American Girl Doll Play

Playing in the Snow

2017-01-11T15:57:00.004-06:00

Just sharing some fun pictures that Zoey took this afternoon in our super snowy backyard!

Meet Zinnia!

2016-11-30T21:53:00.002-06:00

Zoey has decided on a name for her Wellie Wishers doll Camille. She will now be known as Zinnia and be called Zinnie for short. She loves nature and studying about herbs as well as just spending time outdoors.

She is sooooooooo cute! We discovered that she fits nicely in some of the clothing that we had gotten for Zoey's Disney Rapunzel doll. We put her in this dress along with a hat that belongs to Bitty Baby and she was set for exploring in the yard.

She really photographs well it seems and it's SO much easier to stand her up in poses since she is a somewhat stiff doll with no soft body and limbs strung with strings.

I think I love her as much as Zoey does! Her little hands and feet are so sweet...love her realistic looking eyes and that she has a wig cap like the larger 18 inch American Girl dolls.

Her hair is silky soft and shiny, just like her older American Girl doll counterparts and hers particularly seems to be very easy to manage.

Here are a couple more photos of her...

She's off to do some more exploring in the woods now!

A Fun Surprise!

2016-11-30T21:32:00.001-06:00

Right away when American Girl first debuted the Wellie Wishers line of dolls and accessories I wasn't keen on them. They looked small, and like they were made of hard plastic and I just simply couldn't wrap my head around being excited about them since we were such fans of the 18 inch dolls. Well, several months later and here we are...the newest doll owners of one of them!

Zoey really wanted Willa but she is currently back-ordered until January or something crazy like that so she quickly chose her second favorite Camille.

Zoey sold some of her older toys that she no longer plays with and used the money to purchase Camille. Right now American Girl has free shipping on the Wellie Wishers collection so that helped her to be able to make this special purchase.

I kept telling Zoey that the doll would be little and hard just to prepare her for being disappointed upon her arrival but low and behold...we are BOTH simply smitten with her! She's SO CUTE!! And so photogenic too. We took her out for a mini photo shoot this afternoon (will share the photos soon!) and we just love her to pieces.

She might need a friend soon...oh dearie me! Really and truly, if you have been on the fence about how you feel about the Wellie Wishers collection you may want to give them a second chance, they are simply adorable and we are now fans for sure!

Decorating the Christmas Tree!

2016-11-27T20:39:00.002-06:00

Today was the day! We always decorate our Christmas tree after Thanksgiving and before our holiday break is over and it's "back to school" time again. This year was no exception!

Patrova was so excited to put the star on the top this year...

and Nellie was tickled to help with the tinsel for the fireplace.

The pups got in on the fun and festivities too...they may have gotten in to a bit of mischief here and there however!

Bella helped with the tree decorating too.

Zoe hung the stockings on the mantel and set some under the tree for Santa to find. She even tucked some candy canes in them to make things look all the more merrier.

After all the decorating it was time for relaxing by the fire with some yummy treats!

And last but not least...a family (and friends!) photo for the Christmas card!

We hope your Thanksgiving break was a wonderful one and that you are starting to feel the spirit of the holidays yet to come!

Summer Sewing!

2016-06-30T14:19:00.000-05:00

One of the things I love most about summer is that we are able to carve out some more time for doll projects! Zoey and I have been having some fun lately working on some sewing projects for the dolls. For this project, a mini skirt, we used a pattern from the book Sew in Style by Erin Hentzel (Zoey got this book for Christmas last year). We are both very new to sewing so we needed something very simple for our first project...this was perfect!

Sew in Style by Erin Hentzel

One of the things that I love about this book is that she rates all the projects from easiest to hardest and she's very thorough with descriptions, photos, directions and also includes a glossary of sewing terms that you should become familiar with...all in a way that isn't overwhelming for a beginner!

Here are some shots of our doll skirt...

(Please don't mind the sparkly looking backdrop on our basement wall...we recently had a birthday party here and just haven't taken it down yet!)

We had a little hiccup along the way with the velcro...accidentally sewed one strip on the wrong side of the fabric, but we got to figure out how to use our seam ripper so that's good!

Here is Zoey's doll, Zoe, modeling her new summer mini skirt with one of American Girl's tee's...doesn't she look ready for a fun day downtown with friends?

A GIVEAWAY from Doll Shoe Lane!

2016-06-13T16:44:00.002-05:00

*Edited with the WINNER in the comments!!!*

I am so excited to share a giveaway with our AG Doll Play fans and readers! Awhile back now, Noah from Doll Shoe Lane contacted me asking if we would be interested in featuring a review and/or a giveaway on our blog and I checked out his store and quickly got back to him with a YES! Well, with the end of the school year craziness and then with my daughter attending a week of dance camp right away, things got busy and here I am finally posting our review and giveaway on the doll blog!

I have to say, Zoey and I were both impressed with how fast the shipping was, and the presentation itself once the shoes arrived was top notch.

The shoes came wrapped in plastic with a business card and then there was also included the materials needed (instructions too!) to create your own shoe box!!! This is such a great added touch since it adds to the experience of "play" for the dolls. They can go shopping, give shoes as a gift, have a gift to open, etc. Such a great bonus!!

Here is a picture of the un-folded box with tissue paper and instructions on how to fold your box:

It was pretty easy, Zoey was able to do it no problem but for those that may be craft inept (no shame here!!) they even provide a website you can go to to view picture step-by-step instructions!

Here is a picture of the business card for Doll Shoe Lane that's included...

Eeek!! We LOVE our froggie slippers!! They are so adorable and unique, our dolls adore them! They tell us they are comfy too. The stitching detail is truly amazing and the care taken while creating these is apparent for sure. So sweet. It's always fun to have something for the dolls that's different than what everyone else has...this fits the bill in that department!

So, on to the fun part...the giveaway!

Our doll Claire here has one pair of Doll Shoe Lane shoes to give away to one lucky AG Doll Play reader. We are giving away this beautiful rainbow pair of shoes...

To enter the giveaway please do the following:

Share here in the comments section (of this blog post) one of your favorite pairs of shoes or slippers by checking out the Doll Shoe Lane Etsy Shop.
Share a link to this blog post on your Facebook page or blog (if you have one...don't worry if you're not on FB or if you don't blog, you will still be entered with your comment!)
Make sure if you are on Facebook that you already "Like" AG Doll Play
and Make sure you "Like" Doll Shoe Lane on Facebook as well. Introduce yourself and share that AG Doll Play sent you and that you are so excited for the doll shoe giveaway!

That's it! Pretty easy to be entered into the drawing. A random winner will be chosen from all those individuals that do the above and will be announced here on Monday, June 20th.

Please note that this contest is open to US residents only...thank you for understanding. AS ALWAYS, MAKE SURE YOU HAVE YOUR PARENTS PERMISSION TO ENTER INTO THIS GIVEAWAY!!

Sharing a couple more photos of Claire showing off her brand new froggie slippers...she loves them!

Some Great finds for Lea's Bahia Berry Stand!

2016-02-06T08:09:00.000-06:00

We have added a few things to Lea's Bahia Berry Stand that I made last week! (If you haven't started making yours yet, just go for it. It is so easy if you follow the tutorial from American Girl Ideas. If I had had to buy all the paint and foam core, I would guess this has a cost of about $15 to make.)

I found this tin at Michael's for under $2! Just what we needed to hold cold beverages. I used the ice from the OG ice cream truck and the bottles of sparking juice are from a retired AG fiesta set.

The tin might be a little small, but it works.

While at Michael's we also found a tube of fruit. I used the 40% off coupon so they were only $6. I love the textures and variety! This set came with an assortment of fruits and veggies- my favorite is the artichoke!

The doll can even hold the fruit!

But, the best find was this back drop I found from Walmart.com for $18 with free site to store pick up. Unfortunately, they are no longer available on the site. Perhaps they will return. They are available HERE from the manufacturer.I have also seen these backdrops on ZULILY HERE. If you try Zulily, type FunDeco in their search and you can follow FunDeco to receive an email when they return.

The backdrop has 4 scenes. It is meant to be standing so you can play with all 4 at once, but it can easily be used flat or just in one corner. I used the winter scene with the AG winter scene and they are exactly the same height and work well together.

And our favorite addition to the Bahia Berry stand- LEA!!!! Here is a quick shot of Lea with the girls visiting the beach. Lea arrived yesterday!! YAY! Gracie used some gift cards from Christmas to buy the sale package which included Lea, her mix and match swim suit sets and her beach accessories for $150 including shipping! What a steal! This is the first time we've welcomed a GOY doll so early in the year and I think we are going to enjoy having her all year and collecting for her throughout the year.. Gracie dressed Lea in Isabelle's clothes and I think they work for her! In fact I like these colors on her better than her meet dress- although she is not dressed for the beach! More pics of Lea to come. I can do some comparisons of her and other dolls if you have any requests be sure to add them in the comments below.

An Amazing Little Camera- For Lea?

2016-01-28T21:12:00.000-06:00

I found this most adorable Camera
on Amazon for just $3.99 (shipped). It was advertised as a keychain that actually flashes and makes camera sounds when you press the shutter! I don't think the actual American Girl doll Lea's camera does this!?! I am so impressed with this feature!

My daughter Gracie has really been into photography lately so I ordered a different doll sized camera that someone had shared on a Facebook group- it was a USB jump drive made to look like a Canon Camera. But, after I ordered it, I saw that the button worked on this one, and went ahead with both. The other one is coming from China and won't arrive till March I think. If it is a good fit for the dolls, I will share pictures. Here are two very short clips of the camera in action!

If you live near Party City or Target, I was told they sold something similar or the same- and just a dollar! Good luck-these are great!

Doll Sized Harry Potter Books!

2016-01-22T06:00:00.000-06:00

I don't know how I didn't know these printables were available since my daughter LOVES anything and everything Harry Potter! The free printables for all the books in the series are available from American Girl Ideas and are already perfectly sized for your dolls. I printed them out and using my craft knife I cut some pieces of foam to make up the insides of the books. I can't wait to show my daughter when she comes home from school! So awesome, thanks American Girl Ideas!

Throwback Thursday

2016-01-21T06:00:00.000-06:00

Happy Thursday everyone! Sharing an old photo and blog post from January of 2013! It's amazing how fast three years goes by and here we are still loving our American Girl dolls and crafting with them/for them. :) This photo is of Amanda, Gracie and Lily's dolls getting ready for Valentine's Day by crafting some special Valentines for their friends. To read the complete blog post and see the additional photos click here.

Do you celebrate Valentine's Day with your dolls? If so, how do you celebrate? Now that our daughters are a bit older and busier with school and extra-curricular activities it's harder to carve out the time to do these sorts of things...which means we start to think about it earlier so we can plan ahead! We kind of have a tradition of having a little gathering for special treats and crafting for Valentines Day with the girls and their dolls. The dolls exchange Valentines as well as the girls! It's so fun!

Now off to plan what out Valentines will look like this year!

Some Valentine's Day Inspired Etsy Finds

2016-01-20T21:05:00.000-06:00

Valentine's Day Sweater and Love Birds Dress by DressurDolly2

Sharing some fun Valentine finds on Etsy today! Photos are all from the individual Etsy listings and all items are linked to the specific shop where you can find the item...and other items that are super adorable finds for your dolls as well! My personal favorite is posted above. I love aqua and red together and the love bird pattern on the dress is so sweet and I've never seen that pattern before, love it!

I also adore this little apron set pictured below...it would be so fun to wear while baking some special treats for Valentine's Day don't you think?

Valentine's Day Apron Set from Tiny Baking Bells

We also like these simple outfits and love that you can choose your own color combo...

Valentine's Day Doll Outfits by It's Sew Susan

This girl and doll skirt set would be fun!

Girl and Doll Matching Valentine Skirts by ShopGirlsNDolls

And I love this set especially...I could see our doll Bella wearing this since her style is fun and funky!

Valentine's Day Tee Shirt with Ruffled Skirt by LaSweetBelle

It's fun to look forward to another holiday now that Christmas and New Years is over. We need something to help us get through this bitter cold month here anyways!

Thanks for stopping by!

Sharing an Informational Article on the History of American Girl

2016-01-19T22:20:00.000-06:00

Image Credit, Dolls in Pleasant Company Catalog Chloe Effron

I shared this story on our AG Doll Play Facebook page but thought it was one that I didn't want to lose track of as it's filled with really great information and history when it comes to the company itself and the original mission of Pleasant Rowland. Really a thoughtful piece that was put together by Mental Floss writer and Executive Editor, Erin McCarthy...and even though it was posted last year, it's all still relevant.

I hope you enjoy reading through it as much as we did! Enjoy!

25 Spirited Facts About American Girl Dolls by Erin McCarthy at Mental Floss

A Close-Up of the Accessories from Maryellen's Diner

2016-01-19T06:00:00.000-06:00

When we were thinking about getting Maryellen's Diner from American Girl I searched the web for anything and everything I could find for all the details about it, including pictures of the individual accessories that came with it. I love to do my research! Where we live, it's hard to watch videos as our internet package is on a data plan and anything that we watch eats up our monthly data package (this is due to living in the Northwoods!) so I was looking for static pictures and couldn't find any other than those on the AG website, and I like "real" photos as I feel they represent the pieces more authentically. Which led me to the creation of this post. Obviously, you can see that we opted to go ahead and get the diner and we are so glad that we did!! This is our biggest AG purchase and we were able to go ahead with it due to our having some gift cards to use to help bring down the cost.

As I shared, we LOVE the diner...the only thing that we would have changed would be adding a few necessities when it came to the accessories! A couple of things we found to be missing were: a blank order pad, salt and pepper shakers, coffee pot, coffee mugs, syrup for the pancakes, silverware (how are they going to eat those pancakes?), a "real" phone (instead of the sticker one!), and a napkin dispenser for the table would have been nice too.

Here is what DID come with the diner...

The hamburgers are fun since they come apart (you can grill the patties on the grill and then assemble) and it was a nice touch that the top bun has a little notched area for the tomatoes to sit in to help the burger stay together. The burgers are pretty huge though...they take up most of the plate!

We LOVE the bell and that it really dings! The best accessory in our opinion!

We are happy with the food...

We love the paper trays that come with the set...will be so fun to serve up an order of fries using these!

The ketchup and mustard bottles will be handy to have too.

The four guest checks are nice, but again, it would have been nice to have an order pad for our dolls to place their own orders.

To round out our accessories for the diner I went ahead and purchased the Cute as a Pie Kitchen Playset from Our Generation (Target brand) mostly for the salt and pepper shakers, sugar shaker, syrup dispenser, coffee pot and coffee cups. I put the rest of the items in our doll kitchen.

Just those items alone really rounded out our diner accessories!

We are having so much fun with the diner! We love that it can be folded up, moved around easily and rearranged with ease. The dolls have rated the diner ✫ ✫ ✫ ✫ ✫

Our American Girl Doll Playroom

2016-01-18T06:00:00.000-06:00

The other day I realized that it had been a while since we last shared our doll room set-up...in fact, I don't know if we've shared our arrangement since we moved two years ago! Whenever I think of sharing our photos, the room is either too messy (that's a good thing!) or I'm too busy. This weekend we were doing some organizing and it's a three day weekend here due to it being Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday (Hooray!) so I had the extra time.

We have long discussed whether or not we wanted a "doll house" in our room or if we just wanted things to be out and about. Zoey has always maintained the thought that she wanted things to be on the floor with the logic being things would be easy to play with, photograph, rearrange, etc. so we've never pursued an actual "house" of sorts but rather have things set up around the room.

This works for us...I know many people prefer doll houses and that's great! We are just sharing what works for us and our current space. Pictured above is our gymnastics area which can also be turned into a dance studio as needed.

Going clockwise around the room....next up is the bathroom...

And then we have the doll bedroom and work space...(if you saw our original doll room set-up you will notice we do tend to keep things arranged similarly).

In front of the bedroom area we have our living space consisting of two flip chairs a table with a phone and the new American Girl TV and media/Entertainment center (which we adore!). To the right of the beds we have a little white armoire which holds little AG sets that aren't used as often (birthday sets, sewing machine, seasonal stuff, etc.) it also holds hair ties, rubber bands, brushes, earrings, etc. It's our little station for getting pretty. :)

Next up is our kitchen. Yes...we have a picnic table in the kitchen. Honestly, I've never wanted to replace it with anything else because we can get eight dolls around this table which is really, really nice! Putting a table cloth on it helps make it look like it might belong in a kitchen...and it matches the retired wooden OG stove and fridge set that we have (and love). I hung a little shelf above them for kitchen storage as you can see.

Here is a space that we switch out a bit depending on what's going on with the dolls. Right now we have the diner set up and our sweet shoppe. Sometimes it serves as the area where our Christmas tree is set up, or our school, theater, etc. The chalkboard on the wall is just a decal so we can easily remove it if we wish.

We have fifteen 18 inch dolls in our collection. Sometimes it's a bit overwhelming to have them ALL out in the room...we are using this little wall shelf for displaying those dolls that may not be being used at the moment. It also kind of serves as decor for the room itself.

To the right of our diner I have a little white cubby shelf (I have two of these in this room), on the top of this one we have our doll salon...this again is something we can easily move to the floor as needed or it's ready for photo opportunities as is right now.

Inside the cubby is American Girl books, magazines and playsets/craft sets.

Our second cubby shelf is behind the door upon entering the room. This stores more of the American Girl playsets and other odds and ends. Each bin holds a specific theme of items. One holds all the clothing and small stuff for the diner, one is for school stuff, one is for ballet/gymnastics and the last one holds hospital stuff.

In the closet we have some unattractive but necessary storage. This is where all of the AG clothing, shoes and extra "stuff" is stored.

And, while it's hard to get a whole shot of the room...this is the best I could get.

It's not crazy fancy but we love our space and truly feel lucky to have it! We didn't always have a room just for our doll obsession so we are so very thankful to have this special space to play.

We would love to see how your space is set up if you have one! It's always fun seeing other people's spaces and ideas. Feel free to link them in the comments.

Thanks for stopping by!

Creating Lea's Bahia Berry Stand

2016-01-16T21:50:00.002-06:00

I am totally in love with Lea's entire collection! To help me NOT buy all of those big pieces, I decided to try crafting Lea's Bahia berry fruit stand. I really wish I were brave enough to try using power tools and working in wood, but I am not. Instead, I have been pretty happy with foam core. For this project I followed the tutorial from Rudy at American Girl Ideas and looked at Lissie and Lilly's measuremens, to help me get started and with placement of the window. I started by cutting the pieces out of non-paper lined foam core. (it was just solid foam, 1/4" thick and can be purchased at my local dollar store) Mine were too short, so I had to piece the larger pieces together and ended up making it about an inch shorter than American Girl's) I then painted all the sides and edges- some places needed 3 coats of paint, am so happy with the results! I painted a sheet aqua and a second sheet the dark coral, then hot glued them together. I used a gloss enamel acrylic craft paint from Walmart on the exterior and a flat acrylic on the interior (because I had them) but I like the gloss better, this looks a lot like wood which I love! The printable from American Girl Ideas are amazing and made this project SO easy! I printed the 'pattern' for each part, traced them into the foam coar, then used my exacto knife in a sawing motion to cut them out.

For cutting foam core, I like to use this snap off type of cutter, and leave it extended far enough to cut through the entire layer of foam.

Rudy, from American Girl Ideas, also shared all the printable posters and decals she made! I printed them on heavyweight gloss paper and glued them on. Again- SO EASY!

My family lost our kitchen counter this weekend!

I added an edge to the front counter with a 1/2" piece of foam core. I also made my fruit shelf a bit short then the tutorial.

I opted to use bamboo to create my awning. I also used linen from an old pair of pants to create my sign, and I used tullip brand fabric markers to create my pattern.

I made the little box from thick cardboard as I didn't have a tick tac container.

I still need to do a little work on the 'inside'. So far, I decided to glue real tile to my counter top and am really happy with the look!

Our 'girls' are starting to dream about spring break in Brazil...

I did a little more work on the inside today. I did make the little silver shelf, but cannot find silver paint- I may have to buy one thing to make this project! So far I haven't spent anything yet! I took some pictures today with my Canon (pics above are cell phone pics with artificial lighting) and thought I would share. Once I get the last piece painted I will add additional photos! Almost all of the accessories and food items pictured below are from the Our Generation Aloha set. We have two of these sets and I am SO SO glad I picked them up last time I saw them available online. With the two sets you really have enough for a tropical dinner party!

Last update...I completed the inside.

Playing in the Snow!

2016-01-11T11:00:00.001-06:00

Maryellen had fun playing in the snow this past weekend! She had to bundle up in her coat, scarf and hat though...it's been pretty cold here lately! Hope all of our AG Doll Play friends had fun too! Feel free to share what you did over the weekend, we hope it included something doll related!

Bella's Trip to the Salon

2016-01-11T10:47:00.000-06:00

Not a trip to the official American Girl salon but to our salon here at home! Bella's curls were in pretty rough shape. She's one of my daughter Zoey's favorite dolls and gets a lot of love...therefore her hair gets pretty loved too, ie: fuzzy, snarled, a mess!

The other night I decided to take her curls one by one and spritz them with water and finger curl...I wanted to share some before and after photos with you so you can see how something so simple can really help!

Here is her hair before:

And her hair after the water spritzing and finger curling...

Looking pretty good don't you think?

Maryellen Stretching at the Barre

2016-01-03T14:28:00.000-06:00

We were surprised at Christmas and got Maryellen! American Girl's newest historical doll and we love her! She has such pretty hair, with a hint of red...it's shiny and wavy and so easy to take care of too! Her bangs are adorable...Zoey is really happy about adding her to our doll family.

I thought today I would share some pictures of Maryellen working at the barre doing some of her stretches for ballet.

Zoey also got the ballet barre and mirror for Christmas, it's made by Pottery Barn Kids.

It's perfect for one doll to work at it at a time and is heavy enough that the doll using it can lean on it and it won't tip over. Nice!

I like that it's white and therefore can go pretty easily in our play room without being a garish addition (if it was a crazy color)...I'm thinking it would be fun to add it into McKenna's workout area too! I had seen this version of the dance studio too from Toys R Us but wasn't convinced due to it looking not as sturdy as the wood one and the colors didn't really go with our play area.

What was your favorite gift this year? Please feel free to share with us!

Thanks for stopping by!

Painting the Mylife school desk

2015-07-30T18:08:00.001-05:00

I purchased the my life school desk, after sadly missing the AG daily deal and sell out of the American Girl School desk. I hated the color and decided to do something about it.

I stood at Walmart looking at paint for at least 40 minutes contemplating gloss or matte, coral and aqua (which I knew my daughter would love) or try to mimic the aqua and green from the AG desk. Do I repaint the metalic gray an actual silver? Do I need to prime? Ahk!!!! In the end, I bought it all, then later returned the paint I didn't use.

I ended up with the coral (gloss) and aqua (matte), although honestly, i dont think it really matters. Yes to metalic silver legs and yes to primer.

I began by taking apart the chairs. Very simple as there were only 6 screws. Then primed everything. I do not know much about spray paint, but read that someone had issues with an enamel paint when they primed with a different t brand of primer, so I actually ended up using two brands of primer- just to be safe. I found that hanging everything on wire from my clothes line was the best. Read your paint labels, and follow the recommendations. Once you begin painting all recoating needs to be completed before a certain time. In my case it was before four hours, or after 24 hours. I forgot the 'after 24 hours' and tried to touch up a small blemish the next morning and the paint reacted strangely to the top layer and bubbled and cracked! So be sure to follow your paints directions.

I had a hard time capturing the coral color with my phone, but the color is very similar to Isabelle's coral sweater.

It takes 48 hours for the paint to cure, but I left ours sit for longer to be safe.

I am really happy with how they turned out and ended up painting some file drawers I found at the dollar store to match.

A Trip to the American Girl Store (Mall of America Location)

2015-07-07T22:14:00.001-05:00

Sharing some photos of a somewhat impromptu little road trip we took to the American Girl store at the Mall of America location. Our girls all have summer birthdays so this was a little bonus birthday trip...and, it's just plain old fun to get to go to the American Girl store! Our drive one way to get there was just over 4 hours, we've done it once before so we kind of new what to expect this time.

While visiting we made sure to make a point to eat out at the Bistro Cafe, it's always fun to eat out with your dolls and the waitstaff always makes it extra special!

I took some pictures of my meal, they have a special gluten-free menu if you have the need which I took advantage of ordering off of.

I took some pictures around the store as we browsed as well...it's always so fun to see the doll displays and American Girl had just recently had a new release of products so the girls were extra interested (if that's possible!?) in seeing what was new.

Of course the girls got pictures with the photo prop of the newest Girl of the Year, Grace.

And a definite highlight for the girls (again!) were the escalators! Up and down, over and over...so funny! We have none in our town though so I see the draw. :)

Here is Zoey with the doll she brought (Petrova) picking out which Grace doll she wanted to take home...she chose the one in the middle.

Here are the girls with their special new dolls...it's so fun getting to pick out a doll at the store. This is Zoey's second store bought doll and I have to admit, it's pretty fun getting to hand pick your doll.

At the doll salon while we were there they were offering free doll ear piercing so Zoey got her new doll's ears pierced.

And she got a package of earrings to take home too...with strict instructions to leave the dolls "starter" earrings in her ears for two days before removing and switching out for different earrings.

We stayed overnight at a hotel close to the Mall of America and the girls swam that evening and we just played with the dolls that night at the hotel and stayed up late and had snacks, etc. It was fun to have some girl time...we woke up the next morning and headed back for one more visit before heading back home.

We ate at the Bistro again before heading for home and upon leaving we ran into Blue from Blue's Clues! Too funny...this was a show that Zoey watched when she was little...around three or so! We had to get a picture!

Another photo opp presented itself when we walked by the Lego store...pretty cool storm trooper if you ask me!

We had so much fun, it was so nice getting away with friends even if it was for just a short time...it was well worth it and I know these will be memories that Zoey will not forget.

A Few Dollar Finds For our Dolls

2015-04-17T09:26:00.004-05:00

Lily was so excited when I showed her these cute doll sized food erasers! She asked if she could make a video of the dolls with them. Here are a few close ups.

the globe is a pencil sharpener, perfect for doll school!

doll sushi...on her head???

tarts and popsicles

ramen noodle soup

icecream!!!!

Lily's video demonstrations!

For just $1, I don't expect the food to last forever. I suggested gluing the pieces together and painting over them with a clear sealer, but the girls said they like to take them apart and pretend the dolls are making the food. OK, then that is how we will leave them.

Amanda, Gracie and Lily

2015-03-26T13:55:00.002-05:00

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Welcome to the Sweet Shoppe!

2015-01-11T15:03:00.001-06:00

Amanda and her girls post of their re-creating of the GOTY's French Bakery had Zoey and I itching to play bakery at our house too! Zoey got a really nice wood stand for the dolls this Christmas and so today we turned it into a little bakery/sweet shop of sorts! We ended up taking some pictures so we thought we'd share!

Lanie was working today at the Sweet Shoppe and had an extensive list of special treats and sweets for McKenna and Nixie to choose from.

Nixie had gotten to the Sweet Shoppe a bit earlier than McKenna so she had ordered a cherry soda while waiting for her friend to arrive.

After McKenna arrived Lanie came over and asked if they were ready to order...

After getting McKenna's order and Nixie's complete order (she also got a little sweet treat to go with her soda) Lanie went back to the shoppe to get things all set for her customers.

Can you tell the Sweet Shoppe is getting ready for Valentines Day?

McKenna had ordered a fruit tart and Nixie got a special strawberry cream chocolate cookie. Mmmmm!

Nixie and McKenna really enjoyed their afternoon outing today...getting a special treat at the Sweet Shoppe was the perfect addition to their day!

They had fun talking about their plans for the upcoming holiday...Valentines Day. They are thinking it would be fun to have a big party with all of their girlfriends. Maybe they could purchase their treats for the party from the Sweet Shoppe!

Yes! That's what they are going to do! Lanie couldn't help but overhear the conversation and is so excited to be of help. She better get busy preparing lots of special treats for the big day!

What a fun time with friends...supporting each other and including one another makes everyone feel good!

Creating a French Bakery of Our Own

2015-01-07T17:36:00.001-06:00

With each AG release, I am always amazed by the new products American Girl creates. The debut of Grace, girl of the year 2015, is no different. As soon as I saw her collection, I wanted each and every piece! I simply love each piece. The little blender is just adorable, and the cafe table and bakery cart are darling, but the bakery is AMAZING! But, when I saw the price, I was shocked. At $500, even if it went on sale at 30% off it would still be $350. This is simply out of my price range, so I put my imagination to work and decided to try to make the exterior of a French Bakery as a backdrop. But, as I got going on this project, soon I had an entire bakery! It certainly didn't cost me anywhere near $500, but it did take me two full days to make it.

I am not going to give step by step directions, as I didn't really create a plan before I started. But, I can tell you what I used, show you pictures along the way, and tell you what I learned as I went along.

To begin, I purchased: 2 large sheets of red foam core, 3 aqua sheets of foam core, 1 black sheet of foam core. The back of the sheets of foam core I used were white. I also bought some pre made chalkboard signs (Walmart), 'bistro' chalk board marker (I bought medium tip, but a small would be much better- my store only had med. and large) exacto knife, letter stickers for the store sign, LOTS of hot glue and a yardstick.

I began with pencil, but just till I got the hang of it. I realized that the chalk marker is removable. The directions say with water, but once dry, I just used a pencil eraser when I messed up.

The medium tip chalk marker was too thick to write the descriptions on the menu, so I used a fine tip acrylic paint pen, but that was still a bit thick. I added the descriptions after this picture.

Using red foam core, a full sheet for the front of the bakery, I began by cutting out the rectangle windows. I actually cut one large square, then fit strips of red back in to create three windows. I opted for squares as cutting straight lines was much easier than a curve.

I felt that the window side was a bit plain, and added an awning. I also made this out of foam core. I cut through the top paper layer and the foam then the paper is still connected to make the front of the canopy. I added the white to the awning with the chalk marker. I made a sign next to the window out of black tag board. I think if would be more fun if I used chalk board paper, then the girls would be able to change the sign. I might change this!

To make the roof, I made a long rectangle. Figured how tall I wanted the roof, made a partial cut through the black and folded back the bottom. This gave me a surface to glue on, and gave the roof dimension. I drew the shingles on with a white colored pencil. I used strips of white foam core for the trim, and clear plastic from a toy wrapper for the 'glass' in the windows. I drew the design on the store front (under the windows) with an ultra fine black sharpie. I made the sign out of the aqua foam core with stickers for the words.

Here you can see I stuck the diner inside....and realized that I need to do something with the two windows in the left. (please excuse the mess I made around my work!)

With the outside done, I began to retro fit the interior. I used the aqua foam core to make the little shelf in front of the counter. It squeezes perfectly into the space, so I didn't need to use any adhesive to hold it in place. But, as I kept looking, the phone and tall wall just bothered me. I remembered that it folds down, so that is what I did next.

Much better!

Not perfect, my 3 donuts had to be stacked to fit in a row, but it looks pretty cute! I like having the plated dishes on the bottom and frozen deserts in the case that is part of the OG diner.

I finished off the interior, by cutting aqua foam core the same as the exterior, trimmed out the windows, added some simple décor. Then, I made a 'counter' work station over the folded wall, using some faux marble contact paper.

I like out beverage station too!

A view from above.

Folded down the window by the booth, and that made it!

The doll couldn't wait to get to work baking!

A view looking in...I covered the phone and chalkboard that I folded down with aqua foam core too.

Maybe we need a sign or display in the window, in front of the blue. I definitely need a café table and sign, but that is for another day! Be sure to share how we inspired you! If you don't have the OG diner, this surely could work as a bakery, you'll just have to make your own display shelves and work counter! You are welcome to share links of my post, but please do not repost my images without my permission.

Let me know if you have any specific questions, and I would be glad to help as best I can!

Thanks!
Amanda,

Gracie and Lily

BeForever Launch

2014-09-06T08:41:00.000-05:00

I am sorry this has taken me a week to get this put together! The girls are back in school this week, which has been a transition for me. In June we welcomed Lucas to our family and I am home with the new baby for the year. Looking forward to having the time to reorganize our doll space and dedicate to playing with my girls and their dolls!

When the summer began with our new addition, it put the breaks on traveling. The Wilmot sale took place the first week of June and there was no way I could go, so sad to have missed it! I really was hoping to complete Saige's collection at the sale. Her balloon and art set were the pieces I couldn't justify buying at full price and hoping I might be able to pick up at the sale~ well THEY were at the sale, but I was not. I didn't miss out on all the AG fun, I drug my husband (with less than a happy face) with us to the MCM sale in July. So, Lucas's first camping trip was in a parking lot, waiting in line to get AG dolls! Baby couldn't come in though, so hubby was there to help while the girls and I shopped. Not that we were in need of any dolls in particular, but my girls had saved up their birthday money and would have been so disappointed if we didn't go. Now we have so many dolls they will soon be getting their own room (more to come on THAT later!)

Fast forward to August, my wonderful personal shopper Kathy from the American Girl Store in Minneapolis invited us to the 'private' pre-shopping event last Thursday as they launched the BeForever Line. It sounded like so much fun and I really wanted to go. You might remember that the two dolls that began my love of American Girl were Kirsten and Samantha, and I have loved the historical dolls ever sense. It turned out that it was not so easy to find another AG obsessed friend to come along! My daughter did bring a friend, so it was just myself and the 4 children. I had accumulated enough points on my credit card to book a room (We stayed at the econolodge- I wouldn't recommend it) I called Kathy right away to get on the list for the mornings event and called the café to make reservations for lunch. I couldn't drive all that way and not enjoy lunch with the dolls!

Because the EVENT was at 9AM, and I live 4 1/2 hours away, we drove over on Wednesday and decided to look around. I wanted to have one last look at some of the things that were 'going away'.
PRE-BEFOREVER

Lily and Baby, Julia and Saige and Gracie with Avery and Chelsea

These limited edition sets look so fun! (don't love the prices though!)

We put our names in for the vacation give-a-way....

Gracie was excited to see Carolines Skiff in person...before it was retired.

I would LOVE this car...if only I had gotten to go to the sale this summer! SO BUMMED!

Bitty and Nicki joined the baby display!

A little note on the very empty Marie~Grace display said they would soon be saying farewell..

Some of the display cases were already set up and covered with this sign.

Glad we came a day ahead, it was empty, and we snapped some pics with Isabelle...who seems oddly small in this cut out. The older girls in the picture are 10!!!! Target audience for AG....or not????? Isabelle is the size of my 7 year old!

We sat down to dinner at the Rainforest Café and talked about what we might get tomorrow!

Bringing the dolls along was so so fun!

The event was a fun experience and brought the focus to the revamped BeForever line. I really didn't know what to expect. We arrived at the Mall just before 9 and there were already moms with their girls holding dolls milling around the entrance. We decided there was no reason to be the first through the door, and took a few minutes to oooh and aaaaah at what could be seen through the windows...a glimps of a giant plastic egg, Caroline's fancy new dress as she stood next to (Marie~Grace's???) Banquet table, and Samantha's sweet smile sparkling in one case after another. From afar, I caught a glimps of her Ice Cream Stand and wasn't sure if that was just a display piece or something for sale. It was for sale! Somewhere I had read that people were speculating that the 2015 GOY doll would have an ice cream stand, I don't think that will be the case. I hope that whatever they make isn't so similar that people pass up this adorable set! I was also surprised that Julie's car was still there, I thought it was going away.

After taking it all in, the girls giddy with excitement, posed for a few pictures. Julia with Saige, Gracie with Sophie, and Lily with Nicki!

As the line began moving we became excited, and tried taking a peek to see what the goodies would be!

I LOVED this display that greeted you as you walked in the main doors. It was a circular 'stage' with the historicals under the spotlight of the pink and red BeForever....sorry I didn't get a better shot. It was already getting a little crowded!

Gracie went right over to the first SAMANTHA display and you can see, she picked out one to bring home to become her first BeForever Friend ~ her BFF!

Oh these dresses were so pretty. But summer is nearly over and this is sleeveless! I may pick up Josefina's dress for Christmas, Gracie was smitten with that one.

Besides the cardboard 'treasure box' or 'trunk' that they gave the girls as they walked in the door, there were free breakfast treats in the café. We sat at the counter as the tables were full, and enjoyed mini blueberry muffins, dainty cinnamon rolls, yogurt and fruit, juice and coffee and our dolls took a seat with us. What a delight! They had a buffet set up in the center of the café, and it was serve your self style, but so fun!

I didn't realize it at the time. but I think this may have been the free craft???? The gal in the apron asked the girls to write their name on a flower and become part of the BeForever story. (I would like to have some of those cute stickers for our doll room!)

I think these girls will FOREVER remember this day, when they were introduced to American Girls BeForever line!

Trying on Julie's clothes. Sad to see the BeForever line stops at size 16, I bought Gracie Saige's PJ's in the XL, and it said 18-20...why the limited range. Although my daughters currently will fit the BeForever line of clothes, her 10 year old friend would not.

Upstairs the new pets were so tempting! The little outfits and pet beds are VERY cute, and may make their way under our Christmas tree even though they didn't make it home with us on this trip/

Lunch at the café is always an enjoyable time! I guess I didn't pay close enough attention to my photo...I cut out our newest doll friends that joined us that day! Gracie's Samantha and Lily's Isabelle!

We were so enchanted with the BeForever line! We used the coupon for a free book and each of the girls picked out a new BeForever book, with Lily being the only one to get a Journey book.

Thanks to Jen for sharing her paper coupon for $10 off, and I had a paper coupon as well from the Isabelle movie so each of my girls had one to use. My girls were spending their own money to buy their new dolls and checked out separately and each was able to use both the 10$ off and the free book coupon. To our surprise, when we checked out Gracie received a girl size BF t-shirt to be sent in the mail because she was buying a BeForever doll! Looking forward to it's arrival! There was also a scavenger hunt and a drawing for a free doll (only for the 9-10 am preferred customer event) We didn't win :(

If you have never spent the day at an American Girl store, you really should! I am glad we don't live close enough to go every month, so it really is a special time of making memories when we can go! American girl is about enjoying this time in my girls life when it is OK to have tea with your doll and to stay a little girl just a little longer. My 10 year old, with a twinkle in her eye, pointed out the teen-aged girls who were shopping with their friends AND their dolls! I am sure she was starting to worry that some day she might outgrow American Girl and it is reassuring for her to see that it is still far off. I am yet to tell her that she will never outgrow American Girl, that she might put them away someday, but it will only be fore a little while. Because I will carefully store them away and will wait for the day when she has a little girl of her own and then she can play with dolls again!

As American Girls change with time, so must American Girl. I will always remember my beloved Kirsten and pouring over the Pleasant Company catalogues when they came in the mail. But times have changed, and now my girls surf the web and shop online at American Girl. They go to MOA and Chicago for an experience with their dolls that I never had. Although the historical dolls are no more... they have become and will BeForever.

Amanda, Gracie and Lily