Jessica T's Tips- More Fun Finds Post Holiday Target Deals!

Jessica T has some tips and fun finds for us today! 

"Target has organization bins - $1 for 2 they make great doll hampers.  Christmas is still in sale

Elf on a shelf skirt ($3)fits the 6 inch dolls I believe, Chelsea (1.50), battery powered chandelier ($3)."

Be sure to check out your local Target for great deals like these! I wish I had the chandelier! 

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

New Years Eve My Doll Restoration From My Ebay Bitty Baby Purchase

So a few weeks back my friend Dacia of Mini Me Dolly Divas let me know about an Ebay listing for a Bitty baby here in Canada.I was THRILLED!!! No one had bid and the auction was about to end. I put a base bid in and in the end got the bitty for under $10 and shipped for under $22 when it was all said and done. I was really excited, the photos were not great on ebay very blurry,  but the seller had good ratings so I took a chance.
It said in play with condition, when she arrived it was clear it was way worse then that.

What I got was a bitty baby that had been bought at a value village or a thrift store for the purpose of making money on Ebay Resale, it was filthy, scratched and looked like mold on the fabric body. No attempt to even wipe down this doll before selling and sending really rubbed me the wrong way. I simply can not imagine doing this to someone.  This left me with several choices... I could rate poorly the seller for misrepresenting the product and send the doll back at my expense, cause a great deal of damage to the reputation of the seller and expose them here on my blog,which I think is just poor karma, so I will not reveal who I bought it from, even though I did think and consider it. But I decided I could do my best to restore and love this doll to a "played with condition".  When I purchased the doll I was looking for a doll my niece would like to play with that was slightly different then the bitty baby I rescued from the church sale a few years back. I had no intention of selling or giving it as a gift so I decided to try to restore this doll to played with condition as I had expected her to arrive and add her to our dolly family.

Here are the photos of the process and how in restoring this doll to "Played With Condition" made me truly appreciate and learn to love this doll.  The dirt that came off this doll is not from doll play and love but rather neglect and ignorance.

I to clean the doll I used:
-A towel
-A dish scrubby
- Baking Soda
-Water
-Shout spot remover
-Clearasil Pads
-Pimple Cream

I started on the head and tried not to get any water or baking soda in the dolls eyes. I wet the dish scrubby and dipped it in the baking soda. I used circular motions, removing the grime, dirt and some of the "stains" as I went.

 The head alone was enough to gag the roto-rooter man! I was impressed at just how much came off this dolls head. Some of what I thought was paint or scrapes was actually easy to remove so I have no idea what was on this dolls head!

The dirt and grime washed away well and fairly quickly, but the mold spot on the dolls body really was a challenge.

 

What really bothered me and I think any normal person would be bothered by was the dolls cloth body.  The idea that it could be mold really weird-ed me out. I used Shout on the dolls body and the stain did fade after I scrubbed and re sprayed it three times. But I could not get it to disappear completely. So I undid the neck ties and removed the dolls head. I was worried that the stuffing might be moldy too, so I pulled it all out. I was thrilled to see there was no visual mold stains on the stuffing but decided to replace it to be safe. I rinsed the dolls body under the tap water to try to remove any shout residue and baking soda. Then I let her dry.

The price on the leg proved to be much more difficult to remove. So I left the cream on the dolls leg over night. Well the stain stayed on the leg and I hear that it will take more then a month to remove it using the cream every day.

Well the next day the body was dry and the stain mostly gone as you can see in the photos above. I re-stuffed baby and put her head back on. She is twice as stuffed as my other Bitty Baby! I found a 5lb baby sleeper at Sears for $5.99, it is Purple and Velour and fits just right!

Thea was thrilled to see our New Baby, all cleaned and freshly dressed. All in all I got what I had hoped another Bitty Baby for her to love.  Thank you for reading the journey of our Dolly Restoration. Even though she is not in perfect condition we love her anyway!
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

New Year New Logo! ( A few days early!)

A HUGE THANK YOU TO LAUREN EM FOR My new logo! It is exactly what I was hoping for. I just wanted to share it with you and Publicly Thank Lauren for her help!
As with all our posts we would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com

My New Years Resolutions fo 2014

image from  http://www.chemhoaqua.net/game/sms-chuc-mung-nam-moi-2014

Well it is that time again and I thought I would share my 2014 New Years Resolutions with you, this year I was able to get 7 of my list of 13  from 2013 complete! So let's start with my 2014 list:

 

Number 1-One my list for the last two years straight I would like to put it near the top so I remember I really need to figure this out! Crochet more then just chaining on! 

 

Number 2- I would like to continue my knitting and figure out how to knit a doll hat.

Number 3- I would really like to learn to quilt, even just a blanket or potholder this year!
Number 4- I really need a logo for my blog...more on that soon.

Number 5- I would really like to share more boy doll related posts! I have some special ideas in my head and hope to make them work this year!

 

Number 6- I would love to travel for work and pleasure this year, I know it is a large wish but I hope to be able to travel and meet other doll lovers!

 

Number 7- I would like to get one of these Elf on the Shelf dolls to add to my collection, I think it would be fun!

 

Number 8- Inspire others to create their own Advent or Hanukkah doll themed pockets this year and get them to share their photos! This will be a year long project...more in the new year.

Number 9- Get some professional photos done to use on my blog and in my work

Number 10 - Continue to create and patterns and crafts with you here on my blog and in the dolly world. Free Patterns and keeping doll play attainable all for is my goal!

Number 11- Promoting Mini Doll Play, continuing through our Mini Monday posts and fun finds showing the world how much play potential these mini best friend dolls have, with the help of Madelon, my readers and pattern designers to make minis make a difference in the dolly world.

Number 12- To create more doll play craft ideas and review items for the bitty babies and twins. I have a new rescue bitty baby to add to the collection of  "working dolls" in my collection. All my dolls are played with and loved and used in my writing.

Number 13- I would really like to get a set of bitty twins. Used, loved or new, boy/girl or two girls....I do not have one or a set and think these would be fun to add to my collection.

Number 14- I would like to expand the doll crafts I do with more tutorials here on my blog and around the dolly world using Rit Dye ( Sunshine Yellow is calling my name!), Sculpey Clay, Felt, Paint, Fabric Phoomph and more so stock up now on craft supplies as we are going to be doing lots of crafts together in 2014!

I hope you enjoyed my list today, I like posting these and revisiting each year to see what I have accomplished and what I need to work on. I would love to hear your thoughts on this post and my resolutions for 2014. 

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 Mini's Get Ready For Isabelle! Mini Monday Fun Find!

Madelon shares with us her mini dolls getting ready for Isabelle!

Madelon found this fun set with lots of "real clothes" she figured would fit the mini dolls and she was right!

For $5 this set had everything a fashion designing ballerina would love!

The Tutus are long and beautiful on the dolls!

Tie up at the back!

These are so cute and what a great find for the mini dolls!
Thank you Madelon for sharing with us your fun find! Remember to keep your eyes out for items you can reuse for mini dolls like Madelon at your local big box and dollar stores!
As with all our posts we would love to hear from you so please leave us a comment here or email us at karenmowen@gmail.com

Keep The Holidays With You All Year-Let's Work On Advent Calenders or Hanukkah Pockets Together In 2014

If you are one of my readers who has been enjoying the Advent posts this year and thought to yourself for even one moment, that would be a fun project to do for next year, I have proposal for you. Let's work on it together in 2014.

  ** If you are one of my wonderful readers who celebrates Hanukkah and would like to join in the fun by creating an 8 pocket Hanukkah Calender, I hope you too will join in the fun.

I propose that we work on projects from January to November so that you will have at least one Dolly Advent Calender to give or enjoy for the Advent Season.  I hope to share with you several projects over the next year, that even the most novice of crafter and seamstress can create to fill your pockets with handmade dolly delights and fun finds! Maybe you want to get together with a friend or family and make one to exchange, home school families, girl scout groups, churches, community groups are welcome to join in the fun! I will provide tutorials here on my blog, links to free patterns to use, continue to post dolly fun finds and pocket ideas all year long, you just have to join in the fun!

Maybe you want to make one for your daughter, grand daughter, niece, friend or make one for yourself. Maybe you want to work on several at once. It is all up to you.

To begin with I suggest you start by purchasing a 24 pocket (or smaller for my friends doing 8 pockets, hey here is a thought, how about even a 12 days of Christmas Pockets, if the thought of 24 is overwhelming...the choice is up to you!) We got ours at Walmart for under $7. I know they are available in both Canada and The USA. Buy one as soon as possible and Hang it up now. Find a spot to hang it up so that you can fill the pockets as you create or locate items for your calender for next season! You can wrap as you go or fill and wrap just before gift giving.

 

You can make your pockets for your 18 inch, 15 inch Bitty Baby's or Twins, Mini dolls, Boy dolls and more!

Even if I motivate only a few of you to participate this year I will be happy. Knowing that the fun I have each year is multiplied by even one of you, knowing the fun you are going to all have next year I will be so pleased!

So why not join me in 2014 and Craft Along With Me to Create your own Advent or Hanukkah Holiday Pockets! You can email me your ideas, photos of your progress and suggestions all year.

I hope to hear from some of you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.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

Post Christmas Deals At Target A Tip From Jessica T!

 

A quick tip and reminder from Jessica T to watch for great after Christmas Sales at Target like she found with these Holiday Cupcake Erasers now only 50 cents at Target! Erasers, Decorations, Ornaments and more!

So many wonderful post Holiday fun finds, keep your eyes open for deals like this one and be sure to share your finds with us!

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

My Girls Doll House Has Arrived, Now Assembled Thanks To My Brother In Law!

So you may remember in early September I posted about My Girls Doll House and well my house finally arrived more then a month late but was worth the wait. The company has been so successful at selling the houses they are now sold out until spring.

To say that the Doll House by My Girl's Doll House is large is an understatement. I stand all of about 5 feet tall and this house is so big I need a step stool to reach the top!
When the box arrived it was very very heavy! My wonderful nieces were thrilled to get this house in time for Christmas. My Husband and Brother in Law carried it out to their van for the journey to their house, sadly we have to move this spring and did not have space for it at this time. My sister agreed to enjoy the house at their place and my wonderful brother in law assembled the house for them with out complaint and is a saint for doing so!

This Doll House is incredible. It takes up an entire wall in my sisters Kitchen. The girls are thrilled!

It is now time to move in to the Doll House! More photos to come. I hope you enjoyed the update as much as we are enjoying the doll house! My Girl's Doll Houses will be available again in the Spring of 2014, Click here to find out more and subscribe to their news letter to be one of the first to find out when these amazing Doll Houses are ready for shipping again!
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 Dance Finds! My 5 Favorites!

We know the new GOTY is going to be a dancer so lets look at some of my Etsy Favorites in anticipation of her release.
The above photo is from MeandMySisterInLaw's Etsy Shop offered at $20-$40 for the base outfit plus you can add the accessories shown for $40. Click here for shop and listing.

BabyCakesBottleCaps Etsy shop has this fun dolly and me necklace perfect for the dance loving doll lover in your life. Offered at $9 you can view the listing by clicking here.

Sugar and Spice Crafts has this fun shirt and pj bottoms offered at $12 Click here for shop and listing.

Rosey's Doll Treasures has a wonderful tutu for Bitty! Offered at $4 Click here for shop and listing.

Saving the best for last, My Girl Clothing Co, has this stunning white and silver ballet outfit offered $30, by far my favorite listing for dance to date! The tutu has silver glitter dots on white tulle, and ties in back to close. Set includes matching headband and silver metallic ballet slippers.Click here for shop and listing.

These are just some of the dance fun finds Etsy has to offer the 18 inch doll lover and I know we are going to see so many wonderful items for Isabelle the New GOTY 2014 in the coming days.I can not wait to share them with you!
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