dolly makeovers

A friend's neighbor passed down two older American Girl dolls in much-loved condition to her daughter.  I volunteered to bring them home and see if we could pretty them up a bit for their second generation of playtime.  Turns out that I took rather lousy pictures throughout this process, but I thought I'd share anyway--the dolls really came out pretty well! 

Our starting point:

Kirsten and Molly, dirty, with ratty hair and lots of stray pencil and marker marks.  Plus Kirsten was missing a leg.

some of Kirsten's pencil marks

Molly was actually in pretty decent shape. 

I started by cleaning all of the marks off of both dolls' vinyl with a magic eraser.  Then I deep conditioned their wigs with a good downy dunk. 

Both dolls then got their limbs re-strung (plus Kirsten got a spare leg from Ebay). 

loose-limbed Molly

loose and missing-limbed Kirsten

Kirsten, unstuffed for limb restringing

Molly unstuffed for restringing 

Yay! I can stand on my own two feet again!

Molly, feeling much better 

Molly came to my friend wearing Samantha's school dress, and Kirsten in her meet outfit.  I washed the clothes they came with, and fixed the stretched out elastic on Kirsten's bonnet.  I knit each dolly a skirt and sewed them a matching tank, just for some variety, should they decide to go time traveling and not stick to their historical time periods. ;)

all ready to go back home!

Molly cleaned up beautifully, and I took quite a liking to her!  I had never been interested in any of the dolls with bangs, but Molly is precious.  Kirsten's hair is like straw, it's so brittle, so she'll need to have braids pretty much full time or I fear she'll need a new wig soon.  We could take care of that, though. ;)  They're not in mint condition, by far, but they're such sweet dolls! I'm so glad we got them ready to take on the new life they have ahead of them being loved by another little girl!

AG bunk beds

Homebound with sick kids this weekend, I decided to tackle a project I've been planning for a while.  I cutsied up (yes, that's a real verb) the two Ikea duktig doll beds we have for our American Girl dolls. They come very practical and plain, but I had seen some Etsy sellers with cute bedding for them and a few ideas on Pinterest for painting them and bunking them to take up less floor space, so that was the plan.  Hazel and I picked out fabric at Hobby Lobby on Friday while we were in Baton Rouge.  We chose four coordinating prints in yellows and grays to match the TV room, since dolls live in that room.  Here are the various tutorials and ideas that I mushed together for our beds:

• mattresses: Ana White's doll mattress sewing tutorial. I stuffed ours with 2" foam cut to size.  I did not tuft ours.
• bunking: this post on Ikea Hackers was the goal, and I found exactly those brackets at Home Depot.  They were a giant pain to hammer in, and my pinky finger still hurts from where I missed, but they worked. If you go looking for them in Home Depot and have as limited a knowledge of hardware as I do, this is what you can look for:

• bedding: I used some of the ideas from this blog for bedding, but rectangle blankets, pillows, and pillow cases are pretty straightforward

Now, pics of ours!

I really am the world's worst spray painter. I will not be giving you close-up pictures of my paint job. From a distance, they look relatively uniform and white.  Good enough. 

Mattresses fit perfectly! 

blanket and pillows

It's official--these dolls have nicer bedding than I do!

Emily sleeps up top with Gracie.  Jack and Jess share the bottom bunk.  They're brother and sister, so that's totally above board. ;) 

Cozy!

and just for your entertainment, Hazel makes Penny the horse play the part of pack mule librarian.  She's wearing a purse stuffed with the books that came with mini-Isabelle and mini-Marie-Grace.  Poor Penny. I should  make her some saddle bags.  Surely that would be more comfortable! 

Thanks for looking!

Christmas American Girl crafting

Hazel received a couple of new-to-her (from Craigslist) American Girl horses for Christmas.  I got a pretty good deal on them, but they're not pristine, which is fine, given how rough she is on belongings.  The larger horse was also missing the saddle that she had originally come with, so I had a couple of projects I wanted to do for the horses before they were gifted.

First, hay bales! I followed Ana White's plans for burlap plush hay bales.  They turned out cute, which is good, since they were a GIANT PAIN.  Seriously.  Never sewing with burlap again.  I think these could have been done with a glue gun with much less frustration.  Live and learn.

Second, I made blankets for both horsies.  Don't they look warm and cheerful?

The pattern for the blankets is here.  I made the foal's blanket by slowly cutting down the pattern for the larger one and laying the paper pattern across her back, then cutting it down some more, and some more, until it looked the right size.  Good enough.

My last project was a replacement saddle for Penny, the big horse.  I used the template provided by this blogger, but used different materials than she did.  I bought a quarter yard of that fabric that has sheepy fleece stuff on one side and faux suede on the other (I'm sure there's a name for that, but I don't know what it is!) and made the saddle out of that. The main saddle piece has the suede-y side up and the fleecy side down.  The seat part is fleecy side up.  I sewed the seat part on to the saddle part and that was pretty much it! I bought some cute braided trim at Joann (a yard, and I didn't use it all), put two small grommets in the saddle and ran the trim under the saddle and out through the grommets to be straps for the stirrups.  Does that make any sense?  Stirrups are just 1.5" d-rings, but I should have gone up a size.  I took a doll shoe with me to Joann for sizing, but cowgirl boots are bulkier and they barely fit.  I used a needle and thread to tack the ribbon in place to hold the d-rings.  Seriously, 15 minute project, easy peasy, and SUPER cute.  This also could have been done with hot glue or fabric glue just as easily, if anyone is in need of a dolly horse saddle and doesn't sew.

When Hazel and I went to the American Girl store in Washington, D.C. at Thanksgiving, I very sneakily purchased the Western Riding Outfit to complete the set.  Gracie looks adorable in it, and Hazel has really enjoyed having horses to play with, with her dolls!

Jack's summer wardrobe

The kids have been telling me that Jack didn't have enough clothes.  He needed some shorts and shirts and some pajamas, specifically.  I added a bunch to his wardrobe today, and thought I'd post some pics.

Robot pajamas, form a smidge of purchased robot flannel and a recycled tshirt.

Robot long sleeved shirt and gray shorts.  Shirt was made from an outgrown shirt of the boys' and the gray fabric was leftover from Hazel's Easter dress.  

Camouflage shorts and gray tshirt with fire truck appliqué.  Camo shorts and gray tshirt fabric were recycled from some outgrown clothes, plus one of those nifty iron-on appliqués from Joanns.  I threw his sweatshirt on over this because the length of the tshirt sleeves are funny.  Ha! 

Seer sucker shorts and orange tshirt.  Orange tshirt was another outgrown clothes upcycle.  I bought a smidge of seer sucker fabric for the shorts.  He's wearing Jess's flip flops here, which I'm not sure is a good look.  Poor Jack needs some non-soccer cleat shoes.  I'll have to look into that for him. 

I enjoy using outgrown clothes in my dolly sewing!  They're cheap, readily available, and the kids are always happy to see their old stuff made into something new!

Memorial Day sewing

The kids have been bugging me about making some more clothes for Jack, the American Boy.   Particularly, they thought he needed pjs, shorts and shirts, and underwear.  I set out to make all 3 this weekend, and only got as far as shorts and a shirt, and undies.  I was going to do pajama pants and a red t-shirt with an appliqué to match the pants, but underestimated the amount of red t-shirt fabric I had and didn't have enough left to cut out the sleeves.  I made a muscle shirt instead, and painted it patriotically to go with my kids 4th of July shirts.  I'll do a different colored t-shirt for the pajama pants at some point in the future.  I made some gray shorts with patch pockets.  They came out super cute.  The shorts pattern was this one, lengthened about 3/4" (and I'd lengthen them even a bit more next time) and I winged it with the pockets after reading through a tutorial for pockets on (full-sized) little boy's shorts.

Then the undies.  Oy.  I'd so rather buy underwear for tiny dolls than make them. Small fiddly things with elastic make my head hurt.  But as there is really not much market for 18" boy doll clothes, I got to  figure out underwear on my own.  I started with this pattern, which says it fits 11" waisted dolls (ballpark for AG).  I cut and sewed one pair straight from the pattern and found that they fit around beautifully, but were FAR too short in the rise.  That little bum was not covered!  I did a second pair, adding about 3/4" to the top all the way around.  Better.  I put 1" elastic to make up the rest of the rise, which was still a bit lacking.  I'd like to do another pair, add even more height particularly in the rear, and instead use a 3/4" wide elastic, which would look less disproportionate.  My kids are pleased though, so that's what matters.  

And yes, poor Jack had to suffer the indignity of standing outside in his skivvies.  

dolly knitting

I've mentioned before, I'm sure, about my need for quick, easy, instant gratification type knitting projects?  This usually translates into endless hats and baby booties, as I'm you've surely noticed.  Turns out that apparel knitting can be quick and easy, too, when it's done for the American Girl!  

I found this cute little free skirt pattern on Ravelry, and worked it up with some leftover green yarn with flecks of pink, purple, yellow, and white.  The colorway name is Tiptoe Through the Tulips (yarn dyer named it, not me) and it's really the perfect description for it.  I had maybe half a ball left, and couldn't figure out what I'd ever use it for, but this is perfect!  I made the little pink shirt to go with it.  Perfect spring outfit for Jess!

I was itching to work up another skirt or two, but let's be honest--our one little AG doll doesn't need more than one knit skirt, no matter how cute it is.  So I volunteered to make some outfits for my best girlfriend from Houston's little girl.  Her daughter is Jono's age, and is CRAZY about cupcakes.  She has two 18" dolls living at her house, so these outfits are for Hannah's dollies.  

The cute little cupcake appliqué is also from Ravelry, but it's a paid (but cheap!) pattern. I need to make some more of those cupcakes to put on hair clips and use as bows on little girl birthday presents! 

The shirts are both Liberty Jane patterns.  The cupcake shirts are (slightly modified) from their free trendy tshirt pattern.  I lengthened the sleeves, took out some of the fitted-ness of the body, and shortened the length.  Their t-shirt is a bit too trendy, in my opinion, with it's tiny cap sleeves, fitted body, and looong length.  I love a shirt that fits me like that, but it looks silly on a doll that is supposed to be ~10 years old.  The pink shirt is their Magic Number top, worked as written.  That pattern was fun.  I'm planning to make the dress version soon! 

Easter sewing

I took the plunge and sewed a real garment!  I fell in love with this pattern when I went on my 18" doll pattern buying spree at Joanns during their 5 for $5 pattern sale.  I thought I should try to make an outfit for Hazel for Easter and a matching one for our American Girl, Jess.  We don't go to a dressy church (most Sundays I wear jeans or a casual skirt), so we have no need of frilly Easter dresses.  I wanted something fun that Hazel could wear to play in through the summer instead of a one-time wear sort of deal.  I talked to her about it and she was excited.  She requested "pink and purple stripes".   Yikes.  I had no intention of sewing ANYthing with pink and purple stripes.  I had a bold floral or damask with a coordinating geometric print or polka-dot in mind.  I set in out in search of fabric, hoping we could strike a compromise.  I think we did!  Pink and purple, bold floral, no stripes, coordinating geometric print.

I appliquéd neckties onto tshirts for the boys to match, and then rounded out the set with a dress for Jess.

They're all going to looks so adorable! 

Jack, our American Guy

So I confessed to my American Girl love, right?  And you know I can't leave well enough alone.  I had to customize.  Meet Jack, our American Guy.

I had seen several custom dolls online, turned into boys with wig and wardrobe changes, and wanted to do one!  I started watching Ebay for a good deal on a "needs TLC" AG doll, preferably with a classic face mold and brown eyes.  Took a few weeks of watching, but I found one!  Here she was before, a TLC Kailey doll, with loose floppy limbs (still need to fix those), a scratch on her nose (no biggie--my boys always have random scratches!) and a scraggly haircut (no problem--I was taking her hair off anyway).

First thing to do was take off her girl wig.  I followed these instructions, and had no trouble removing Kailey's old hair.  She was scary looking bald!  I did take a picture at some point, but I guess I deleted it?  Can't find it now to share with you.  Your nightmares will thank me.

Then we had to get him some boy hair.  I ordered two wigs, a brown and a blonde, from an online doll shop (not AG brand wigs).  We tried both on, swapped them back and forth, and did a lot of debating.  I liked the brown wig, but I got outvoted.  My kids all preferred the blonde one, because he looked (a lot!) like Charlie.  Glued on his wig, put him in boy clothes, and he was officially Jack!

He is every bit as loved as Jess.  My kids have dubbed them brother and sister.  Works for me!

dressing like Jack

Jack needs some more wardrobe.  Kids want pajamas, a bathing suit, some shorts and a tshirt, etc.  We'll work on it.  I'll keep you posted.

American Girls

So, I've been bitten by the American Girl bug.  I was just a little bit too old to have experienced American Girl dolls as a child.  Their first dolls came out in 1986, which was the year I got my last baby doll for Christmas.  I've known about the dolls for some time, but never had any experience with them until last December (3 months ago).  In December, a friend whose daughters have AG dolls, and who herself buys Ebay and Craigslist AG lots to fix up and resell (at quite a profit!) tipped me off that there was a sale going on, for one day, on the two historical American Girls whose stories are set in mid-19th century New Orleans.  I have always loved dolls, I love our city, and I figured that if I could get one of the NOLA girls for half of the regular $110 price, that was an offer I couldn't refuse.  I already had my Christmas shopping complete, but I bought Marie-Grace and figured I'd stash her for Hazel's 5th birthday coming up in June.  She arrived, I ooohed and aaahed over her, pulled out her book and read it, but kept her hidden away.

Two weeks later, we went on our Christmas trip to see my family in Texas.  I had been to my step-brother Mike and his wife Anne's house several times, but had never paid any attention to their daughters' collection of American Girls before now.  My nieces have six dolls between them and I spent one whole day "watching the little kids in the playroom", but really playing with dolls.  They are so fantastic!  I started to see the differences in their little faces, and enjoyed dressing them and styling their hair.  Marie-Grace had not grabbed me, but some of Corinne and Colleen's dolls did.  I loved Kanani and Emily.  Nellie was cute.  Ivy, Julie, and Elizabeth didn't do much for me.  They all seemed to have their own little personalities.  I was still thrilled about giving Hazel Marie-Grace, but I wanted one of my own so that I could play, too. Ha!

So I did it. At 35 years old, I bought myself a doll.  I spent some of my Christmas money on Jess, the retired Girl of the Year from 2006.  Of all the dolls I had seen pictures of, Jess was the one I found the sweetest. So, there you go.  I have an American Girl.  Hazel and Charlie play with her all the time.  She's well loved by the whole family, but I'm the only one who gets to do her hair. LOL

Of course, half the fun of having 18" dolls around is all of the sewing and yarn crafting opportunity!  I immediately started pinning some tutorials and ideas on pinterest.  I picked up some patterns at Joanns.  And here are the outfits I've sewn so far:

The first was upcycled from an outgrown outfit of Hazel's.  This tank showed me really fast that I needed to work on my sewing-with-knits skills.  After reading a thousand online tutorials and gathering some better supplies, my next attempt was much, much better.

This little skirt and tshirt came out well, I thought!  The tshirt let me practice my new knit strategies, with my better results.  

Here's Marie-Grace, out of her box briefly, to try on some pajamas that will be hers.  My Jess came with pjs, so naturally, all of our dolls will need them. ;) I stashed these pjs to come back down when she makes her appearance.  The other clothes we've made are in the basket with Jess's clothes, and will be shared when Hazel gets her doll.

I'm in quite the hurry for Marie-Grace to come play, too.  During Mardi Gras, I started reading aloud the book series for Marie-Grace and Cecile with Hazel.  We are thoroughly enjoying their stories, being that they're set here in New Orleans.  Even in the mid-1850s, the girls go to familiar places (Jackson Square, the French Market) and do familiar things (eat pralines, celebrate Mardi Gras).  I am toying with the idea of giving Hazel her dolly when we get to the end of the book series instead of waiting for her birthday.  That would free up her birthday to give an accessory that would be well loved, like Marie-Grace's dog, Argos.  Hazel does always love animals more than dolls anyway.  We'll see how fast we get them read!  

So yeah, totally bitten by the AG bug.  Make fun of me all you want.  I'll just go sit in the corner and sew a new dress for my doll.