Halloween Glow

Disclosure: Oriental Trading sent me these products in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

With the dark and spooky aspects of Halloween it is the perfect time to check out glow products. Kids love things that glow-in-the-dark or light up. And it is great for them to have something when they are out in the dark trick-or-treating. Oriental Trading has some great glow products for reasonable prices!! This summer we reviewed Premium Glow Necklaces for some of our family nighttime fun. All of the kids and many of the adults loved having them at our events. Plus we loved putting them on the kids and knowing where they were playing in the dark. 

Cheap Doll Finds -- a Crafty Weekends Review & Link Party

Disclosure: Oriental Trading sent me these items in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. All printables are free but for personal use only. If you would like to share them, please use a link back to this post.

I have not done a cheap doll find post in awhile, but I decided it was time. One of my favorite places to look is Oriental Trading. They have so much for parties and crafts and if you are creative you can find some great items that work for dolls. I always start by searching "miniature" or "mini". I will admit Hazel and I have been checking things out for awhile since she is planning on having an American Girl themed birthday party this year. It was going to be a Beforever themed party until she got Saige as a hand-me-down. For the birthday party we knew we wanted to get the Mini Neon Tote Bags, so we will start with these. Hazel set up the scene as her dolls having a slumber party. The tote bags work for the girls to bring her things for the night. At Hazel's party they will be for the dolls to bring home their favors (and we are planning on getting the matching Neon Tote Bags for the girls). 

Halloween Costumes from the 1950's Era

Disclosure: Oriental Trading sent me these products in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Can you believe fall is already coming? Schools are back in session and the weather is already turning here. I know Halloween always sneaks up on us once school starts. I am always thankful to Oriental Trading for getting our minds focused on what costume Hazel wants. This year she has been into her American Girl dolls and in particular in the Beforever dolls. She loves Maryellen's poodle skirt. She saved her money and bought the doll outfit and crinoline. She does not have Maryellen, but dressed one of her favorite dolls, Chrysanthemum, in it.

Autumn Pumpkin Crafts & More -- a Crafty Weekends Review & Link Party

Disclosure: Oriental Trading sent me these products in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Can you believe August is almost over and schools are starting up? Where did the summer go? To kick into the fall season, we are sharing some pumpkin themed crafts and products. And just in case you want to really skip ahead be sure to check out our Christmas card post yesterday! I know crafters will understand the need to start those crafts early!! We decided to focus our posts around pumpkins since they work for fall as well as Halloween and Thanksgiving. We have had a lot of fun with pumpkin crafts and with pumpkins. Last year I shared a tutorial to make a fabric pumpkin. I used this pumpkin in several of my pictures. We will start with our DIY Door Pumpkin. 

Twists, Braids & Ponytails -- a Crafty Weekends Review & Link Party

Disclosure: Quarto Knows sent me this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I will admit this is not a total craft this week, but it does have some creativity and with the week I have had, this is the best I  could do. Hazel loves having her dolls hair look nice. However she has not really mastered braids or doing hair yet. I got her (and me) this book to get some ideas and learn new tricks to do. It is Twists, Braids, & Ponytails by Joel Benjamin. 

Spring and Easter Crafts, Ideas & More with Products from Oriental Trading -- a Crafty Weekends Review & Link Party

Disclosure: I was sent these items to review free of charge from Oriental Trading. All opinions in this post are my own. I did not receive any other compensation for this review. I am including links to each item for your convenience but do not receive anything if you purchase them.

Can you believe Easter is only two weeks away? I love spring and Easter and love making various crafts for this time of year. I also am always looking for some non-candy ideas for the Easter eggs and basket. I turned to my friends at Oriental Trading for some of all of these. I cannot wait to share with you what we have been making and what surprises Hazel will have on Easter morning. We will start with ideas for the Easter eggs and basket and our new Easter flag.

Spring Cards with Origami -- Crafty Weekends Tutorial and Link Party

I have had an itch to do something creative on my own. Then I fell in love with a sample card at work which featured an origami dress made with a mint green flowered wrapping paper. I bought a sheet and got the instructions for the dress. I also have been wanting to make a bunny card with Easter approaching. Let's start with the origami dress. After finding a few tutorials because I found one step of the instructions confusing, I decided I liked this one the best. It made the confusing v-neckline the easiest.

Doll Food Finds

Disclosure: Some of the links are affiliate links where I will receive a small percentage of any purchases made through them at no cost to you. Thank you for supporting Crafty Moms Share!
 
I haven't shared with you any of cheap doll finds lately and have had a few of these sitting there waiting to be shared so here they are. Now the first finds I found around the start of the school year. I think they were either at Target or Michael's but am not sure. The first is a burger pencil sharpener and french fries eraser set. They are on one of Hazel's dishes for her dolls to show you the size.

1880 Mary and Laura Doll Dress -- Crafty Weekends Review & Link Party

Hazel and I discovered the Little House on the Prairie re-runs on Hallmark Channel awhile back (and unfortunately they are not on anymore). She fell in love. We also started reading the Laura Ingalls Wilder books. She loves them!! She also wants a dress and bonnet like Laura's for herself and her dolls. Well in August Pixie Faire's Friday Freebie happened to be Thimbles and Acorns 1880 Mary and Laura 16" and 18" Doll Clothes pattern. Since September is National Sewing Month I figured it was time to do some sewing and decided to make this dress. I found some green fabric with a small print on it that would work in my collection. Hazel is determined that Laura always wears green though I keep pointing out that she isn't wearing green on the show.

Our Latest Doll Finds

Disclosure: Some links (Gymboree) are affiliate links where I will receive a small percentage if you purchase from them. Thank you for your support! All links are provided for your ease to see what we found.

It has been awhile since I shared some of our doll finds and our dolls' adventures. Hazel received many fun gifts for Christmas and her birthday to use with her dolls including a car and a camper. She is loving them!! Today I am going to share a few other things. First some fun and inexpensive finds!! Let's start with some Gymboree hair clips. We found these fun Snowflake Clips 2-Pack in the clearance bin for $1.99 for two clips (a white and a pink one). Mimi is modeling the pink one, though I need to get her hairbrush out again.

Adorable Felted Animals -- Crafty Weekends Review & Link Party

 Disclosure: Tuttle Publishing gave me a copy of this book free of charge for this review. All opinions in my review are my own and I did not receive any other compensation. As in all my reviews I am providing links for your ease, but receive no compensation.

One of my favorite crafts from our couple of years at a Waldorf school is needle felting. It was for the holiday fair that I first learned to needle felt. It is an easy craft to learn and has so many options!! I knew I had to check out Adorable Felted Animals from the editors of the Gakken Publishing Company. Just look at the realistic animals on the cover of the book!!

Outgrown Favorite Sweater Dress to Doll Dress -- Crafty Weekends Link Party

* Disclosure: The links in this post are affiliate links and I may earn a small commission at no cost to you.

We had another busy week and weekend!! I mean between Steve's birthday and Valentine's Day the weekend should be one big party, but we had some cleaning and getting ready for our guest. My 13-year-old nephew is arriving tonight (after several delays) for a week long vacation!! Hazel is so excited!! It was hard to calm her down today. After I write this post, I am off to the airport to pick him up. I hope he took all the adults seriously when we told him he had to wear warm clothes to come here this year. Boston is experiencing the coldest day in almost 60 years and I can feel the cold even with the heat on in our house. Anyway, one of our chores this weekend was going through Hazel's clothes and pulling the ones she has outgrown. We had a few piles: pass down to friend, donate to Salvation Army, keep as memories and make crafts or doll clothes. Some of her favorite clothes she does not want to part with and so I make some into doll clothes for her 18-inch dolls. She had this fun sweater dress from Gymboree last year. 

My Rag Doll -- Crafty Weekends Review & Link Party

Disclosure: Search Press gave me a copy of these books free of charge for this review. All opinions in my review are my own and I did not receive any other compensation. As in all my reviews I am providing links for your ease, but receive no compensation.

Today I get to share with you a fun book for making rag dolls and all of her accessories. My Rag Doll by Corinne Crasbercu has eleven versions of a rag doll. 

Sew Dolled Up -- Crafty Weekends Review & Link Party

Disclosure: I was sent these books to review free of charge from Quarto Books USA. All opinions in this post are my own. I did not receive any other compensation for this review. I am including links to each item for your convenience but do not receive anything if you purchase them.

So ages ago I began making one of the adorable dolls in today's book, Sew Dolled Up by Boutique Sha. Hazel wanted me to make her the brown haired Country Style doll named Irina first and then wanted some of the others as well. I had the doll's body and head and had sewn together the legs and just needed to put them on the doll and then do the arms (which are cut out as well). However she got put away for a bit and now all I can find are the legs and arms. So I do not have any pictures for you of her. I am so sorry!! I cannot wait to find the rest of her and finish her though.

Crafty Weekends: Half Yard Christmas Review & Craft Link Party

Disclosure: I was sent this book to review free of charge from Search Press. All opinions in this post are my own. I did not receive any other compensation for this review. I am including links to each item for your convenience but do not receive anything if you purchase them.

For this weekend's Crafty Weekend we are sharing the start of our Christmas crafts. Today I am sharing ones I made with instructions and patterns from Half Yard Christmas by Debbie Shore. We started sharing our Christmas posts this week so you will have time to get and enjoy some of the great finds we have made this year. 

Teddy Bear Doctor -- Book Review

Disclosure: I was sent this book to review free of charge from Storey Publishing. All opinions in this post are my own. I did not receive any other compensation for this review. I am including links to each item for your convenience but do not receive anything if you purchase them.

Does your child watch Doc McStuffins? Or just like to play doctor with his or her stuffed animals? This book is perfect for him or her!! Hazel has two or three doctors kits (I think one is a veterinarian kit). She has always liked to play doctor and often dreams of being a toy doctor like Doc McStuffins. She really wanted the Doc McStuffins kit because she hoped when she pushed the stethoscope button Ducky would come alive. When we take our cats to the veterinarian, Hazel gets to listen to the cats and her own, and the veterinarian's and my and whomever will let her heart beat with our veterinarian's stethoscope. She loves going!! Needless to say when I saw Teddy Bear Doctor: A Let's Make and Play Book by Deanna F. Cook I knew Hazel would love it.

Cheap Doll Finds

This has been a tough week in our house. The other day at a play date Hazel dropped her favorite 18-inch doll on the floor head first. And a tragedy happened. The rod holding the head on to the doll broke and the doll was decapitated. I looked at her and realized she was not easily fixable. Hazel was a mess and of course this had to happen right as we were about to sing Happy Birthday to her friend. Steve is going to try to glue the head back on, but it will not be able to move anymore.

Our Recent Doll Finds

I have not shared our doll finds lately and we have quite a few. We will start with our newest doll. Hazel really wanted to spend her Easter money on this doll at Target last week. She was on sale for $19.99 so I let her. Meet Ginger...

Simple Cloth Daisy Doll Book Review

Have you entered my current giveaway yet?

Disclosure: Search Press gave me a copy of this book free of charge for this review. All opinions in my review are my own and I did not receive any other compensation. They also sent me a copy to giveaway! As in all my reviews I am providing links for your ease, but receive no compensation.

So just before Christmas Hazel informed me she wanted a soft doll that looked like her so she could sleep with it. Now I have all of my Christmas shopping done by Thanksgiving, so it was out of the question. Then I received a copy of Simple Cloth Daisy Dolls by Wenche O. Steensen. I knew I would make her a doll so I could write a proper review of the book.

Cheap Doll Finds

It has been almost a month since I shared our cheap doll finds with you. I thought I would share some more with you today. Today's came from The Dollar Tree, Staples and Michaels.

Awhile ago I shared the soccer ball (along with #1 fingers for the cheerers) I found for Hazel's dolls. Now I found the right sized baseball for her dolls. Now they just need a bat and mitts. I found these sports bounce balls in the party favor section at Micahels.