Maplelea Strong And Free! Great Looks For Your Dolls!

Now is the perfect time to order your Maplelea Girl and Doll outfits for Canada Day! Every year my family goes to our local Canada Day parade and we have so much fun in our red and white! I love that each year I am seeing more and more girls with their dolls, in the parade and along the parade route.

I think Maplelea has a wonderful selection of Canada themed items for girls and their dolls and I love the Strong and Free outfit! (Girl sized Sweet Shirt sold separately) 

This set comes with the hoodie, hairband, pants and shoes! 

Can I just tell you how much I love the shoes!!!! Really wished these were in my size!

Click here to view this fun and fabulous outfit! 

I am getting very excited for our summer break which starts in just two weeks and the Canada Day Celebrations!
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

HAPPY CANADA DAY!

Happy Canada Day!
I hope you will pop over to Doll Diaries to see my doll craft for my national holiday!

We are off to the parade this morning and then later tonight the fireworks! I hope that where ever you are today you enjoy your day! Click here to see how I made Canada Day Head Bands for my dolls! 

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

Seven Days Of Summer Dresses Day 4

Happy Canada Day! Today is day 4 of the Seven Days of Summer Dresses and today's choice honors my Canadian Heritage. This Maple Leaf Stunner is Canadian made and offered at $9.99 from Up Beat Petites Etsy Shop. 

This is a fun dress I actually wish was in my size as I would even wear it today! Click here to visit Up Beat Petites Etsy Shop and do join us again tomorrow for day 5 of our Seven Days of Summer Dresses!
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

Maplelea's Canada Outfits! Order Now For Canada Day!

As a proud Canadian living in Canada I am looking forward to our Canada Day celebrations. I usually attend our local parade and then we have a BBQ and head to our Fireworks Display at our local Beach. I am so excited when I attend these events and see the girls with their dolls.

Maplelea makes celebrating Canada day and showing our Canadian Spirit easy for girls and dolls with matching outfits like those shown in the photo above. To order yours in time for the big day please click here for Maplelea's Website! 
I would love to hear what your plans are for Canada day!
As with all my posts I would love to hear from you so please leave us a comment here or email us at karenmowen@gmail.com

Happy Canada Day!

  HAPPY CANADA DAY!

Today is Canada's 147th Birthday and My Family and I wish you all a very Happy Canada Day. We will celebrate with a parade and bbq and finish the day with Fireworks at the beach to celebrate Canada's Official Birthday. 

I hope you and your families have a wonderful day!

  I would love to see your Dolly Canada Day Photos so please email them to karenmowen@gmail.com and be sure to check out my craft on Doll Diaries today 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

Maplelea Heritage Outfits A Doll Lover and Collector's Delight And Fantastic Doll Play Wardrobe Additions.

Many of you know I am Canadian, living in Canada, and many of you know that Canada has it's own beautiful  line of 18 inch dolls called Maplelea Girl Dolls. Today I wanted to share with you my thoughts and appreciation for the Heritage Outfits That Maplelea offers in it's Doll Collection.

When many people think of Canada they identify with Anne of Green Gables and Maplelea makes a wonderful nod to this iconic story with this stunning outfit that looks wonderful on all 18 inch dolls but especially on Jenna!  All of Maplelea Products come with a Journal Page that adds to the the learning and enjoyment of doll play! A truly unique and exclusive to Maplelea's Product line.
"In her journal pages, Jenna tells you that she has just learned that she has won the leading role in her school's production of Anne of Green Gables. This is the costume she will wear as she plays Anne Shirley in the classic Canadian story that has been charming people around the world for almost a hundred years." 

 With a nod to Pioneer Quebecoise (and a nod to my own heritage at that!) this 11 piece outfit is truly special to me. In 2011, with my nieces who live in Montreal I went to "cabane a sucre" which means Sugar Shack, where maple syrup is taken from the trees, collected and made into the most amazing sweet treats as well as maple syrup! 

"When Léonie’s family visits her tante and oncle’s cabane à sucre during maple sugar season, they often help out with the traditional entertainment for the guests. For this, Léonie wears an outfit like her ancestors might have worn over 300 years ago.  Léonie's journal pages include detailed information about the history and traditions of the pioneer outfit" This 11 piece set is well thought out and reminded me of my 2011 trip where the hosts were also in traditional outfits like Leonie's!

The Highland Lass 8 piece outfit is a wonderful addition to Maplelea's Collection as well. Highland dance continues to be a popular sport/dance across much of Canada!
"Nova Scotia means New Scotland.  Many people in that province and, indeed, other parts of Canada too, are proud of their Scottish heritage.  Jenna is carrying on the traditions of her dad’s family by learning to Highland dance.  She finds that it is amazing exercise—for the body and the brain!   In her journal page, Jenna talks about the traditional Highland dance outfit and tells 2 fun stories about the possible origins for Highland dancing."

 Amazing Amauti This item is a very special piece to the Maplelea Line and Represents a very important part of Canada's Hermitage, not only is this outfit and Doll Saila a representation of our Inuit people,she is one of the most stunning dolls in person I have ever seen. Her journal comes with pages in English, French and  Inuktitut  
The Amauti and Pang Hat are MADE IN CANADA!  This is something that is produced by people in Nunavut.
Saila is a doll I am thrilled to have in my own collection and one I highly recommend to others!

 Newer to the Heritage line is the Ukrainian Dance also an exquisitely  made 8 piece set.
 
"Brianne knows all the steps for the upcoming dance festival. The detail on this costume is astounding, from the embroidery on her traditional white blouse and underskirt to the rick-rack and trim on her colourful apron with satin sash belt. The full circle flower wreath contains red poppies, yellow and white daisies, blue cornflowers, greenery and a cascading selection of satin ribbons that flow behind her when she dances"

Canada is a Multicultural and diverse country and Maplelea has done a wonderful job in representing Canada's rich history. I hope that they will continue to expand this line.  It is my hope that you will comment below or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com and let me know what Heritage Outfits you would like to see for Dolls.

I would personally love to see The First Nations of Canada represented and included from The West Coast of Canada to The East Coast, I live on the West Coast of Canada and have a fondness for Button Blankets as well I would also love to see a traditional Chinese Heritiage outfit added to the Maplelea Collection. I am very impressed with the product line that Maplelea offers and hope you will visit their website by clicking here.

 

Happy Canada Day!

Well today is Canada Day. July 1st 2011 is Canada's 144th Birthday. Canadians celebrate Canada day very much like our US neighbors celebrate their July 4th holiday, with parades, pancake breakfasts, BBQ's and Fireworks.
Pictured above is my Maplelea Doll, Brianne.(She is holding a great dollar store gem a Canadian Flag which you can get a package of 4 for $1.25.) In Canada our 18 inch doll is available from a company called Avonlea Traditions Inc, more commonly known as "Maplelea" . The Maplelea Girls collection consist of 5 Canadian Dolls from different parts of Canada. They are avalible through Maplelea.com (click for website). They are priced very similarly to the American Girl dolls and have a lot of really nice and affordable items to go with each doll. Maplelea dolls each come with a 64 page journal, and when you order items for your doll from Maplelea you receive journal pages to add to your dolls journal. As Canada has two official languages each journal page comes in both French and English.

I recently heard from a mother who chose to purchase her daughter the Maplelea Doll named Leonie. Leonie is the French Canadian doll available from Maplelea .The reason she bought Leonie for her 7 year old daughter is that her daughter is in French immersion and she thought that this would encourage her daughter in her studies. She was right. She tells me that her daughter only speaks in French to her doll and translates family dinner conversation to her from English to French!  Maplelea Dolls also come with journals sharing their stories and giving girls areas to write their own thoughts and wishes in. She tells me her daughter also writes only in French in her journal.
Many other Canadian girls are discovering the joys of Maplelea Dolls as well. I teach a group of girls regularly crafts for their dolls and two of my core group have a Maplelea Doll. One of them has two and an American Girl doll.  I love the soft girl like look of the American Girl doll and that each American girl doll really has her own look. The Maplelea dolls are all very similar looking and their eyes are set in a way that is very different to the American Girl dolls. The hair on the Maplelea Dolls are all very long which is fun to style and brush, however the American Girl doll hair is easier to manage. Both require a wire wig brush and the same type of care.
I am thrilled to have both types of dolls. I try to feature both of them as often as I can. I love the message that these best friend dolls from both companies offer. I like that these dolls are a more natural looking doll then many other girl dolls and toys on the market.
One of the many things I like about the Maplelea Girl Collection is that in Canada where our postal rates are so high, shipping on any order in Canada is a flat rate of just $9 weather you order the least expensive item in the catalog or the entire thing! I am looking forward to purchasing shoes and a few other Brianne items for my doll in the coming weeks, knowing my shipping costs will be under $10 also helps for sure.
I am glad that on Canada day I have the freedom to write this blog, spend time with my family and enjoy all that Canada Day has to offer. I hope you and your family have a wonderful Canada day and I look forward to Celebrating with my American Friends and Family in a few days on July 4th.

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