Project Number 4 of the Sew In Style Book Complete! Happy New Year!

Well it is New Years Eve and I am already well on my way to complete part of my New Years Resolutions for 2015, sewing through the 22 projects in the Sew In Style book by Erin Hentzel.

I have to be honest I was a bit worried about sewing this skirt. I have not ever had luck sewing bias tape onto doll clothes but this really worked and was super easy! It changed the way I think about using bias tape! It gives a really professional finished fitted look. I really like this pattern it I have been hanging onto this fabric for the longest time, I think it was the perfect fabric for this project!
I look forward to sharing more of these projects with you in 2015!
Have a very Happy New Year's Eve from all of us at Karen Mom of Three's Craft Blog!
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

Madelon's Post Christmas Fun Finds For The 6 inch dolls

Now that Christmas is over it is time to take advantage of the post holiday sales! Madelon shares some of her post Christmas Fun Finds with us today. Check out the mini Gingerbread House and baking set perfect for the 6 inch dolls!

Miniature items such as these plates, bowls and serving dishes also on sale. These you can find at Michael's in the USA and in Canada.

I love the little chocolate box and check out the three tiered tea tray! Love that!

Mini treats would make a great mini bakery item for the new mini doll Ggirl of the year doll Grace! I ordered her from the Book Depository and she should arrive in the next week or so!

Lots of detail in these little accessories! Ornaments, baskets and more.

How cute are the little packages!

I love these little packaged Christmas Balls!

So cute! Thank you Madelon for sending these photos and tips to us!

These would make wonderful additions to your mini doll collection! Check out your local Michael's the Craft store and see what you can find to put away for your mini dolls for next year or keep out for year round doll play fun!
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

Sitewide Sale At Expressionery.com! Make Writing Snail Mail Letters a Priorty in 2015!

So I talked about how I want to write more snail mail letters in 2015 and I just got this great email from the people at www.expressionery.com. Just before Christmas I got the most wonderful personalized note paper and labels.

Currently you can save 30% off sitewide with the code SNOWBERRY30 until January 7th! I am a big fan of the Laura Kelly Peeps line! You can find out more about them and all the items you can order from Expressionery.com by clicking here.

Make sending more "snail mail" part of your new years resolution as well! Expressionery.com makes it easy!
As  with all my posts I would love to hear from you so please email me at karenmowen@gmail.com

Cozy Feet Pattern Give Away For 2015! Thank you To Stacy & Stella!

Cozy feet,Warm heart. My friend Keryn over at Stacy & Stella has published a Cozy Feet Knitting pattern for beginners!

This pattern offers knitters who are learning a step by step tutorial on creating knee length and ankle socks for 18 inch dolls and 15 inch dolls like Bitty Baby.  This pattern is offered on the Pixiefaire Pattern Website for $3.99

Designer Keryn has kindly offered her new pattern as the First Prize of 2015 to be given away on my blog!
To enter to win your own copy of her Cozy Feet Knitting Pattern please visit and like her Stacy and Stella Facebook Fan page by clicking here, then check out her Pixiefaire Pattern Page by clicking here
Pick your favorite pattern out and email me at karenmowen@gmail.com with Stacy&Stella in the subject line and I will draw a winner on January 5th 2015. The winner will be chosen at random from the number of entries received. A PDF copy of the pattern will be mailed to the winner! Good luck to all!

Thank you To Stacy & Stella Patterns for Sponsoring our first 2015 Give Away!
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

2015 New Years Resolutions

Yesterday I held my self accountable for the 14 resolutions I made last year and today I will make the 15 resolutions for 2015, so below are my 15 for 2015!

1) Figure out how to do a very simple Crochet project and some how use it in a doll play craft.
As I did not figure out Crochet again last year it goes back on the list for 2015.

2) Knit a Simple Doll Hat. As I did not do this last year I am going to put it on this years list as well.

3) Sew all 22 projects in the book SEW IN STYLE by Erin Hentzel, that was sent to me to review best part is I am three projects in!

4) Create and Publish an Elf on the Shelf Sewing Pattern and release it for FREE

5) Write More Snail Mail Letters! So if you want some dolly mail this year do send me an email with your snail mail address. I can not promise to write everyone but I will attempt to write as many as you as my budget allows! email karenmowen@gmail.com

6) Write and review 100  Doll Themed Etsy shops.

7) Travel to at least one American Girl Store That I have never been too.

8) Have at least one give away per month on my blog

9) Grow My Facebook Fan page to 1000, it is currently at  619 So join me if you can by clicking here

10)  Get at least 2 people to commit too and follow through on an Advent Swap and a Hanukkah Swap for their dolls.

11) Read at least one American Girl Mystery book

12) Sew a Halloween Costume for one of my dolls

13) Sew a Boy Doll Related outfit

14) Have a new professional photo with the dolls taken

15) Try A Ceramic Project from Ilovetocreate.com My Dream Project would be the Mardi Gras Childs Tea set! photo above!

Well those are my 15 for 2015 check back and see how I did next December!
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

2014 New Years Resolutions Review...Let's See How I did.

Today I thought we should look back at my New Years Resolutions I made this time last year. If you want to read last years post in it's entirety click here.

For those of you keeping track my score for 2013 was 7/13. Which was not bad! On my 2014 list were the following and let's see how I did.

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!
I get a fail on this one. I have tried crochet and I really can not get past the chaining on stage. Sorry Guys!

Number 2- Knit a doll hat.  I really am not doing well so far I get a fail on this one too.

Number 3- Learn to make a Quilt, a doll quilt or a pot holder.... Yay! I passed with this tutorial I did for Daydream Doll Boutique

Number 4- Blog Logo! YAY PASS! Thanks Lauren EM!

Number 5- Share more Boy Doll Related Posts! PASS YAY! I wrote about shops making outfits for boy dolls, patterns for boy dolls and the amazing boy dolls being made by The Amazing Donna Moody at My Girl Clothing Co.

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!
Not sure if a 10 minute trip counts but I did get to meet Char and one of our blog readers So you will have to decide if that is a pass or fail...maybe I get 1/2 marks?

 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! Yay PASS! My wonderful sister Bre-Anne got both for me this year and I even had to repair one (see December 25th post by clicking here.)

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.  PASS from the wonderful emails and comments I got this year on both the Advent and the Hanukkah posts this year I think many more of you will join me in doing these for family and friends next year!

 Number 9- Get some professional photos done to use on my blog and in my work. I think I get half marks for this as I had professional photos done for my tea and mystery work and Halloween but no dolly ones so I will give my self half marks for this one! I did use it here on the blog after all!

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! PASS click here for my pattern on Doll Diaries

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. I think I get a PASS on this one too! See number 10 and many more of my mini doll work on Doll Diaries and here on my blog, type 6 inch dolls into the search box and you should see all my posts this year.

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. I do believe I get a pass for this one as well. Thanks to the help of Jessica T and so many wonderful Etsy shops for creating wonderful doll play items and finding us related crafts this year!

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. Pass! Thank you to Ashley and to Cheryl for making my wish and resolution come true! I love my bitty twins! You guys are the best!

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. I think I get a pass on this as well so many wonderful crafts I got to make and share this year and you can find links and photos to them all by clicking here. 

So lets do the math, my score for 2014's resolutions is

11/14 if you count the 2 half marks as one! 

Not bad I think, perhaps my best ones yet. Now it is time for me to go think about my resolutions for 2015!

Thank you to all of you who helped me achieve my  2014 goals!

I hope you enjoyed today's post and I look forward to sharing more with you tomorrow.

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

4th Blog Anniversary, A few days late

Well it is now 4 years and 2 days since I started this blog. I have each and everyone of you to thank for encouraging me with your comments and emails over the years. Thank you for making me feel like a sucess. When I started out I really never thought anyone outside my family would read my blog. This journey has been very surreal to me, I am in awe of how much it has changed my life for the better.

If you had told me 4 years ago that I would be writing this blog daily (sometimes 3 and 4 times a day), that I would be recognized in the doll and craft industry for my work, I would never have believed you.

But you all believed in me and for that I wish to thank you. To all of you, I wish to thank you,  for all you do to keep this dolly on line world going. To all my sponsors and  advertisers thank you for your faith in me and for joining me this year to share the very best of what you do with all of our readers. To the Etsy shop owners and crafter's who I have featured both with and with out your knowledge thank you for creating handmade items that make our doll play and our collections so much better.

To Char at Doll Diaries, (with whom I had the great pleasure of meeting this year) I can not thank you for taking a chance on this dyslexic, Canadian, mother of three boys. Meeting you was spectacular and I hope that I will get to meet you in person again soon.

Thank you to Laura Kelly, Brandy, Anna, Natalie and Meagn, (my team at Doll Diaries) for your encouragement and teamwork and pushing me to do my very best.

Thank you to Jessica T for all her wonderful fun finds this year, you helped keep us crafting and busy!

To Madelon with whom I do not think I could do this blog daily with out. Her fun finds and her photos really help to make this blog something special! Her emails inspire and keep me going! Her friendship I treasure. From one very busy mom to another, I thank you!

To my family and friends on Facebook who have put up with my constant Dolly Updates, those who have stopped by my house, tripping over doll items as they enter and exit my home and to all of you who make me want to keep writing, creating and playing...

I THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART.
I can not wait to share more wonderful doll play ideas, shops, items, crafts and so much more in the days and weeks to come.
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