Today I am so very thankful for each and everyone of you.

So recently I have been thinking about when I started this blog and how much has changed since I began writing about the dolls and crafts I was work on. Looking back on the past few years I am more then surprised and shocked at how much has happened in my personal life and professional life as a Mommy Blogger. Today I wanted to take a moment to reflect and thank you all for stopping by.

There have been so many amazing moments over the last few years that make me so very proud of how far this blog has come and how many people it reaches. I have to tell you when my blog hit 100 views I was amazed, when I look at the number today, well it blows my mind!

Thank you Springfield Collection!

I want to take this moment to thank each and everyone of you who has taken the time to read my blog, left a comment and to those of you who routinely visit. I have a very special place in my heart for those of you who have taken the time to write an email to me sharing your lives, experiences and thoughts about my blog. It is for those of you that I sit at this computer day after day writing and publishing dolly world news.  I would also like to thank our many sponsors, doll companies, craft companies, designers and Etsy shop owners who have contributed to our give away contests, behind the scenes tours and with whom I have a wonderful working relationship.

For those of you who maybe new to my blog you may not realize just how much I have come to love this Online Doll Community that each one of you has helped create and contribute to. Thank you to my amazing team, To Madelon, who keeps my in box full of wonderful ideas, crafts and fun finds, Jessica for her amazing links and pattern finds, Brandy for sharing her wonderful crafts and ideas with us. A special thanks to  Lauren for designing my logo last December and for fitting me in to her very busy schedule!

  A huge thank you to Char at Doll Diaries for believing in me and giving me a weekly place to share my crafts with an even larger and ever growing audience, to Daydream Doll Boutique for giving me another wonderful home to share more doll play fun. To Laura Kelly thank you for inspiring me and the wonderful surprise packages! To my family who put up with my over flowing dolly area and craft supplies all over the house, thank you for tolerating the creative chaos even though you are all boys. Lastly Thank you all who have stopped by, commented and shared I really, really appreciate it. Please know that when you send me an email I will do my very best to personally respond to each and every one, hearing from you makes my day!

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

Dress Me Up Neck Attire A Review Of Doll Tag Clothing's Fantastic Pattern

Part of my New Years Resolution was to sew more and do more posts including my boy dolls. "Ethan" (My Harmony Club Doll) Ruthie (My American Girl Doll) and Oliver (My London Guy Doll, now shipping to North America!) are modeling my finished products from the Dress Me Up Neck Attire Pattern from Doll Tag Clothing.

I have had this pattern for quite sometime and  when I pulled out my Valentine Fabric Scrap fabric I knew I wanted to make the boys some Valentines themed Accessories!

 

These little bows and ties are such fun to make and they are fantastic for using up your stash of fabric scraps.

 This pattern earns the  Karen Mom of Three Stamp Of Approval! You can purchase and print your own Dress Me Up Neck Attire Pattern from Pixiefaire's Website by clicking here.

I can not wait to make more neck ties and bow ties for my boy dolls with all the fabric scraps in my stash. I would love to see your finished ties and bow ties as well so if you have this pattern or purchase it please email me a finished photo of your work!

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

Etsy Fun Finds for 18 inch Boy Dolls from Lostina Jungle's The Beach Shack! .

 

A week ago I received my first 18 inch boy doll from Harmony Club Dolls

and I received my first order for boy doll clothes from Syd Ingram of The Beach Shack Lostina Jungle

I chose the shirt shown on my boy doll above because it is something my own three sons would wear, age appropriate and fashion forward. 

Syd makes the most desirable t-shirts for dolls and I have purchased 3 of her shirts now for gifts and for myself. This Boba Fett shirt is just one example of her great eye for what boy dolls should be wearing offered at $10 this handmade shirt is a great deal !

Click here for shop and listing.

Every boy doll must have a few fun graphic t-shirts in their wardrobe and this four wheel shirt would look great with shorts or jeans, click here for shop and listing.

Shaun White inspired Shirt, Click here for shop and listing

I asked Syd about her work and she shared the following with me...

 "I've been making doll tees for my own dolls for about five years now. I've never been into the historical fashion or dressy outfits... I love the brand Roxy, and wanted my dolls to have surfer/beach style clothes, but I was never able to find what I wanted in other etsy shops."

"I started doing boy tees around the same time, because I had the same issue with the boy dolls as well. People were selling cute things for boys, but little suits and such didn't fit my guys' "personalities". That was frustrating, so I stopped looking all together, and just made my own!"

"My favorite shirt pattern is Liberty Jane's Trendy Tee pattern. I've tried other patterns, but I love the way this one fits the dolls."

I wondered how long it takes Syd to make a shirt from start to publishing....
"I spend about an hour and a half on each shirt, which includes cutting out the pieces, sewing it up, and photographing it for the shop."

Bright Blue Graphic T-shirt Click here for Shop and listing.

Syd sure has her finger on the pulse of what boy doll lovers want to see for their own dolls. Click here to visit Syd's Etsy shop Lostina Jungle's The Beach Shack and see for yourself how much fun these doll shirts are!

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 Boys! Welcome my first 18 inch Boy Doll, from Harmony Club Dolls!

I am so excited to share with you the first photos of my new 18 inch Harmony Club Boy Doll!

 

I have loved Harmony Club Dolls since I first saw them on line and I am thrilled they have Boy Dolls!  They have listened to what doll lovers have been saying for years and now we have these adorable boy dolls to add to our doll families!

Harmony Club is offering these wonderful boy dolls on their website starting at $40 for Modeled Dolls and $65 for their newest 18 inch Boy Dolls Click here for on line store and listings.  

Harmony Club Boy Dolls will be in stock at the end of March! Pre Order yours today by clicking here
and don't forget to "Like" them on Facebook by clicking here!

I am so looking forward to the many adventures this new boy  "Ethan" (named after my new nephew) is going to have with all the dolls in our doll family!
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

Welcome My Newest Doll Cadence, a beautiful Harmony Club Doll!

 

You know that moment where you just fall in love with a doll, well I had that moment with this HARMONY CLUB DOLL  the second she came out of the box! 

 Cadence is one of Harmony Club Dolls' new line of 18 inch doll friends. 

Her long wavy hair, striking blue eyes and sweet face had me sold the moment I caught sight of her on line.

I have to be honest and tell you that photos just do not do this dolly justice, I can tell you she is going to be featured in a bunch of up coming posts.

My most favorite doll Chrissa, and Cadence are now fast friends.

I absolutely love Cadence's shoes, my favorite color and  style of doll shoes. These are not going to fall off.

Cadence is priced at $70, Harmony Club Dolls very in price from $55-$85. When I asked why the price difference I was told it has to do with the High Quality of the Wigs chosen for each doll.

There are so many wonderful new dolls to love on the Harmony Club Doll Website , above is Harper Rose....

Lyric, offered at $70 has such a wonderful shade of red hair...

I love the length of these new Harmony Club dolls check out, Jasmine  by clicking here.

Don't forget to check out Charlotte

and of course don't forget Harmony Rose!!! I love this blue tap dance outfit! Don't you?

Harmony Club Dolls are more then Dance themed Dolls, these Dolls are well made, well priced and will steal your heart!

Harmony Club Dolls get the Karenmomofthree stamp of approval!   For all around Doll Play Potential, Value and sheer adorableness!

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

Dolly suggestions for the holidays...

There are so many more wonderful choices world wide for Best Friend Dolls today. I am one of the luckiest people to have so many of these wonderful dolls. I thought I would share with you some of my top picks this holiday season.

Here in Canada we have a few choices for our Best Friend Dolls. Maplelea offers Canadian Girls 18 best friend dolls. Personally I have Saila and one of the New Friends Dolls, who I call Stacy.
I highly recommend these dolls for their play potential and their heirloom quality. Click here to visit Maplelea priced at just under $100.

Springfield Doll Collection is another one of my favorite doll lines. These 18 inch dolls are available here in Canada at Micheal's the Craft Store. Their line of well priced Dolls, Clothing, Furniture and Accessories make Springfield and easy and affordable gift! You can use your Micheal's Coupons for further discounts on the entire line and is one of the reasons I purchase Springfield Dolls and items frequently for my nieces,  gifts and for my own collection. I personally have two Olivia's and Madison, I love all the dolls in this collection, check them out at your local Micheal's store.Dolls priced under $40

Over at Sears.ca you can order these wonderful Newberry Dolls, I also found them in store yesterday. These dolls priced under $30 do not have eyes that open and close but are great starter dolls.

 Toys R Us in Canada is now offering the Journey Girls, these dolls are much slimmer then most 18 inch dolls on the market today but have their own line of clothing and accessories through out Toys R Us stores here in Canada and the USA, priced at just over $30 they are also wonderful starter dolls.

 

For my Australian readers I can not say enough about the Australian Girl Dolls

These dolls are beautifully made, with a breast plate and separated toes each doll wears a sun dress beautifully and flip flops too! These dolls SHIP WORLD WIDE and are 22 inches tall. I have Emily and I just love her! Her soft facial expressions and long beautiful hair are just some of the things I love most about this wonderful doll line.Australian Girl Dolls are priced just under $120 and are among my most favorite international dolls. Click here to visit their website.

Brand new on the market this month are South African Girl Dolls! I am so excited to see this new line of dolls brought to us by the wonderful creator of Doll Tag Designs! I am so looking forward to all the wonderful things South African Girl Dolls will be up to in the coming months. Find and Like them on Facebook by clicking here.

For my readers in the UK, My London Girl Dolls are absolutely adorable. Personally I have three of these dolls and I love the My London Girl meet outfits, the running shoes or trainers are my favorite part of the meet outfit. Their stylish stores are a must visit if you are visiting London. I love these dolls and you will too! Check them out on line by clicking here priced at  79 pounds,

 be sure to check out their new  My London Guy doll Ollie by clicking here. 
He is personally a favorite, I have a son by the same name!

My neighbors to the South in the USA have many choices from Our Generation Dolls sold through Target priced under $40.

Springfield dolls also available in the USA on line or in store are priced far better then here in Canada, check them out on line or in store. They are my go to doll for birthday party gifts for sure!

 

Harmony Club Dolls are new to the Dolly world this season and a welcome addition they are! Limited addition dolls offered at $85.

 Click here for more details!

Last but not least the American Girl Dolls, a true classic and favorite of mine. These dolls are available on line  priced at just over $100 with so many dolls to choose from you are sure to find a favorite here. With Historical and Doll of the year dolls not to mention the Just like you dolls, bitty baby and bitty twin it is easy to see why American Girl Dolls lead the market in 18 inch dolls world wide. Click here for the on line store.

I love all my 18 inch dolls and I know you will to. Having a best friend doll to love and play with is a wonderful investment. Keeping girls, girls longer and helping them to grow into to well adjusted, creative young ladies is my hope through doll play. Weather you choose one of the dolls listed in this post or featured on my blog or another doll, doll play is very rewarding!

 I encourage you to Keep Calm and Play with Dolls.

For tips on how to play with dolls or create play sets for your child or dolls please visit the tabs at the top of this blog and start your doll play adventure 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