Apple and Peanut Butter Cookies

I don't know about you, but I love the combination of apples and peanut butter! There's just something about the sweet crunchy-ness of apples, and the salty creamy-ness of peanut butter that makes them go well together. This week on the calender is to make a batch of cookies. So what about having apple and peanut butter in a cookie? That's just what we did!

 

These apple and peanut butter cookies are super easy to make. I used my mom's peanut butter cookie recipe,  which is really just peanut butter and sugar (plus a few more things!), and store-bought apple pie filling. You could definitely make your own filling, but we just had some on hand, so I decided to use that.

 

After you roll the cookie dough in the sugar, you can press them down in the center, or make the classic criss-cross top with a fork. They will puff up a bit in the oven, but they'll go down when you take them out.

 

Top with a spoonful of apple pie filling and there you have it! A yummy batch of apple and peanut butter cookies.
Do you have any food combinations that you love? What about trying them in a different way, like cookies? Leave a comment and let us know!

 

 Enjoy your apple and peanut butter cookies!!

Read a New Book

The calendar event for Wednesday was to read a new book. Since my dolls haven't had any new books lately, I thought I'd make some! 

We printed off the book covers and book paper from the freebies page, and had a lot of fun putting them together and designing them. First we cut everything out...

and then made stacks of three pages. Then we folded them in half, and made a stack of stacks! We used glue for our books.

 

When you fold over the cover, you'll notice that one side is a bit longer than the other. This can be left flat or folded over to help your doll hold it. But you can always cut it off if you want.

 

Books can be anything! We made a book for each girl, and one extra. Designing the covers and deciding what each book should be was so much fun!

 

You can fill your books to make them anything that you would like. A few ideas would be stickers or stamps for a picture book, drawings and stories, pictures cut out from magazines to make magazines or catalogs, a book for pressing flowers, or even a good old-fashioned fairy tale!

 

The possibilities are endless, and you can always stop by the library for more inspiration!

 

The girls had a lot of fun reading the books when they were finished. They read them to each other,

 

to their stuffed animals,

 

and even to their pets!

 

Have fun designing your own books, and don't forget to take the time to read them!!

School Papers

With school just around the corner, (and for some already starting!) I thought that it would be fun to make school papers for your doll. There's a few papers for math and spelling, and a book that you can make yourself for reading. There's so much to do for school, and now your doll can do it too! With papers for reading, writing and 'rithmetic, you can have lots of fun being the teacher. 

You can find it on the freebies page, or go straight to the document to print it off.

Happy school days!

Coloring Page

Today on the calendar is color or draw a picture. My dolls got to color in one of our coloring pages from our ebooks. I set it up on my desk, and they used my pencils and set to work!

 

This one is from the camping ebook. We printed ours off in black and white, otherwise the header and number is usually pink.

 

Robin colored in the stars,

 

and Jo got to help.

 

Sophie worked very hard on the campfire.

 

And Marissa colored in the sky.

 

And they all 'pitched' in to color the tent!

 

Done!

 

A close up of the verse.

 

My dolls had a lot of fun coloring in the poster and we'll be sure to hang it up where we can see it.
Do you like to color or draw? Take some time today just to sit and draw. Take a break and color! Whatever you do, draw, color, paint, or something else, we hope that you have lots of fun!

Toffee Bars

The latest event on the calendar is to make a sweet snack. While these homemade toffee bars are more of a treat than a snack, they're definitely sweet! They're so easy to make because of the surprise ingredient, which also makes them crunchy and salty. It's the perfect sweet and salty toffee bar!

You need:
35 saltine crackers (surprise!)
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
About 1 cup of chocolate chips, depending on taste
About 1 cup chopped nuts, depending on taste. These can be any nut or combination of nuts that you want!

1. Line a cookie sheet with tin foil and lay the crackers down in a single layer. (I made about half of the batch in the pictures.)

 

2. Heat the butter and sugar on the stove until the butter is melted and the sugar is dissolved. (Don't forget to ask an adult for help if you need it!) Boil for 3 minutes without stirring. Spread over crackers.

 

3. Bake for 7 minutes at 400 degrees. Sprinkle with chocolate as soon as it's done. When the chocolate's melted, spread it over the crackers. Sprinkle with nuts and let cool.

 

4. Break or cut into pieces.

 

What are some of your favorite things to bake? I like making sweets, but I also like to try new and different recipes. It's always fun when a new treat works out!

 

Enjoy!

Patriotic Punch

Today on the calendar is make a red, white, and blue craft. We made this patriotic punch for the Fourth of July, but with a little creativity, you can make one for anything!

You need:

3 drinks: one red, one white, and one blue. The trick to the punch is to have each drink have a different sugar content. Check the nutrition label to see how much sugar each drink has.
Ice cubes

 

 1. Fill your glass with ice.
2. Choose the drink with the most sugar. Pour this one over the ice so it's at the bottom.
3. Choose the drink with the medium amount of sugar. Pour very slowly over the ice.
4. Choose the last drink with the least amount of sugar. Pour very, very slowly over the ice.

 

You can experiment with different drinks and flavors to make fun punches. You can make drinks with only two flavors, or make one with four or even five! Get creative and see what you can do.

 

Enjoy your Patriotic Punch!

P.S. Check out the blog for new polls and have fun voting!
P.P.S. Don't forget to enter the e-book giveaway!!

Doll-sized S'mores

One of the recipes in the new camping e-book is a s'more buffet. There's a real recipe for you, and a craft one for your dolls. But I thought that it would be fun to share a real one for your dolls too!



We found mini graham crackers at the store, and we also picked up mini marshmallows and chocolate bars.

 

The chocolate bars need to be broken in half to fit on the crackers.

 

Melt the marshmallows (in the microwave, on the stove or over a campfire. Just make sure an adult is with you!) and make the s'mores.

 

My dolls enjoyed their summer snack! Do you have a favorite summer recipe? Or maybe you've made a fun doll food lately out of something else. Whatever it is, we would love to hear about it! Leave a comment and let us know!

 

Enjoy your s'mores!!

P.S. Don't forget to enter the e-book giveaway!

Doll Jeans

Tomorrow on the calendar is take pictures. Take the time to just go around with your camera and take pictures. You might be surprised at what you get!
But today I'd thought that I'd show you the doll jeans that are finally finished! I did manage to get both pairs out of the shorts, and was pretty happy with the results.

 

What do you think?

 

I have been wanting to make jeans for my dolls for a long time, and now that I have them, I know that I'll be using them a lot.

 

They're perfect for the girl on the go...

 

or just hanging out for an afternoon.



The jeans have elastic in the top (which also came from the shorts!), so I didn't have to use any buttons or snaps. Although this made it easier, one day I would like to try making a 'real' pair of jeans, with snaps and pockets and all that. :)

 

We'll have lots of fun with these jeans!

Doll Dresses//Sewing

I finally finished the doll dresses! It took a bit longer than I thought, but they turned out really cute, so it was worth it. Keep an eye out for a summer photoshoot soon!

I took me the longest to sew up the tops. Making the 'sleeveless' part of the dress is harder than it looks!

(Sorry about the blurry pictures! I was up late finishing them.)

 

The skirts were so much easier to do. I cut out three panels, but stitched up the back of the skirts. The buttons went on the tops.

 

Putting it all together!

 

Making the buttonholes...

 

...and adding the buttons.

 

Done!!

 

What do you think? Do you have any favorite outfits that you've sewn?

 

I might add just a few more finishing touches to both of the dresses. Then its on to the photoshoot!