Today is the last day to get $5 Movies from American Girl

Today is the  last day to pick up these classic American Girl Doll movies for only $5. I was in store last week and picked mine up. I can not wait to sit down with my nieces and dolls to watch these with a large bowl of popcorn, mugs of hot chocolate and cozy blankets this winter season.

 At $5 each we can have a movie marathon, and take home movies for all!

Remember today is the last day to order. Click here to go to the American Girl Website, so stop into a store or order on line today. Sale ends at midnight!

As with all my posts I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com

For the love of horses, Etsy favorites and more...

My dear friend Carol of by Skippy's Mom Etsy shop is now selling her horse blanket pattern in her Etsy shop. This fun pattern is one of my most favorite items to create for my dolls horse Pickles! Carol is offering the horse blanket pattern in her Etsy shop for $3.00. Click here for shop listing.

 Carol even made and sent me the most wonderful saddle  and doll riding outfit shown above! I was truly spoiled!

 

Last November, I shared how I made my nieces a Cardboard Stable on Doll Diaries

Click here to see how I made it.

I loved this fun Dolly and Me set I found on Etsy from Me and My Doll offered at $40

What horse loving Doll could resist this sleeping bag and pillow set from Shelia's Doll Stitchery!
Offered at $19.50 for this set, to view shop listing please click here

I love this custom Jockey Set from Mini Giggle Gear! Honestly one of my new Etsy Favorites! Click here for Shop and Listing.

 

April June Bug made me laugh with this fun cartoon shirt! Great outfit, listed at $21 click here for shop listing. 

Made to order! I love this set from Doll Clothes by Peg! Any size you need! Click here for shop and listing.

 

"While visions of horses danced in her head" this Doll bed from A Crafters Nook Etsy Shop

is a wonderfully priced Doll bed your horse lover is sure to like! Offered at $27, order early to avoid disappointment this holiday season! Click here for shop and listing.

Don't forget about bitty baby and her riding dreams! I love this set from Susie Q Doll Clothes, offered at $16.99 Click here for shop and listing.

I hope you enjoyed today's Etsy Shop favorites! 

As with all my posts I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com

Madelon's Fun Finds- Volley Ball

Madelon found this great Volley Ball iron on and she thought it might make a great inexpensive addition to her doll play collection.

I think this would make a great photo prop as it looks as though the dolls are really holding the ball.

Keep your eyes out for everyday items that you can use in doll play like Madelon does, and you will start to see potential doll play items everywhere.
As with all my posts I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com

Etsy Dolly Love for Doll Clothes by Peg! A great shop for Bitty baby, Twins, and 18 inch Girl and Boy dolls alike

 I was really lucky to find my own Bitty baby last year at a church sale for $2 and I set out to find some great Bitty Baby fashions from the wonderful designers on Etsy. I was so pleased to find fun, fashionable and functional doll items for the Bitty Babies and the Twins available there. Here are some of my favorite Doll finds for these special dolls.

Doll clothes by Peg has been my go to shop this past year. I have purchased for my nieces several outfits for their bitty twins and bitty baby. The photo above shows just how much love Peg puts into each and every outfit and photo.

How do you not fall in love with each and every outfit and photo made by this wonderful shop!
Peg's shop will brighten the darkest of days just looking at her shop makes my mood lift!

Doll Clothes by Peg is a shop you should visit often, offering items for Bitty Baby, Bitty Twins, 18 inch American Girl Dolls and She makes wonderful 18 inch BOY DOLL CLOTHES for any of you customizing your own American Girl/Boy Dolls this holidays season.

 

I love the casual style that Peg puts together, outfits I would put on my own boys!

 This outfit is a particular favorite of mine. I love stripes on boys, don't you?

Having a doll party this year? Check out these great made to order t-shirts by Peg. Offered at $5 these make great additions to your doll wardrobe but also such great take home gifts. Message Peg about doing an iron on transfer, perhaps you could make a party memento for your guests with the party theme or your child's name on each shirt! 

Contemporary to Classic this shop has it all.

 

Bookmark her shop for sure! With more then 300 sales and over 88 items in stock take a look and fall in love with Doll Clothes by Peg today.
As with all my posts I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com

Fun Fall tights from Lemonhead 103

I love this time of year, tights and skirts are everywhere, a fun fall fashion must have! One of the things Doll tights are great for is they help dolls who's legs are a little loose with stability!

Lemonhead103's Etsy shop is offering some great deals on these fall doll wardrobe essentials.
Priced at $2.50 a pair these fun tights will not bust your budget!

Offered in fun girly patterns or sophisticated and fashion forward designs, these tights are sure to delight dolls and daughters alike!

Pick up a few for birthday gifts, party favors, Stocking stuffer and more! Visit Lemonhead103's Etsy shop today! Click here to visit Lemonhead103

 

As with all my posts I would love to hear form you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com 

Pinterest Inspired Doll House ideas

I admit it I dream of one of these amazing floor to ceiling doll houses I see on Pinterest for our 18 inch dolls.  When I see the creativity in their design and know how much work has gone into  each and every one of these doll houses it gives me a new appreciation for those who create them. (The above one is from Doll Diaries Post in 2007 Click here for the post about this amazing house)

 I wrote about  the doll house that Sklyer (of http://americangirlsky.blogspot.ca/) and her mom build together June 2011 and it was the first house of it's kind I had seen. To read that post click here

So how does one create this type of doll house for themselves?
I have seen some amazing doll homes made from existing shelves and armories as well as doll houses build from boards like Skyler and her mom did. Today I want to share with you links to ones I have found on through Doll Diaries and Pinterest 
This way if you would like to build one for for yourself or your loved one for Christmas!

 If you are like me your house is already bursting with toys, dolls and clutter but when I look at how well organized these houses are it makes me think that, these doll houses could be a solution to doll storage issues as well as provide hours of doll play fun.

 I love the above idea so much as I see these type of shelving units, free at the side of the road, yard sales and free on craigs list. With a small amount of effort you can transform one into a great doll play space. Even if you can not spare allot of space you could easily fit one of these into a child's room, or play area. They are self contained and I love the pull out "yard" this model offers. 
Click here to see how it was made.

Thanks to youtube you can also find some amazing videos of girls who's families have put together amazing doll houses for them. Here are a few of some of these incredible houses.

 

So many wonderful doll houses it is hard to choose only one video to share with you, so here are another one. 

If you have been inspired by these and are looking for "plans to build a full doll house" check out this one below.

 This amazing doll house opens for doll play and the plans priced under $35 will  help you on your way to building the most amazing doll house I have seen!

 Just look inside this house!
Click here for a link to Build an American Girl Doll House's website 

 Over on Etsy you can order plans for this wonderful doll house from Addie by clicking here 

 

This doll house is 5 feet high and 2 feet deep. I love the crown molding! These plans are offered at $19.95

Even if you do not have the space these ideas are sure to inspire. As with all my posts I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com

 

Camelot's Treasures, Styish Fashions for Stylish Dolls, I could not agree more

 

 Today I am thrilled to bring you an interview that I did with Guinivere of Camelot's Treasures Etsy Shop

I have been a long time follower of Camelot's Treasures Facebook Fan Page and enjoy seeing new designs in Guinivere's Shop on her blog .

I chose the above photo from her shop of her Cobwebs dress for Halloween as I love spiders! I am the Chief Spider Shoo'wer in my house. I love this cute design.

Offered at $14.99 and photographed beautifully in her Etsy shop, click here for listing.

 With Halloween just over a month away I am so enjoying the Halloween Print Doll Clothes offered in this shop. Fun and affordable holiday dresses add whimsy and doll play potential to your dolls wardrobe! Click here for Camelot's Treasures Pumpkins and Ghosts Dress.

Camelot's Treasures offers more then just holiday dresses this fully stocked Etsy shop has had more then 100 sales, over 300 admirers and more then 70 items on line. Each carefully and lovingly made by Guinivere. I am so happy to bring you part of our interview and share photos of her work with all of you.

Q: How long have you been sewing for American Girl Dolls?
A- "I've been sewing for American Girl dolls for about 4 years now. I've been sewing off and on since I was pre-teen, but got really into sewing after the birth of my son 5 years ago."

What is your favorite thing to make for American girl dolls?
A- "I think my favorite things to make are our outfits that match certain trends I see around or other things that inspire me. And anything that I don't see anyone else selling/making makes me feel like I'm filling a niche."

When you make items who do you have in mind?
A- "When I'm making items I'm usually thinking if Mallory (my 10 year old daughter) would like it, and my potential customer. I want to be sure that I'm making things that appeal to the doll lover, while keeping things affordable for them to buy."

I understand you are a military family, how do you reach out to other Military families through your work?
  A-"I am part of a great Etsy team (Homefront Team) that helps support other military spouses who are a part of the handmade movement. I am very involved with this team, trying to promote my fellow members shops through team blogs, newsletters, and promotions. For a lot of the members, having an Etsy shop helps get us through long deployments and being far from our family!
I also made outfits using military uniforms and/or fabric, which some were even brought along for a Welcome Home party when Dads came back from a long deployment."

How many dolls you you have and which are your favorites?
A-"We definitely have a lot of AG dolls in our house! In my personal collection, I have 6 dolls (Ruthie, Lanie, Delilah,Bridgette, Veronica, and Kenzie). My daughter has 3 dolls (Angelica, Elizabeth, and Felicity) and we share McKenna. Then my son just adopted one from me, but we changed his doll into a boy doll (Aaron) who was named for his favorite football quarterback.
When I was younger, I always wanted Samantha; I read all of her books and just loved how pretty she was. Unfortunately, I didn't receive my first doll until I was 26 years old which was a Christmas present from my mom (better late than never!) and it was Ruthie. Ruthie is definitely my favorite, even above Samantha; I love how her hair is styled and her grey eyes are so beautiful! I think my next favorite doll is, and hopefully I will be able to buy her soon, is Cecile!"

What do you wish people knew about your shop and your work.
A-"Something that I think is very important to know about me and other small at home business owners is how much work goes into running these businesses...WOW! When you're the only employee in your "company" you have to do the work of many; photographer, seamstress, designer, marketer, lister, etc. Your job is never done! I find myself crocheting hats or clipping strings while watching TV, I take my laptop or tablet to bed with me so I can work on some last minute emails or blog entries. It's definitely a lot of work, but knowing that I made something special that someone will enjoy for a long time is well worth all of the effort I put into it!"

  "I'm also amazed by how far I've come in the past 4 years! My photography has gotten better, my sewing skills have greatly improved, I have repeat customers, I have a small following. I appreciate each and every person who has supported and inspired me during this journey with Camelot's Treasures, even if they didn't purchase anything from me. I enjoy going to the craft fairs, not just to make some extra money, but so I can interact with the people that come into my booth. This has been a fun ride for me, although sometimes a bit bumpy, and I'm excited to see what's to come in the future!"

I hope you have enjoyed today's post. To visit Camelot's Treasures Etsy Shop click here
To visit Camelot's Treasures and Like them on Facebook click here
Follow Guinivere's blog by clicking here
As with all my posts I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com