Seth and I have super powers. I can make my eyelashes disappear by blinking hard.
Seth can touch his chin with his tongue.2010-12-27
And while I'm at it ...
Here are a few outtakes from our Christmas card shoot:
Seth and I have super powers. I can make my eyelashes disappear by blinking hard.
Seth can touch his chin with his tongue.
Seth and I have super powers. I can make my eyelashes disappear by blinking hard.Seth can touch his chin with his tongue.Christmas project #2
So while I was busy with the Barbie house (see previous post), I was surprised when this showed up near my work space:
Back story: A while ago, Seth's mom gave us the pieces of a cradle that her father had made for her as a little girl. She thought maybe my dad could fix it up for our girls. I had nearly forgotten about it until it showed up unexpectedly. Apparently my dad had found the time (or made the time) to finish it.
Since it was so close to Christmas, I thought it would be perfect to finish it up for the girls as a present from Great-Grandpa Hendricks, Grandma Susan, Grandpa Scott, Seth and me.
You can distinguish the original pieces from the new ones in this shot.
Close-up of the headboard.
Back story: A while ago, Seth's mom gave us the pieces of a cradle that her father had made for her as a little girl. She thought maybe my dad could fix it up for our girls. I had nearly forgotten about it until it showed up unexpectedly. Apparently my dad had found the time (or made the time) to finish it.
Since it was so close to Christmas, I thought it would be perfect to finish it up for the girls as a present from Great-Grandpa Hendricks, Grandma Susan, Grandpa Scott, Seth and me.
You can distinguish the original pieces from the new ones in this shot.
Close-up of the headboard.Lately I've become a craft-blog junkie. I've read all about refinishing furniture on this blog, and I really wanted to try her glazing technique on something. I figured this would be the perfect opportunity. I'm rather pleased with the results.
The family heirloom doll cradle, all fixed up and purdified. I made the quilt out of scraps of fabric given to me by Grandma Hendricks.
The family heirloom doll cradle, all fixed up and purdified. I made the quilt out of scraps of fabric given to me by Grandma Hendricks. I stole another idea (scroll down to see the addition of the decorative wooden scroll) from the aforementioned blog and bought an extra piece to add to the headboard to give it more detail.
Now that I know how to glaze and have a nearly full quart of the stuff, I think other pieces of our furniture might be undergoing some changes ...
Now that I know how to glaze and have a nearly full quart of the stuff, I think other pieces of our furniture might be undergoing some changes ...
Christmas project #1
Months ago (like, pre-Halloween) when Bekah was writing her first of many letters to Santa, she put "Barbie house" at the very top of her list. I knew that a store-bought house would cost anywhere from $50-$250, and I figured I could do better than that. So I Googled "Barbie house tutorial" and found this little beauty. I think I searched for a month before I found a five-drawer chest of drawers at a garage sale and snatched it up for $15.
After hours of hammering, priming, painting, wallpapering, upholstering, caulking and carpeting, it finally came together. (Good thing Bekah's kindergarten and Ana's preschool times overlapped so I could work without the prying eyes of little ones.) I wish I had "before" pictures, but alas ... I don't. So imagine a brown, stinky chest of drawers and then feast your eyes on this:
I can't claim all the glory; my dad helped, too. He built the peaked roof for the top.
Yeah, it doesn't have all the little extras that come with a licensed Barbie house (elevator, jacuzzi, flat-screen TV), but it will hold up a lot longer than a glorified hunk of plastic.
What's that you say? You want to see some close-ups? Happy to oblige.
The bedroom. Notice the jellyfish chandelier. I don't care how aquatic it looks; there was no way I would redo it. You don't realize how many hours it takes to thread beads onto floral wire and cut and shape them until you try it. The bed is made out a shoebox lid, four empty ribbon spools, part of a Kleenx box, scrapbook paper, an old sheet and some luxurious costume satin. I found the little dresser at a craft store and painted/Mod Podged it. The mirror came out of an old compact of mine.
The living/dining room. The table is a pre-cut wooden rectangle with an empty curling ribbon spool glued to the bottom of it. The couch and chairs are foam I already had with more luxurious costume satin. The tea set I found for $2 at Fred Meyer.
After hours of hammering, priming, painting, wallpapering, upholstering, caulking and carpeting, it finally came together. (Good thing Bekah's kindergarten and Ana's preschool times overlapped so I could work without the prying eyes of little ones.) I wish I had "before" pictures, but alas ... I don't. So imagine a brown, stinky chest of drawers and then feast your eyes on this:
I can't claim all the glory; my dad helped, too. He built the peaked roof for the top.Yeah, it doesn't have all the little extras that come with a licensed Barbie house (elevator, jacuzzi, flat-screen TV), but it will hold up a lot longer than a glorified hunk of plastic.
What's that you say? You want to see some close-ups? Happy to oblige.
The bedroom. Notice the jellyfish chandelier. I don't care how aquatic it looks; there was no way I would redo it. You don't realize how many hours it takes to thread beads onto floral wire and cut and shape them until you try it. The bed is made out a shoebox lid, four empty ribbon spools, part of a Kleenx box, scrapbook paper, an old sheet and some luxurious costume satin. I found the little dresser at a craft store and painted/Mod Podged it. The mirror came out of an old compact of mine. 
The living/dining room. The table is a pre-cut wooden rectangle with an empty curling ribbon spool glued to the bottom of it. The couch and chairs are foam I already had with more luxurious costume satin. The tea set I found for $2 at Fred Meyer.Pretty sweet, if you ask me. Especially since I found the wallpaper at D.I. ($2) and the carpet samples on clearance ($1/each).
Seth kept saying that one of Santa's elves must have worked really hard to make such a neat Barbie house. I'll tell you this: one of Santa's elves smiled extra-big as our girls saw the house Christmas morning and squealed with glee.
Seth kept saying that one of Santa's elves must have worked really hard to make such a neat Barbie house. I'll tell you this: one of Santa's elves smiled extra-big as our girls saw the house Christmas morning and squealed with glee.
Christmas spirit
The other day, I let the girls watch some TV while I got ready in the morning. They were spellbound, as always.
Just ignore Ana's finger placement. We're going to assume that her finger is NEXT to her nose.
It just isn't Christmas without watching the Grinch.
Just ignore Ana's finger placement. We're going to assume that her finger is NEXT to her nose.Some of the shows they like to watch are annoying at best, insanity-inducing at worst. But I wholeheartedly approved of their choice that morning.
It just isn't Christmas without watching the Grinch.2010-12-24
From the other member of the Grover family
This one has visions of sugarplums stuffed in his head.
Merry Christmas Eve!
2010-12-22
The Book of Grover
The hard copies are in the mail (minus just a couple, but I'm getting more stamps today!) so here's the grand virtual unveiling of our annual Christmas card and newsletter. Enjoy!
2010-12-09
Little elf
It would be cool if her ear did that naturally. Alas, it was just her hat pushing it out. Miriam the elf hopes you're being good this Christmas season, because she's watching!
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