Introduction: Laundry Scoop Pizza Oven
HINT: boys like this as much as girls! Another great tiny playhouse accessory you can style to suit your own theme. The oven has a see-through window; a flickering fire from the built in battery-operated tealight; and a chimney . You choose the finish by gluing on stones, beads, colored beach glass etc. I've used pumice as it's as light as air. The oven sits on a flat base- you can make this as big as you like: create a whole outdoor scene...
Step 1: What You Will Need
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- A clear laundry scoop, similar shape to the one pictured
- A battery-operated tea light (one with a replaceable battery)
- A small screw-driver
- Water based craft glue
- Sticky tape
- A glue gun and glue sticks
- Some fine sandpaper, sandy in colour
- Some spray-on black gloss enamel.
- A felt –tip pen and a craft knife and a ruler for cutting.
- Around 50 small stones or beads (depending on the size) to create the oven exterior. It’s also handy to have a few smaller beads to get a smoother finish.
- Some strong cardboard for the base. (Option: you can use plywood instead of cardboard but you’ll then need a hole saw to attach to a drill to make a hole for the tea light.)
- Some paper or card with a tile-like pattern to cover the cardboard. The terrazzo style paper I used is available as a freebie download on my website https://www.islandcabana.com.au/free-downloads (print on cardstock if you have some for a smoother result)
- Printed templates A,B and C. Important: use the PDF supplied to print the templates
- A few tiny twigs and some red paint to make the fire
Step 2: Basics
- Before you begin, check that the tea light is working so you know you’ll definitely have a flame in your pizza oven!
- Use the craft glue to glue the tile print to the cardboard.
Step 3: Preparing the Oven Parts
- Click on the template icon to download the PDF for the three templates.
- Cut off the scoop handle but don’t throw it away as it will be used to stiffen the flue.
- Using template A, cut a small “window” from the sandpaper or a piece of card
- Working on the inside of the scoop, double back the tape to attach the card to the flattest side of the laundry scoop, where you want your see-through window to be. Take care with this as it is to protect the window to keep it clear when you spray the rest of the oven black.
Now make the flue. Using template B, cut out a piece of sandpaper 3in X 5in ( 7cmX 12cm). Begin folding it at about 1/2in (1cm) intervals. Place a pencil or pen through the tube and push sideways to form a smoothly squared off tube. Seal along the edge with glue.
From the scoop handle, cut a piece small enough to fit inside your flue as a stiffener.
Attachments
Step 4: Painting the Oven
Evenly spray the inside of the scoop, the sandpaper flue and the stiffener piece. Two coats should give a substantial looking finish. Wait until completely dry, then remove the sticky taped card to reveal a window.
Step 5: Adding the Tealight
- Use the screw-driver to lift the plastic cap from the tealight
- Decide where you want to position the oven on your base. Trace around the tealight, then cut the hole out using the craft knife or scissors.
- Cut template C out of sandpaper.
- Cut a hole in the middle of the template C bit of sandpaper
Step 6: Fire Up the Glue Gun!
- Glue the tea light into the base.
- Glue the sandpaper (template C) to the top of the tea light and scrunch it over the sides. Make sure there’s no sandpaper covering the globe.
- On the top, glue in a few twigs for the fire and dab some red paint on the twigs.
Step 7: Custom Fit the Oven
This next bit can be a little tricky, because you might have to trim that sand paper that's covering the tealight so it fits inside your oven. Be brave! You’re going to glue down the body of the oven, over the tea light fire, so it sits flat on the base. It's not going anywhere now.
Step 8: Finishing the Oven
- Start gluing your stones/beads to the oven by making an arch around the window .
- Next, start gluing around the base.
- When you get to the back, put the stiffener inside the flue, then glue the flue to the floor in the middle of the back of the oven.
- Continue along the other side, gluing stones or beads to the base.
- Working upwards, glue the rest of the stones in place. Fill any gaps with the smaller stones/ beads. As you go, turn the oven around from time to time to check that you’re building it up symmetrically. You want that nice pizza oven shape.
Step 9: Fire It Up!
Turn on the light and start taking pizza orders! As you can see, I’ve made two, one to see if it was possible to make it, then one to show you the steps. They’re pretty close, aren’t they?