I really did try!

Have you ever tried to talk your daughter into loving something?

Like....say...American Girl Dolls?

Let's go back a little bit.

Two birthdays ago I bought my daughter an American Girl Doll.

She had spent so much time combing through the catalog.

So I bought her Lanie, 2 outfits and Ginger the pet kitty.

She LOOOOVED Ginger but didn't pay much attention to the doll.

Hmmm.... me thinks she needs some props!

So we built her the cutest little farmhouse bed for her doll.

plans can be found here

I also let her dig through my scrap bin to choose every single piece for her quilt and pillows.

I don't love it, but she picked it mind you.

I must resist the urge to make a new one.

For a while she played with her doll.

Then she tossed her aside and used the bed night and day to play with her build-a-bear and other random stuffed animals.

So......

We remodeled this old barbie house 

that was really quite thrashed.

We took off the 4 corner posts and raised each floor doubling the height.

And we took out the center walls to keep it spacious and open.

I put my work gloves on and installed hardwood floors

Oh and I bought her this cute little bath tub too.

I hated the AG rug that came with it so I made one that was bigger and more sturdy.

I also installed a closet rod on the main floor.

And do you know what?

she still didn't play with it!

You know what this doll house needs?  

Lights!  It's too dark.

Maybe if it were well lit it would be more inviting!

So I installed some lighting.

No dice!

Then.......

something happens!  We get the new catalog featuring Kanani.

And my stubborn little girl begs me for her 

everyday for 6 whole months!

Finally, it will all be worth it!

So, I give in and buy Kanani and build these cute chairs for Sasha's birthday.

You can find the plans for these chairs here.

And guess what!

She doesn't play with any of it!

She does, however, still play with the bed and her stuffed animals all of the time.

Just not in the doll house or even around it.

All is not lost though.

All of my nieces and neighbor girls just love to play with it when they come over.

So I'll keep it for them

One of these days, I am going to put tufted walls on the backside to finish it.

I'll post pictures of the whole doll house then.

I wonder....if she had a sister would they play dolls together?