American Girl Doll House Inspiration

Raise your hand if you have a daughter who is obsessed with American Girl Dolls.

Sister LOVES A.G. dolls, and I will have to admit, I really like them too.

The dolls were first released in 1986 (when I was 5), and have been going strong ever since.

I had friends growing up who had them, and I always wanted Samantha.

However, the dolls are very expensive, and always have been, so I never got to own one.

I survived, obviously.

Anyway, Sister fell in love with the dolls, and we started with the Target brand of Our Generation dolls. We weren't investing in something that expensive if she wasn't going to play with them.

She did play with the dolls, and really didn't notice that they weren't the real deal. She did get frustrated with the hair though. That's the biggest difference between the cheap dolls and the real dolls. The hair is WAY better with the real American Girl line.

After realizing that she truly would play with these dolls, we stepped into the real world of American Girl with a Bitty Baby. 

Bitty Baby is so precious. 

I miss those days (sniff). 

For those that don't know, Bitty Baby is the line geared towards the younger girls. 

We graduated from Bitty Baby and now Sister has two American girl dolls.

At first, we had all of the kids' toys upstairs, including the dolls because I don't like seeing toys strewn all over the house.

However, one of our lovely guests decided that Isabelle needed a trim last year, (grrr) so all of the A.G. stuff is in Sister's room for safe keeping.

Which has created a bit of a storage issue, as seen below.

 

There isn't a good way to store everything she has, so it's tucked away in little pockets everywhere in her room which is driving me bananas!

I needed a solution!

I knew that Ana White would have some plans for a doll house. I have used her website for plans before. We built a dollhouse bookshelf which is currently being used as a Barbie house, and I built a see saw for the kids.

Her instructions are easy to follow, and there are PICTURES!

This particular build is massive, and it has pocket screws (which I don't know how to do), so hubby is going to have to help me build this one.

He just doesn't know it yet!

I'm thinking this will be a great project this summer after we finish the laundry room and get through some of the yard work.

 

I found this picture under the brag posts from Ana White's website. Isn't this adorable? Someone took a tremendous amount of time in making this dollhouse special.

 People are so creative when it comes to making doll house accessories! I love this little living room set.

 And there are some really crafty mommas out there.

Look at this amazing washing machine made out of a baby wipes container! So clever!

I can't wait to get started with this project! Hopefully Sister's room will look a little more organized once we complete it.

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Jewelry Cabinet Facelift

 Hey Friends! 

I have another project to share today.

A jewelry cabinet makeover.

Sister has moved up to big girl jewelry, and is sporting dangly earrings on a daily basis. 

She looks so grown up with them in...sniff..

She had her ears pierced when she was 4, and has never had any issues until about a month ago when one of her ears became infected. 

We switched to dangly earrings, and thankfully haven't had any issues since. 

 She needed a new jewelry storage solution, so I went digging around in my stash in the attic, and found this cabinet. It was a yard sale find. 

I think I paid around $5 for it a few years ago. I kept thinking I just needed to get rid of it, but I'm so glad I didn't ;-)

The previous owners used some serious paint stripper on this cabinet, so all I had to do was use 220 grit sand paper on my orbital sander to smooth out the finish.

 

 Sister picked out the colors. Turquoise was the first color she wanted. The cabinet took 2 coats.

 Remember the old drawer I turned into a jewelry organizer? Well, I used the same type of metal from Hobby Lobby. This sheet was $11.99 (a little steep, but I used a 40% off coupon. It made the price not sting as bad). I laid the sheet on the back side of the cabinet door and marked off where I needed to cut.

 I used metal snippers to cut little sections at a time, being careful not to cut my fingers on the metal. It's extremely sharp.

 Once I was finished snipping, I tapped the edges down with a hammer.

After the metal was smooth, I painted it purple, Sister's second choice.

(Sometimes you have to get creative when spray painting two sided objects.)

 Once things had dried enough to handle, I attached the metal screen to the cabinet door(because I didn't have the patience to wait until it was completely dry), and then drilled a bigger hole in the door front so I could attach this adorable button knob from Hobby Lobby.

 

 I also added 2 picture frame hangers to the back of the cabinet, and hung it. I felt comfortable with using those because this cabinet is made out of very lite, thin wood.

 

 Here's a shot of the inside of the cabinet. It looks a little beat up, but the door will stay closed the majority of the time, so I am ok with it.

 

 And a quick before and after shot.

Now, Sister has a nice little spot to showcase her earrings, and it will be so much easier keeping up with them.

 And just for fun, a reality shot... so you know that I don't keep a perfect house. I just move things out of view ;-)

Thanks for stopping by! Let me know what you think!

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Lego Friends Table

 Hello dear friends! I have a little project to share with y'all today. 

If you have been following along on Facebook, you know that I have been doing a little series called Thrifty Thursday's. It's where I share things that I have purchased from thrift stores or yard sales, and show you that it's possible to have awesome stuff without going broke. 

This thrifty find deserved an actual blog post.

S.R. has been after me for a few months now to make her a Lego table. I'm sure you recall the Lego Table I made for her brother 2 years ago...has it really been that long?!?

When I made it for E, little sister wasn't really into Legos, so I didn't feel the need to make her one at the time.

Well that time is here, so I had to come up with something for her as well.

And here it is.

 I found this table at one of the thrift stores I frequent. I happened to show up on one of their sale days. The table was $5. The store had coupons you could draw from a basket. I drew a 50% off coupon, so I used it on this table. $2.50 on a mostly wood table. Not too bad, eh?

I knew it would be just right for S.R.'s new Lego Table.

 

I needed to knock the finish off, so I used an orbital sander with 80 grit sand paper. It removed all the gunk off as well. It took about 10 minutes to finish that task.

The table had a 1/4" recess in the center, I need to fill it with strips of wood, so that the Lego plate wouldn't bow when being pressed down on.

Enter compound miter saw.

I forgot how.much.fun.this.thing.is!!!!

I want to start sawing everything in half now...just kidding...maybe not ;-)

Once I measured and cut the wood, I stapled it down using the hubs' nail gun...also an awesome tool.

 

Now this was the tricky part. Here in Alabama, we are known for nasty, sticky humidity. One of the worst places to spray paint.

But I have a trick. I spray quickly, and immediately bring back into the house between coats. The dry time is a little longer because of the WET air, but it still works pretty well.

I really like Valspar for spray painting. I used to be a Krylon girl, but you only have a 1 hour painting window. Valspar is a little more forgiving, and if I have to go longer than an hour, the finish isn't compromised. I love it!

Sister chose pink, of course!

 I sprayed the legs, apron, and the top edges of the table. I didn't paint the center because the Lego plate would be covering that space.

 

Here's a close up of the top. You can see I got a little staple happy...I Love Power Tools!!

 

I forgot to take a picture of the next 2 steps.

While the last coat of paint was drying, I drilled two holes on the table top and added some glitzy  hardware to hold the Lego bag. I had originally intended for the hardware to go on my hair sink cabinet, but I saw how much S.R. loved them, so I decided to surprise her with them. She loves all things that glitter and sparkle...I don't know very many girls who don't!

After the knobs were in, I glued the Lego plate down with Liquid Nails. I set some heavy books on top to help it adhere.

I also sewed a bag with fabric I had in my stash to house her Legos. She only has a few Legos right now, so the bag should be enough for now. If her collection grows, there's plenty of room to set a basket under the table.

 

And here's the finished product.

 A close up of the glitzy hardware.

 

 

And once again, the before and after.

I am so glad to have a project completed!

We start school in 2 1/2 weeks, so I am squeezing as much as I can into what little summer we have left!!

Make sure to check in with me on Facebook. I do most of my posting there.

Thanks for stopping by today!

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Bicycle Art

It seems like ages ago I told you that I would have a fun little art project for S.R.'s room. Well, I finally got around to making one.

I just needed the right inspiration!

I wanted to do something with a bike, but just wasn't sure what. I came across this really cute vinyl cruiser on Etsy , and knew it was exactly what I needed.

Source

And this is what I came up with.

FrogTape makes a chevron painter's tape. Crazy! I know!

 It's super easy to use! 

I found some at Lowes the other day, but you can also purchase it from Amazon. 

Click the link below and it will take you directly to Amazon.

                               

The tape isn't recommended for use on textured surfaces...says so right on the box. As you can see below, my canvas is a textured surface. I went with it anyway because sometimes you can bend the rules a bit in the crafting world. 

I used a scrap piece of tape to keep my lines even.

Once all of the tape was down on my canvas board, I smoothed out all of the edges, painted, and promptly removed the tape.

After letting the paint dry for about 30 minutes, I placed the vinyl bike on top of the painting.

You have to be patient with vinyl. It can tear easily, and can stick together if you don't follow the instructions.

Once in place, I smoothed it out to make sure there weren't any bubbles.

I had the large frame on hand. I was actually using the frame as a Christmas card holder. However, last year, the cards never made it to the frame. 

So I figured I would make good use out of it, paint it purple, and hang it in S.R.'s room.

I don't normally do anything with colors this bright or go with things that are this contemporary because it's not my style. I'm more of a classic style kind of girl.

However, it is S.R.'s style...so I'm goin' with it;o)

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The Jenny Evolution

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Window Valance and New Look for the Couch

I hope you all had a fantastic weekend. I got to spend some good old fashioned quality time with my little family, so it was definitely a good weekend for me.

In the midst of that, I was able to finish the window valance and pillows for S.R.'s couch.

If you were with me during Crafting with the Stars, you know that the hubs built this couch for S.R. It was made to fit a crib mattress so that it could be used as a bed for her guests, or for E when they are having "sleepovers".

This little couch has gotten a LOT of use! 

 The large pillow in the back is something I made with some of the remnants of the quilt fabric. Super easy to whip up. The other three pillows were purchased from Target. The square pillows had been marked down to $5.99 and the bolster pillow was around $13. The crib sheet was another Target purchase, and it may have been around $9.99.

 The window valance took some planning and searching online for inspiration. After about an hour, I finally decided to take a few different ideas and put them together.

I really like the end result and I like it much better than the panels that were there before. 

This room has been a lot of fun to put together. Just one more post on S.R.'s "bigger girl room." I'll share with you the art project that is going on the wall beside her bed. 

To see the finished quilt, you can go HERE.

Thanks for stopping by!

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Riley Blake Dress Up Days Scalloped Quilt

Back at the beginning of this year, I decided to make S.R. her own quilt, and to turn her room into a bigger girl room. When I was pregnant with her, I made one for E, which you can see here at the end of his bed. I felt it was time she had her own "made by Mommy" quilt. 

Her favorite color is purple, so I searched for several weeks to find the perfect combinations of fabrics. Riley Blake had a line called Dress Up Days, and S.R. and I both fell in love with the prints!

After seeing the Girl Inspired's Scallop Quilt, I knew that would be the perfect design for S.R.

I will have to say, this was a rather expensive quilt to put together. S.R. has a full size bed, so I had to purchase extra fabric. After all the blood, sweat and tears (yes, all three occurred), it was definitely worth the fuss.

I attempted to machine quilt it myself. However my machine messed up and the bobbin stitches were all loopy, so a very dear friend and I had to pick stitches for over 3 hours. Bless her! I decided to throw in the towel and send it off to be quilted. I'm so glad that I did. I love the end result. The flower stitching is a perfect match to this whimsical fabric.

I had a lucky find at Target the other day as well. They had this bed skirt marked 50% off. Just an FYI, purple really isn't "in" right now, so it was fairly difficult to find coordinates for this bedding. There is a lot of purple and pink, but not a whole lot of purple and orange.

The matching throw pillows were made with the ruching technique, and the puppy pillow was my first attempt at hand embroidery.  Pillows are one of the easiest ways to really dress up an area!

The sheets were purchased at Walmart, and I was really excited that the polka dots matched the colors in her quilt!

I have two or three more things to finish up in the room...a valance, an art project and an accessory or two to add, and her bigger girl room will be complete!

Stay tuned to see some of the other areas of her room! 

To see the before, you can go here!

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