Beaded Artwork

The girls created these fused beaded art pieces for their grandparents for Christmas. I just uploaded pictures onto perlersnapshots.com and it turns the photo into a bead template that they could follow.

Handmade Christmas Cards

These are the cards the girls made for the fam this year.

Just hanging in a pool full of puppies

Great Aunt Cindy's puppies

Lentil Stew

Sisterly moments

Sometimes I get a little sentimental thinking about it, but I am ridiculously thankful for what a great bond my daughters have with each other. Please excuse the mush factor here.

Roasted Herbed Chicken

Roasted Vegetable: Sweet Potatoes, Beets and Baby Potatoes

DIY Dollhouse Revamp

I decided to use the girls' Barbie furniture to make this proper dollhouse they would hopefully play with again.

The Before. I'm guessing this is how most Barbie houses end up looking.

The After. I added in a cheap white bookshelf to give them more space, and I ended up really liking the caddy-corner design.

First I gathered all of the candy-hued pieces they already had...

...And spraypainted them silver or white

Then I put fun paper up on the walls. I hot-glued fabric together for pillows.

I bought a few framed pictures at a craft store, then printed off new pictures and glued them on top.

I put "crown molding" up in some of the rooms.

One of my favorite rooms...the walk-in closet. To make the shag rug, I cut open an old stuffed animal that the girls didn't play with anymore (the animal's scarf is what made the other pillow in the living room.) Let me tell you, skinning a fuzzy white puppy stuffed animal ended up a bit more emotionally taxing than I anticipated.

The animal pictures are mini versions of the ones already in the playroom.

And the house and tree on the wall are modeled after the ones in Amia's bedroom.

I made the bunk beds out of this dollhouse canopy bed. I took the canopy part off and used it as a pot rack in the kitchen. Then I put a checkbook box on the posts of the bed and covered it in fabric.

Another place I tried to bring in some of our real house, these vintage travel posters that I have in my bedroom.

The cabinets are just boxes I spraypainted, the handles are sewing pins that I poked in. I just painted barbie mugs and hung them under the cabinet.

Pot rack is the canopy, and the pots are hung on paperclips.

The shower curtain is made out of a one of Keely's shirts she outgrew. I dismantled most of the old bathroom set to make the new one.

This was the original bathroom.

Tongue depressers make up the terrace privacy fence.

"Turkey" Turkey Sandwich

We used pepper feathers, cheddar beak and guacamole eyes.

American Girl theme days

OK my single friends, please stop with the face. We people with smaller people have to make the best of their obsessions.

When Keely first started getting into the American Girl books, I decided it was a fun way for her to get a hands-on history lesson. After reading each collection, we would devote a day to the character, doing what they would have done, eating what they would have eaten. Keely even took it upon herself to dress the part. I decided it was too much work not to document for someone else to use too.

Kaya – 1760s

Meals: Dried fruit and nuts; salmon, beans, wild rice and corn cakes; beef jerky (we were fresh out of elk and bison)

Activities: Made a dreamweaver, built a tepee and told stories around our “fire” before bed

Felicity Merriman – 1770s

Meals: Fried ham with gravy, dressed eggs and Johnny cakes; cornish game hen, sweet potatoes and green beans; Homemade apple butter, bread and tea

Activities: Held a colonial tea party, sewed a sampler, learned some colonial dances, and made apple butter and a homemade bread loaf

Josefina Montoya –1820s

Meals: Bizcochitos and cinnamon hot chocolate; tamales and tortilla soup; pork carne asada, corn salsa and sopapillas

Activities: Made a corn husk doll

Kirsten Larson – 1850s

Meals: Sausage and fried potatoes; vegetable soup and apple pie; trout, baked beans, buttered bread and maple candy

Activities: Made maple candy and dipped wax candles; churned butter

Addy Walker – 1860s

Meals: Bacon and buttermilk biscuits with honey; Beans, cornbread and pickles; Homemade ice cream; Ham, sweet potatoes and peach cobbler

Activities: Made homemade ice cream, played cup and ball

Samantha Parkington – 1900’s:

Meals: Strawberries with cream, ham slice and cheese omelet; Chicken salad sandwiches, lemon ice; Cucumber and cream cheese finger sandwiches and tea; Roasted beef tenderloin, green beans and cream of carrot soup

Activities: Etiquette class, played checkers, put together a vaudeville show

Kit Kittredge – 1930s:

Meals: Oatmeal with peaches, club sandwiches and milkshakes, baked macaroni and cheese and glazed carrots

Activities: Listened to Orphan Annie and War of the Worlds radio broadcasts

Watched Shirley Temple’s Little Princess and a news reel on Amelia Earhart

Molly McIntire – 1940s:

Meals: Toad in a hole; meatloaf, mashed potatoes, peas and coffee cake.

Activities: Planted a victory garden and played jacks

Julie Albright –1970s

Meals: Granola and a smoothie; hotdogs and fruit salad; fondue; sloppy joes and broccoli casserole.

Activities: Wove friendship bracelets, played twister, went rollerskating

Keely as Felicity

And as Kaya