Looking for Vintage American Girl Trading cards? An Etsy Find

I did not know about these American Girl Trading Cards before stumbling on them on Etsy. I found a shop called Orzo Valentine offering 9 of these vintage trading cards in her shop.

 Each of these cards are offered for $2.50 and will ship anywhere in the world.

I love the art work on these and think they would make a great stocking stuffer for the collector in your life.

Though I do not know their true value, I know that they are becoming harder to find and if this is something you are looking for I just had to share.

Take a look on line and you will never know what you can find! I love the idea of handmade and recycled/up-cycled holiday gifts, this shop offered something I had not seen before on Etsy and I just had to share.

to visit Orzo Valentine, and see these cards for yourself, click 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

Do you know about the Pen Pal Girl Dolls?

 

Recently I came  across Pen Pal Girls Dolls I do not know much about these dolls but from what I can tell and what I have found on line,  I know that they are a welcome addition to the 18 inch doll world! 

Welcome Emma and Cady!

Tina the founder of Pen Pal Girl Dolls shares her reason for starting Pen Pal Girl Dolls ...
"Our creation of PenPalGirls^® (PPG) comes from my experience of moving to a foreign country, knowing little English and even less about American culture. In a land of sunny blondes, I craved for people to understand the customs and flavor of my culture. Now my own daughters and yours can have the opportunity to experience not only my Chinese heritage but also the Russian, Australian, French and many cultures of the world that enrich and define not only our lives but our souls. This is the American melting pot that we are all a part of.
On our website, you will find many items from around the world that I have cherished over the years. I hope you enjoy our stories through letters and that in this day of texting, your children will fall in love with the expression of written letters and that letter writing will be revived. We hope PenPalGirls allows your family to experience the diversity that enriches all our lives and that your daughters enjoy the dolls as much as we do."
 

 

I am really excited by the introduction of these dolls to the Dolly World, I love the idea of Pen Pal's, when I was growing up I loved writing and sending letters to my Pen Pals, now with email it is even easier to keep in touch. I still love "snail mail though!"

Currently Pen Pal Girls offers two dolls Cady, from China and Emma from the UK.

These dolls are offered on line for $85 and have some wonderful doll accessories from around the world. To visit Pen Pal Girls click any of the highlighted words in this post. These dolls ship from the USA and can be ordered in time for the holiday season.

There are also fun and educational games on the Pen Pal Girls website, come and check it out for yourselves! Click here to begin your Pen Pal Girl adventure!
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

American Girl Auction benefiting the Westie Foundation

One of our blog followers (and fellow Blogger) Katie Wyatt of the Westie Foundation of America's advisory Council has created and donated a New Caroline Abbot doll and an amazing amount of hand made clothing to benefit the Westie Foundation of America . She is offering this incredible set on Ebay with all proceeds benefiting the Westie Foundation, a cause very close to her heart. 

This set of 27 dresses, 2 jumpers, 10 tops, 1 suit, 2 bolero jackets, 3  coats, 3 pairs of shorts, 6 pairs of slacks, 1 Nightgown, 1 skirt,1 apron, 1 cape, 3 hobo bags, 1 head scarf, 2 head bands, 3 pairs of shoes, 1 straw basket and 4 straw hats is truly this amazing, all handmade by Katie! Click here to see the  Ebay listing. 
To bid on this beautifully made set for a wonderful cause please click here

 

What is The Westie Foundation?

The Westie Foundation of America, Inc., (WFA) is a non-profit corporation, recognized by the IRS as a 501(C)(3) organization.  The mission of the Foundation is to provide financial aid and other support for medical research to benefit the health and quality of life of West Highland White Terriers; and to develop and communicate information regarding the health, care, breeding and quality of life of Westies to Westie owners, Westie breeders and veterinarians.

To find out more about this wonderful cause please visit http://www.westiefoundation.org/

Also be sure to check out Katie's blogs http://www.katiesews4fun.blogspot.ca/  and www.westiejulep.blogspot.com

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

27 Dresses;  2 Jumpers;  10 Tops; 1 Suit (skirt w/jacket)

http://www.just4terriers.com/mm5/graphics/00000001/clothes4.jpg

The

These  

2 Bolero Jackets {matches the dreToss}; 3 Coat s;

3 Pairs of Shorts; 6 Pairs of Slacks; 1 Nightgown; 1 Skirt;

1 Apron; 1 Cape {matches Halloween dress}; 3 Hobo Bags

1 Head Scarf; 2 Head Bands; 3 Pair of Shoes

1 Straw Basket; 4 Straw Hats

Make Brandy's 70's plate set for your Doll Play Collection

My oldest daughter loves Julie and Ivy.  This love sparked an interest in
the 70s.

 By using Lays Stackers potato chip lids, Gatorade lids, and
chocolate milk bottle lids (individual serving), I was able to create 70s
style dishes in yellow, orange, and brown.

 The yellow Lays Stacker lids made great plates.  The orange Gatorade lids worked perfect for a salad
bowl.  The brown chocolate milk lid made an excellent potato chip bowl.

I love how the table setting turned out!  A blast from the past.

You can find how to make the salad, sandwiches, and chips on previous posts by clicking here for the sandwich 

and here for the chips


I love re-purposing and creating your own doll play items and Brandy makes it so easy for us today! This is an easy set you can make and give this holiday season to the doll lover in your life.
As with all our posts we would love to hear from you so please leave us a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com

Doll Cookies a Great Madelon fun find under $2

Madelon sent me some adorable photos of her doll and holiday baking set from The Queen's Treasures
this set has cookie cutters and a working rolling pin and board. Click here to see the set offered at The Queen's Treasures for $7.99 (Chef jacket sold separately). Madelon set out to find cookies to add to this already realistic doll play set and here is what she found.

The very clever Madelon, found Gingerbread house Cookies and Ginger Bread cookies that could be re-purposed for doll holiday play. These cookies are a great example of re purposing items from every day for Doll Play.

The Gingerbread houses are ornaments that cost $1.00 for 4. Making them a steal at a quarter each!

The gingerbread men are actually buttons that cost $1.50 each.

Use a doll play you already have and a dolly glass of milk and you are all set!

Madelon had this vintage doll baking tray already but you can easily make one for your own using the craft I did for my Make it Monday column on Daydream Doll Boutique.

Click here for the tutorial

Keep your eyes out for items like these you can inexpensively add to your doll play collections. Expand your child's play sets at a fraction of the cost of retail doll play items.
As with all our posts we would love to hear from you so please leave us a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com

American Girl Doll Rooms- The gift that keeps on giving.

I love my American Girl Doll Room's, yes I have more then one. Once you have one you will fall in love with this system and want to add more as I did.

http://dolldiaries.com/doll-craft-how-to-make-doll-sized-cake-pops/

 

 This is one of my most favorite doll play accessories and I use them for most of my Dolly world writing. In my published photos on Doll Diaries and Daydream Doll Boutique you will find my American Doll Rooms as backgrounds like some of these photos below.

http://daydreamdollboutique.blogspot.ca/2012/11/make-it-monday-stationary-set-for-dolls.html

My nieces and I have hours of fun,setting up living rooms, dolly bed rooms and even setting up Dolly Bathroom!

http://dolldiaries.com/doll-craft-make-a-doll-sized-bathtub/

 

 

 

 

 

http://dolldiaries.com/doll-craft-have-a-watermelon-party/

The outside play possibilities are also endless!

http://dolldiaries.com/doll-craft-create-a-doll-sized-garden/

 

 

Now I am so thrilled with my newest American Girl Doll Room

 

The barn is wonderful with grass on the outside and when you flip the room around

 I love these rooms and these photos from the American Girl Doll Room

 So if you are looking for a holiday gift that keeps on giving check out The American Girl Doll Rooms and see for your self the endless possibilities these rooms will add to your doll  lovers doll play. Visit there website today by clicking here and start your flip fold and play adventures today!
As with all my post I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com

A Spotlinght on Holiday Outfits by Enhanced Image Etsy Shop

I came across this holiday dress from Enhanced Image Etsy shop and it reminds me of dresses my mother in law would buy my nieces.

Outfits in this wonderful etsy shop are offered between $10 and $20!

Also offered in this shop are 4 piece fleece outfits perfect for  our dolls protecting them from winters chill.

 

These four piece sets are offered at $20

 I just love this Hot Pink Tutu set, body suit included offered at $12!

 Also offered in my favorite color purple!

I asked shop owner Rose to share a bit about her sewing and and shop with us, here in her own words Rose's story:

"Thanks Karen! I am a mother of 3 boys (men now) and 2 daughters-in-law and grandmother of 4 girls and 1 boy. About a year ago I started sewing AG doll clothes for my granddaughters after looking at what the AG doll store offered and the quality of those offerings. I knew I could do a better job of sewing and I had a wonderful fabric store to get great quality fabric from. Well, I was hooked within a month and it was either start selling or give my girls so many doll clothes that their dolls would have a better wardrobe than the girls."

"I heard about Etsy from a friend and I've been selling since then. I have a few repeat customers (all grandmas) but would like to expand my customer base. I'm hoping more exposure through teams and blog spots like yours will give me that"

"Many of the items I have for sale are custom designed by me, either combining pattern pieces with others or making my own pattern (either entire or partial). I love experimenting with different finishing touches and am always open to custom orders."

to visit Rose's Etsy Shop Enhanced Image click here

Thank you Rose for taking the time to share your story with my readers!

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