Dear Jillian

Dear Jillian,

My parents are sending me to a sleep away camp this year and I am really worried that I will not have a good time. I have to leave my dolls and my dog behind, I am really nervous. I prefer day camp like I did last year but this year my mom says I have to try sleep away camp for a whole week!
I have never been to a camp where you sleep over. What if no one likes me?
I am already home sick!
Your friend,
Abby

Dear Abby,
I understand how you must feel.  Sleep away camp can seem really scary if you have not done it before. But like most things once you are there you will see how much fun it can be!
I loved my sleep away camp, you just might find you do too. 
Sleep away camps are much like day camps only the fun doesn't end before dinner. When I was at camp I loved learning how to canoe and we even did archery! Which I loved. My camp was a mixed camp of boys and girls and we had lots of fun games where we played and raced against them. 
I was worried at night the first night but after we had campfire and got to our cabins I was so tired I forgot to be homesick! I also loved the food and crafts at my camp. We earned beads for each activity we did. We even slept outside one night!
Try to not worry too much, I am sure you will make a friend quickly. I was surprised at how quickly the week went by and how much fun I had. See if you can take some photos of the things you love with you as they are easier to pack. Keeping a photo of your dog and your family and dolls in your pillow case will help keep them close to you!
I know you have so much fun.
Your friend, 
Jillian 

Dear readers if you would like to make a tent like Jillian's click here for my craft on Doll Diaries

As with all out posts we would love to hear from you email your questions or comments to karenmowen@gmail.com or Jillian at askjillianharper@yahoo.ca , feel free to also leave comments below.

Festive Fourth wear from 99cent store

With the Fourth of July just around the corner I thought I would share with you some great party hats I found at the 99cent store. A great deal with 5 hats in a package these fit perfectly on our dolls and make  a great party favor and a great addition to any doll play collection!

 

Pair with one of the doll store exclusive t-shirts and you have a fantastic holiday outfit for your doll!

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

How about a game of Memory, Doll Style!

Over at the wonderful website Tip Junkie you can print your doll lover a set of Memory game cards featuring some of American Girl's Most loved Characters.
Click here for the link

I have made my share of memory cards over the years and to get mine to to last I cover mine in Mac tac a clear peel and stick material I get at my craft and dollar store that laminates my pictures and helps them to last.  These free printable memory cards make great party favors as well as party games.

If you are an Our Generation fan I also found a great printable click here for printable Our Generation Memory Game

You can easily create a Springfield Doll Collection set, Maplelea Doll Set or any other 18 inch doll that is special to you  into a memory game set by using images found on line and printing two identical images, cover them with plastic and play alone or with friends and family.

I hope you have enjoyed today's post and as always I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com

Custom Made Nascar Outfit for my Dolls, a GREAT birthday Gift I got!

If you know me personally you know that I love NASCAR. I do, I can not explain it to you but for the last 8 year NASCAR has been a huge part of my life. Another large part of my life has to do with all of you and the wonderful world of dolls. Enter my friend and guest blogger Lauren who has become a very dear friend of mine. Now we do not live next door to each other but we live with in an hours drive part of the year and we both share a love of our dolls and it is the love of our dolls that has made us friends. We both share April birthdays and I was so excited when Lauren and I were finally able to get together for tea in Early June. Lauren surprised me with a custom made "Fire Suit" and Custom Made Doll hat in my favorite Drivers team and Colors!

Lauren made me the fire suit but she ordered the hat from an Etsy shop I featured recently called Cape Cod Curiosities you can find the link to the post I wrote about her hats by clicking here.
Lauren Used my Facebook profile photo as the inspiration and contacted Linda at Cape Cod Curiosities and commissioned her to create a matching hat to my own.

 This is my favorite photo my husband has ever taken of me, when we were at a Texas Race in 2010. My first NASCAR race live and My favorite driver Greg Biffle lead the most laps that day. I was also thrilled when I was there to see families at the race with girls and their American Girl Dolls! Which has inspired me in so many ways.

I am so deeply touched and thrilled to receive such a thoughtful and personal gift from such a special person! Thank you so much Lauren. I do not think I could have had a more perfect dolly world friend then 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

Super Dolly Saturday BINGO

Recently I came across some fun party games that you can make and play with other doll lovers. One of them was BINGO. Growing up I remember my mom and aunt going to Bingo on Saturday night and I think that this game would make a great party game, family game night game or rainy day activity.
The above image is from Tip Junkie click here for the printable info and directions

 

The next board is from Kidscraps.com click here for their printable 

 

I also found an Etsy shop Sommerbabies who will make you up Bingo cards for your party for a small fee. Click here for her Etsy shop

Bingo is a great game to play at a party or with friends and you can create fun prizes to give away such as a treat bag of doll hair supplies, doll accessories,candy and more

Have fun playing Bingo with your friends.

I hope you have enjoyed today's post I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com 

Meet the Creative Blogger behind Super Inky and friends.

Those of you who may already be familiar with the wonderful personality of Super Inky may wonder a bit about the creative genius behind her. Enter Colette.

I asked Colette to share some back ground information on Inky and her history and her in her own words here is Colette's story...

"Inky is a My American Girl #4. When I got her, I didn't have any original characters- just Josefina, Kaya, and Marisol.  I spent part of my childhood in Ukraine, so I knew I wanted to have a Russian-speaking doll.  I'm American Indian and as a child I really wished for more dolls of color.  At the time that I bought her, Inky was the only Asian doll. (Jess would come out the next year.)  I wanted to have a diverse collection, so I knew I wanted #4.  I originally wanted to name her Coral, but I couldn't get the name "Inky" out of my head.  I knew a girl with that name would have to be an enthusiastic and friendly girl, so I decided to keep it. "

"A lot of Inky's story centers around who she is.  She was adopted as a little girl and she studies ballet.  My father was a ballet dancer, so I wanted to honor him by adding that to Inky's story.  I also think adoption stories need to be told, so, I made Inky adopted from Russia.  She's also home schooled, which I think is a great educational choice.  It also gives me the freedom to bring her traveling with me at any time of year.  So far, Inky has been to the Netherlands, Ukraine, France, England, and all over the United States. "

"When I started out, I didn't really take photos of dolls.  Shortly after I got Inky, I went to Ukraine and thought I might give doll traveling photos a whirl. I received a lot of positive feedback on my photos, so I've never stopped.  Now, I rarely go on a trip without bringing Inky along.  Luckily, my family is used to it by now!  In 2007, I decided to start Inky's blog.  I'm on my sixth year of doll blogging and I love hearing from girls.  I've met some wonderful friends through Inky's blog.  She really is a blessing in my life. "

 I would like to thank Colette for granting us this behind the scenes information on Super Inky

and if you would like to follow Inky on Facebook 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

Brandy's Special Surprise for her Girls....

Brandy continues to impress me with her creativity and though she takes very little credit she is so talented at creating doll play sets by combing a love of American Girl Dolls, Creativity and Furniture items she purchases from Payne Street Doll Boutique  .
As a surprise for her girls as a end of year gift Brandy has created a play set that has special meaning to her and her family. Here is how and why she did it...

"The idea for this craft came a few months ago when my husband and I were
having a family movie night with our daughters.  We always have a snack.
Jayla has always been a lover a root beer and Jemma loves her potato chips.
While we were getting ready to snuggle in for the movie, the girls asked me,
“Momma, what is your favorite root beer and potato chips?”  Well, I
immediately had flash-backs of my home town of Tiffin, Ohio.  My favorite
root beer would have to be from Jolly’s and my favorite potato chips would
be from Ballreich’s.  I moved out of state with my parents just before I
turned nine years old.  We always made it a point to stop by Jolly’s when we
came back to Tiffin for a visit.  I can’t think of a time when we didn’t
bring back a few bags of Ballreich’s potato chips too."

"So, feeling very nostalgic for my hometown…and feeling crafty…AND as most of
you know that my daughters LOVE their American Girl Dolls…I decided to
surprise my them with a Jolly’s Drive-In, serving Ballreich’s potato chips,
of their very own."

"First I started with their Payne Street Doll Boutique tiki hut.  When I
think of Jolly’s I always think of ORANGE.  I wanted to bring in as much of
that color as possible.  I made orange chair covers for the bar stools.
Next, I made orange place mats for the Payne Street Doll Boutique picnic
table.  I used a previously made galvanized steel tri-fold backdrop to
display menu and picture items.  I glued these pictures to orange and brown
paper to really add some extra color!" 

"For the Jolly’s street sign I used alphabet stickers and attached them to
squares of orange card stock paper.  Then glued the squares to a strip of
brown paper and laminated it.  I used poster sticky putty and attached to a
white painted dowel.  I used more poster sticky putty to hold the dowel into
a clear small glass candle holder."

"For the drive-in trays, I used orange jewelry boxes found at my local
Michael’s craft store.  I used ½ inch silver binder clips to attach the
trays to the car doors.  I did cover the clips with white felt to prevent
the doors from getting scratched up."

"For the root beer mugs I used beer mug shaped plastic shot glasses.  For the
root beer I used 2 inch brown pom-poms. For root beer floats I used smaller
brown pom-poms and mixed them with white pom-poms.  For the flavored drinks
I used red, green, orange colored pom-poms and placed them in communion
cups.  For straws I used clear cocktail straws and cut them down to size."

 













"For the Ballreich’s potato chip bags I printed off downloaded pictures on to
card stock paper.  I folded the sides of each piece of paper in and glued
together.  Then I glued the bottom edge and slightly folded it up.  I
pinched in each side of the bag to make it stand up a bit.  I filled each
bag with tissue.  I then glued the top edge shut and slightly folded it
down.  I left one bag open at the top and filled it with potato chips.  For
the chips I used a vanilla shade of foam paper, cut in to several small
irregular ovals.  Using a marker, I made several lines down the front and
back of each oval for ridges."

"The popcorn machine was a little container I found in the dollar bins at my
local Michael’s craft store.  For the popcorn I used 2 or 3 cotton balls…I
moistened my fingers with water and pulled off a little cotton and rolled it
into a ball between my fingers. I did this several times.  I made several
irregular and different sized balls to make it look more authentic.  Them I
took a yellow marker and made a few marks on each ball.  Let them dry and
then placed in the “popcorn machine.”"

"For the nachos and cheese I used yellow foam paper and cut it into several
small triangles.  I then took a light orange marker and made a few dots on
each to give it a textured and spicy look.  I used light orange felt and cut
a tiny piece into a circle and then glued into a button for the dipping
cheese.  I placed everything in a mini paper cup cake wrapper to serve."

For the hot dogs and sandwiches I used erasers found in the birthday favor
isle of my local Target store.  I served them on mini white paper cupcake
wrappers.

"For a little extra flare I found orange doll shirts on ebay.  I took them to
a local embroidery shop and had “Jolly’s” in brown letters embroidered to
the front."




I want to thank Brandy for allowing me to share with all of you her doll play ideas and I hope you are inspired to create special time and doll play items for your loved ones as I am when I see what Brandy has created.

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