Apple Cinnamon Scones with Butter Cream icing

I have the good fortune of baking allot and sharing with others so I thought I would share one of my famous scone recipes.
Apple Cinnamon Scones with Butter Cream icing, is a recipe I created for the wedding of Will and Kate. I had actually done the scones for a long time but added the icing and now there is no going back.
Scone recipe
3 cups of all purpose flour
2/3 cup of brown sugar
1/3 cup of white sugar
1/2 cup of apple sauce or other fruit puree
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg
4 tsps of baking powder
1/3 cup of milk
1/2 cup of shortening ( I use lard really I do) or margarine
1 grated apple or chopped small
In a bowl place the flour, sugars, baking powder,cinnamon and apple. Mix. add your shortening and mix until it is like bread crumbs.Add egg, milk, apple sauce and vanilla mix, mixture should be thick and wet. Scoop spoonfuls on to a cookie sheet in your desired size. Bake until golden brown. about 12-15 minutes at 400F
While the scones are baking make your icing.
Icing Recipe
1/2 cup of margarine or shortening
3 cups of icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2-3 tsp of milk
Mix all the above ingredient together if you like a thinner icing add more milk to the mixture.
Once the scones have been removed from the oven place a dollop of icing on top of each scone.
Topping

Cinnamon Topping recipe
1 tsp of cinnamon
2 tbsp of brown sugar
1 tbsp of white sugar
Mix together and sprinkle over the icing topped scones.

Now for Doll sized Treats available on Etsy
http://www.etsy.com/listing/69387850/miniature-assorted-scones?ref=sr_gallery_1&ga_search_query=doll+food+scones&ga_search_type=handmade&ga_facet=handmade

 

These doll sized scones are available from the Etsy shop MinnieKitchen

For only $9. Such a great deal. Check out her shop on Etsy.

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

Make your own doll hairstyling cape and hair care kit

I love making things for the dolls that I see in the American Girl doll catalog and putting my own spin on them. I made this hairstyling cape for a birthday gift and put it together with some great dollar store Gems to create my own Hair Care kit for dolls at a fraction of the cost of the one in the AG catalog.
To make the cape I used a scrap of fabric made of acetate which is what the one in the catalog is made out of, you can use any on hand fabric. I also used a package of bias tape to finish the look. I made mine out of a 13X13 inch square cut on the fold  I recommend 10X10 if you are going to make one as mine is a bit long. If you follow the directions bellow you can easily make these for your doll. I used a zig zag stitch for the bias tape.

To finish the neck, I left 12 inches of bias tape on either side to be later used as the ties.

Next I paired it with some great dollar store gems like curlers, a ready made makeup bag and spray bottle for styling (ONLY USE WATER and mist the dolls hair lightly when styling) I tied a matching ribbon on the zipper as the zipper pull and added the cape for a really fun and inexpensive personally made gift. You can add your own wire dollar store brush like the ones I created for the birthday party in a past post to finish this great birthday gift.

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

Doll I-pods another Dollar Store Gem Find!

 

I love dollar stores, how did we ever live with out them? I found these I pod erasers while I was visiting my sister in Montreal, Quebec, they had a great dollar store at her local mall. It was called Dollarama. I found these erasers that easily double as doll accessories for $1 a package. 

These would make a perfect addition to any doll loot bag or party favor and are the perfect accessory for the doll on the go! Dolls can hold these easily with the aide of a flesh tone elastic.

As with all my posts please feel free to leave me a comment or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com

If you have trouble locating this item or any other items in my posts from your local dollar or party stores contact me and I would be happy to source them for you and sell them to you from my Etsy account.

Doll shower caps another great dollar store Gem!

I have had these for a while and thought I would share it with you. My dollar store carries the most adorable "kitchen covers" that are great re-purposed as Shower caps for 18 inch dolls. Modeled aboce by Brianne and Samantha my rescued dolls from Sally Anne thrift store (Salvation Army thrift stores in Canada).
The price is $1.25 for a package of 10 in various sizes. I found them in "Lemon and Cherry" patterned, in the kitchen section of the Dollar store.

They also a great paired with my bath tub which was purchased for me from Zellers here in Canada (you can get them at Target in the USA) thanks to my sister Bre-Anne and Nieces Trinity, Cadence and Hannah for Christmas. For bubbles I used quilting batting in case you are curious. If you are unable to track down these "shower caps" let me know and I would be happy to arrange to send you one through my Etsy store.

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

Making Robes for dolls using a great and easy pattern!

I recently did a  fun doll "spa themed" party for a client the client requested doll robes for all the girls dolls in attendance so I set to work using using a pattern I bought from the address below on these fun robes. 
http://www.etsy.com/shop/preciouspatterns .I highly recommend the pattern. It was a very easy pattern and I loved the results. If you are just starting out sewing this is a great pattern to start with and it includes the robe pattern as well as pants, shirt, jacket and skirt for $3.99. If you do not see the pattern there request it from the shop owners and they will re post it, it is an email PDF pattern and there is no shipping you can print and get started right away.

For this pattern I chose fleece material I bought will on my trip from a wonderful store called Jo-Anne's fabric, oh how I wish we had that store here in Canada! I bought pink, green and teal blue to match the ribbon I bought before I left from Michael's the craft store. I also bought extra wide bias tape to complete the trip around the robe.

 These were so much fun to make I am going to make a bunch more for my Etsy shop and for Christmas next year!

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

Another Doll Rescue! I found a Maplelea Doll at the Thrift Store

This makes my day to share with you this great find. On my birthday I went to a few thrift stores with my sister in law Janeen. I was so thrilled to find another 18 inch doll to rescue!

This one is a Maplelea Doll which if you are unfamiliar with  is Canada's version of the American Girl Doll. The Maplelea dolls are $99.99 in the catalog and their are only 5 types of dolls. When I got mine home I was thrilled to discover that I had Brianne, I think this is funny because I have a sister named Bre-Anne who also has blond hair and blue eyes like this doll.

 This doll was only $6.99! Such a savings from the orig. catalog price of $99.99! (Plus shipping)
When I found the doll in the bottom of the toy bin at our local Salvation Army I was over the moon. She was very dirty and needed a good clean and brushing. She does have a stain on her arm that I have not been able to remove but from here on out that is just her birthmark and we will leave it as is. I am thrilled to have found my own Maplelea doll espcially for the price as when I make doll clothes for my clients who have Maplelea Dolls I do not have to worry about borrowing one to fit the close on as they are slightly different in size.

*Dispite being 18 inches tall not all 18 inch dolls are sized the same for clothing. The Maplelea doll has longer thinner arms, legs and feet. I am thrilled with how Brianne turned out and she looks great modeling one of the dresses avalible from my Etsy Store.
This was a wonderful find made even more wonderful by the fact I found her on my birthday!
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

Doll Skin-care Kit

I was asked to make doll skin-care kits for party favors for a birthday party I recently did. The catalog  price of $18 seems really steep. So I set off to make my own less expensive one and thought I would share it with you. I used broad cloth and a stretchy elastic as a closer, included two baby sized face cloths, a round make up sponge and made a hair band like the one in the catalog out of 12 inches of  1/2 inch Elastic.

I used an over sized birthday card envelope as my pattern. The envelope measured 9 inches by 5.5 inches.

I cut three rectangles this size out of black broad cloth. I folded and ironed one in half. This one is for the pockets. I did a basting stitch along the folded edge. Taking one of the other pieces I placed the raw edge of the piece I sewed for the pocket and matched it with the bottom of the other piece of  broad cloth, then I did a basting stitch along the bottom to secure it. Next I folded it like a book and ironed it. Then I opened it back up and did a basting stitch along the ironed line to create two pockets. I stitched to the top of the pocket and then did a back stitch to secure it. Next I placed the other piece of broad cloth over top with wrong sides facing out. I pinned the elastic to the right hand side just above the pocket. and then stitched on three sides leaving the bottom open. Then I turned it inside out and folded with my fingers the bottom edges in and iron it. Next I stitched a basting stitch along the  now ironed edge and my Skin care case was complete.

To fill the kit I purchased round make up sponges from Shoppers Drug Mart ( like a Wallgreens for my US friends) 12 for $5.00 and I bought baby face clothes at the dollar store $1.25 for 3. I used Elastic from the dollar store also to creat the hair elastic. Start to finish each skin care kit cost about $3.50 to make.

I am also thinking of picking up some iron on flowers to embellish the fronts of the skin-care kits.

 The above is the kit you can get from American Girl for $18

 

This is what it looks like closed.

The photo above is of the items I put in the skin/hair care kit for the birthday party I did.

I think these made a really cute party favors and am thinking of making some for my Etsy Store. If you have any questions on how to make one of these please let me know!

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