Ready for the Holidays

Daphne is getting ready for a month of fun and entertainment. She's wearing a velvet and taffeta party dress.



The bodice is a simple cut top of velvet with a gathered floor length taffeta skirt. The dress can be worn with a belt to change the look around.   I created a simple taffeta belt to help Daphne show off her girlish figure. A bright red belt would lool great with the dress, too.

Daphne looks like she's ready for a fun night on the town!



Elizabeth's Make-Over Part II - After

Elizabeth arrived safely back home after a trip to the American Girl doll hospital.

Elizabeth arrived back home in this special American Girl doll hospital box.

She was dressed in an adorable hospital gown. Add came in white socks with little pink hearts on the sides. She also had on her hospital bracelet.

 Inside the box were a get well card and a certificate of good health.

Elizabeth Cole looks like new. Her face is perfect and she ringlets are all in place.

 Her hair is even braided and a bow is attached that matches the one she originally had.

Ava was so excited to get Elizabeth back home.

Elizabeth's hospital stay was a huge success!

Elizabeth's Make-Over Part I - Before

Our American Girl doll Elizabeth was in desperate need of a make-over. My youngest daughter had gotten her as a birthday gift when she was only one year old, and since her older sisters both had dolls, she played with her all the time. Poor Elizabeth, she really showed the wear and tear a young child can create.

 Elizabeth still has beautiful blue eyes, but she has a few other issues.   Something happened to poor Elizabeth's nose; I think she ran into a wall and has a big scrape of paint.

 Ava decided Elizabeth needed some lipstick to match her eyes and so she used blue markers around her lips. I was able to get most of it off, but the corners of her lips wouldn't come off no matter how hard I tried.

Elizabeth also has marks around her forehead and ears.

The worst part for poor Elizabeth is her hair. She's nearly bald in back from so much rough brushing. You can see clear through her wig cap.

 At least we got a chance to see what the American Girl wig caps look like!

 Bald clear down the back of her head.

Elizabeth still has hair on the sides of her head, but it's terribly snarled.

All boxed up and ready to go to the American Girl doll hospital for diagnosis and treatment!

Time for Bed Sleepy Head

It's been a long day in the mini house and the girls are getting ready for bed.

Samantha is always the first one to wash up after a long day of play.

"Nelly, can you pass me the soap?"

Nelly is always happy to help a friend.  Meanwhile, upstairs...

Molly is tiding up the bedroom. She has just gotten back from a day of fun with her aunt, and is putting away her overalls so she'll have them ready for her next big adventure.

Kirsten isn't quite ready for bed yet; she had a busy day, but she's still full of energy.  She decides to sing a song to her special doll - perhaps that will put them both in the mood for bed?

Josefina always knows how to get ready for bed; she snuggles with her favorite doll and write her memories from the day in her diary. It's nice to look back over your diary and remember all of the fun you had.

Sleep tight everyone!

Downtown Disney

Daphne has enjoyed her stay this week at Disney World. Now before she heads back to her hometown she  plans to get a little bit of shopping in at Downtown Disney.

Daphne is ready to shop in her red and white polka-dot romper.  This is a cool outfit for a hot day of shopping.  Daphne has a matching purse and scarf to complete her look. I'm hoping she brings me back a great souvenir from her adventures!

Minnie Mouse Picnic

Our American Girl doll wants to go on a picnic while she is at Disney World. There are many great places to kick back and relax at Disney. Daphne is staying at the Fort Wilderness resort, and so she's headed to Camp Mickey for a picnic with her favorite characters.

Daphne wears a red and white polka-dot Minnie Mouse dress.  The dress is made from a vintage Simplicity pattern.

 I love how the baby doll dress is just short enough to see her matching bloomers underneath.

Rather than adding Mouse ears to this look, Daphne wears a matching head scarf. It really gives the outfit an outdoor sort of feel.

Here's a peek at the back of Daphne's outfit.

This dress also works well as a bathing suit cover-up when Daphne wants to run down to the pool.

Mouse Ears!

What is the number one souvenir that most American Girl dolls need from Disney World - Mouse Ears, of course!

I made our American Girl doll two sets of Minnie Mouse Ears. Set number one is a classic set of mouse ears. I created a beanie hat and added the mouse ears to it. I didn't have a pattern for mouse ears, or anything that resembled mouse ears, so I created my own pattern as I went. The beanie cap is a moon shaped circle made from felt. I cut four round circles that I doubled up and stitched together, then I stitched them on the inside of the beanie with the right sides facing, so when I flipped the beanie right side out, the ears would pop to the top of the head. I really like how these turned out except for the fact that the ears are a little of to the left. I tilted the cap on Daphne's head slightly to center the ears (I couldn't tear out the stitching to try again because of the type of stitch I used). I created a "puff" ribbon by stitching a long piece of fabric in a square, stuffing it, and tying a piece a material around it. It is hand stitched to the hat.

Our second pair of Minnie Mouse ears are sewn on a felt headband. The headband is a wide piece of felt that I folded in thirds and sewed to a ponytail holder to give it stretch. The mouse ears here are also made from four circles of felt sewn together. If you look closely you'll see that they are top stitched with a zigzag stitch to give them detail. They are sewn directly onto the headband. I added a fabric bow to one of the ears; it is hand stitched in place.

I love how the mouse ears complete the Minnie Mouse look, but I have to admit they were a lot of work. It took me the same amount of time to make just one set of Mouse ears as it did to make an entire outfit.

Minnie Mouse's Summer Dress

Disney World is a great vacation spot to travel to any time of year. I love going in the winter when my own hometown is cold and snowy, but if I can't make it in the  winter, I'll travel there in the summer. Since Disney World is located in Florida, it's going to be hot in July, and our American Girl doll is going to need some summer clothes in order to dress for the weather.

 Here's Daphne in her summer Minnie Mouse outfit. I love this dress with the flared, circular skirt. The top is sleeveless so it keeps Daphne cooler in the hot summer heat. I love it paired with the black tights and red sparkle shoes.

If it gets really hot outside, our American Girl doll can pair her Minnie Mouse dress with white socks instead of the tights for a cooler look.

Classic Mouse Ears

Once our American Girl travels to Disney world to meet Minnie Mouse, she's going to want to buy Minnie Mouse Ears to wear with her Minnie Mouse dress. We updated Daphne's look by adding Mouse Ears and a fancy white apron like the one we saw Minnie Mouse wearing at EPCOT.

Daphne's ears are made from black felt.  I attached them to a black felt headband and added a matching red ribbon that I made from the red polka-dot fabric.

Doesn't Daphne look so cute!

Disney Vacation

Who doesn't need a summer vacation? It's time for our dolls to take a trip, and what better place to go than Disney?  Of course a girl's gotta have the right clothes for a Disney trip, so we put together a "Minni" wardrobe for the occasion. Here's a week long look at our outfits and all of their variations.

The classic Mini. Daphne is ready to meet Minni Mouse in her classic Mini outfit. Our American Girl doll's Minni Mouse dress is made from a red and white polka-dot material. It has puffy sleeves and a gather skirt that is trimmed in white lace.

Black tights and sparkly red shoes complete the look.  We're ready to head to Disney world and meet Minnie Mouse!

Holiday Picnic

I loved the little black dress that I had made for Daphne, so I thought it would be a great idea to make her a little red dress, too.  I made this outfit from an outgrown Bitty Baby Girl's holiday dress.  I used the Molly slip pattern for the dress, but once I finished it, I felt it was a bit on the short side (all of my American Girls are a bit on the modest side) so I added a set of  matching shorts.

I originally intended for this to be a holiday dress, but it seems like it might be a cute summer number, perhaps for a fancy fourth of July picnic under the stars!

I added a matching belt so Daphne could change her look around.  Perhaps if she wears this for a forth of July picnic, I could add a belt with a flag theme (stripes, stars, etc).

Wendy's Make-over Part II - After

A week or so ago we sent Wendy in for a make-over from the American Girl Hospital, and she's back already! Here's how Wendy looks now:

 Wendy was returned safe and sound in an American Girl Doll Hospital Box. She came back wearing a super cute doll hospital gown.

 Look at her adorable white socks with little pink hearts on the side. Included in her box was a get well card and a good health certificate.

 Wendy was also wearing a doll hospital bracelet.

 Look how perfect her face and hair look.

Her entire body was cleaned and the majority of the scuff marks are now gone.

Here's a close-up of the cute socks.

My daughter was sure excited about how Wendy looked!

I was pleased with Wendy's hospital stay and I would certainly recommend the American Girl doll hospital. I was so please with the service and the speed at which our doll was returned.