 10, 2013 at 11:30 pm #

    This is amazing! So cute. Where did the mint canisters come from? They are darling!

  10. Lisa@hooplapalooza August 11, 2013 at 3:17 am #

    this is simply awesome.

  11. Anonymous August 13, 2013 at 5:06 pm #

    This is so adorable. Would you mind sharing where you purchased the cash register with debit card machine? Thanks!
    bherrera82@sbcglobal.net

  12. Carrie August 13, 2013 at 8:09 pm #

    Is the tutorial ready for this? I keep checking but maybe I am not looking in the right place? Truly a beautiful idea. Thank you for sharing.

  13. Jenna August 14, 2013 at 1:05 am #

    Love it! What is your wall color?

  14. Anonymous August 28, 2013 at 3:00 pm #

    Hi There! I love love love this idea and have the shelf just looking for the link to the full tutorial – for the awning specifically!

    Thanks so much!
    Liz

  15. Anonymous September 18, 2013 at 6:14 pm #

    OMG!! I cant begin to tell you how much I LOVE this!! I wanted to get my daughter a grocery stand for Xmas & wasn’t happy with the ones you purchase. I will be making this for her! Can you please tell me approx. how much fabric you purchased? Based off your tutorial you said you just hot glued the fabric to the pipe. I am new at sewing, so any easy tips would be great! Also, the blue fabric around the end, was it rope fabric? Glued on? Any helpful tips I would love!! Thank you!

    • Welcome to the Mouse House September 19, 2013 at 10:47 am #

      I believe I had purchased 1.5 yards of fabric and yes, just hot glued the fabric to the pipe. The blue fabric around the edges is bias tape (you can buy it or make it) and I did sew it on, but you could certainly glue it as well!

      Good luck and I would love to see your finished product

  16. Anonymous September 19, 2013 at 5:57 am #

    Just adorable! I’m actually in the works of making my girls play room a grocery store/restaurant. So this is great to get more ideas. But I can’t open the link for the fabric and pipe tubes.?????
    Thank you.

  17. Sheena Tomlinson December 3, 2013 at 4:40 am #

    Oh my gosh this is adorable! I love love love this, my daughter would go crazy over it! Thank you for sharing i might have to make something like this! Now following you
    Sheena @ http://thekeeperofcheerios.blogspot.com/

  18. DIYDanielle March 11, 2014 at 5:41 pm #

    I love this so I had to make our own, slightly less fabulous one. But my 2 yr old LOVES it.

    http://www.diydanielle.com/2014/02/play-store.html

  19. Dawn November 19, 2014 at 10:20 pm #

    Where did you find the cash register

  20. Nicole February 4, 2015 at 12:35 pm #

    Do you mind me asking….how much did this cost to make?

    • Hayley February 6, 2015 at 11:27 am #

      I think it was around $40-$50? I had most of the supplies to start with, so that helped, but it shouldn’t cost much!

  21. Brooklyn September 1, 2015 at 6:11 pm #

    Haley – THIS IS DARLING! My husband and I just decided we are making this for our kids for Christmas! WE LOVE IT! SOOO CUTE! GREAT JOB! Thanks for the inspiration!
    xo-Brook

  22. Alexandru March 7, 2017 at 12:41 am #

    i like it !!

  23. Emy co June 25, 2017 at 6:01 am #

    My favorite game when i was a child! I have to make this for my children!! it’s so beautiful! i hope i will success as well

  24. Liza July 25, 2017 at 4:55 pm #

    where did you get the cash register from? I haven’t seen one with the card machine!

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