Doll Ice Creams and Sundaes

Now in this hot weather I know we like to have ice cream and as a child I loved sundaes! Well with the heat and humidity we have been having, Hazel's dolls wanted to have a sundae party! I was inspired by the Miniature Sundaes over at Making Friends. I bought clear shot classes at the Dollar Tree and a package of small red pom poms for the cherries. Then I invaded Hazel's ice cream shop. Since Hazel does not like hot fudge or chocolate sauce on her ice cream (I know, strange), I made some without any chocolate sauce and some with it.

I glued a pink for strawberry and a brown for chocolate large pom pom to the bottom of a glass. Then I glued a white large pom pom on top of it for the whipped cream. Then I added the small red pom pom cherries. I showed them to Hazel and she asked for sprinkles, so I found her sprinkle beads and glued each one on. 

For the hot fudge sundaes I experimented with some brown paint. (I used acrylic since it was what I had.) I first tried just putting it on the top of the ice cream pom pom (I used beige for vanilla). However it just really sat there and also absorbed into the whipped cream pom pom. For the other two, I poured the paint onto the inside sides of the glasses before gluing the ice cream pom pom. This worked much better for looks. We have my favorite strawberry ice cream with hot fudge and a plain vanilla with hot fudge. Now Hazel's dolls are all set to party! They can use the spoons that came with their tea set to eat them! Stay tuned for doll milk shakes. 

For more doll ideas check out:

• DIY Doll Sandals
• DIY No-Sew Doll Purse
• Cheap Doll Items to Buy or Make
• DIY Doll Pencil 
• Doll Mermaid Tail (Tutorial Coming Soon)
• Leather Doll Clothes
• Easy Doll Clothes to Sew New or From Baby Clothes
• Baby Doll Clothes and Changing Area
• Making a Waldorf Doll
• My Doll Clothes and Craft Pinterest Board

Fairy Tales in Different Cultures-Vasilissa and Baba Yaga

Today we will look at a Russian version of Cinderella. I found two picture books with basically the same story and we will look at both today, but first a bit about Russia. Somehow after a week of a deep freeze in New England, Russia seems like the right country to talk about. (I literally heard a radio host mention a town in Russia for having the record for lowest temperatures. She kept checking them because it made our temperatures seem so much better.)

Ruth Handler & Fun Facts about her Barbie Doll

 

Today is National Barbie Day! To celebrate I thought we would look at the creator of Barbie and some fun facts about Barbie. Now growing up my mother was very against Barbie dolls. My sisters were not allowed to have any. I however inherited some from family friends and for some reason my mother allowed it. I know she like many parents were concerned with the measurements and body image. What I discovered with my research couldn't be farther from the truth. Stay tuned for a fun ride as well as a book round-up for you to teach your kids about Ruth Handler and the history of Barbie. 

Ruth Handler

World Sight Day--Book Review: Yuko-Chan and the Daruma Doll

Disclosure: Tuttle Publishing gave me a copy of these products free of charge. 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.

Did you know Thursday, October 9th is World Sight Day? "World Sight Day is an annual day of awareness held on the second Thursday of October, to focus global attention on blindness and vision impairment." (Source) This year's call to action is "No More Avoidable Blindness".

To celebrate World Sight Day, Tuttle Publishing asked me if I would be interested in reviewing a picture book about a blind girl and how she saves her village and they offered to send me one to giveaway. I of course said yes! So today we review Yuko-Chan and the Daruma Doll by Sunny Seki.

Doll Crafts & Finds -- a Crafty Weekends Link Party

We had another busy week, but I found some time to make some crafts for Hazel's dolls. We are currently on a Harry Potter kick so a few are related to that story as well as a new quill pen for Caroline and a new Nanea style nightgown. Hazel would like to get Nanea and Luciana, but doesn't want to wait until her birthday or Christmas (basically the same things) or until she saves the money, so we are working on some clothes and trying to use her other dolls as them. I am also going ot share the some new doll finds we have found. Let's start with the quill pen. I found Felicity's quill pen and inkwell on ebay. Hazel fell in love and wanted one for her Caroline doll. Instead of spending the $25+ on it, I decided we could make one.

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. 

Meet Diane Tells His Name and her Dolls

 

A few weeks ago I shared two of the beautiful Tribal Nations Maps about Indigenous women. One of the people shared on them is Diane Tells His Name. Diane has an interesting life story and she makes the most beautiful dolls. As a doll collector from my childhood I have always loved dolls. My sisters and I had a doll collection that was displayed in a curio cabinet in our dining room. Over the years some dolls have been lost or damaged as we each have moved and separated our collections. I still have some and they are now in my china cabinet. I have a love of dolls from different cultures because they share so much about the culture from their features, their clothes and often their stories. Perhaps this is why I was so drawn to Diane and her story. However as I learn more about Diane I find her story even more fascinating.

Christmas Crafts & Sewing: Elf on the Shelf, The Christmas Story, and Frozen

Well with Christmas fast approaching, I thought I would share a bunch of the things we have been up to lately. It is amazing how fast Christmas is coming. Between Hazel and I getting sick I feel like we have not gotten everything done that I hoped. Now we are hoping Hazel's fever stays away long enough for her not to be contagious (she has strep and possibly something else) so we can celebrate with extended family. With my time I have been doing some sewing and am working on a quilt to review a quilt book hopefully later this week since I'm hoping to have the quilt as part of Hazel's Christmas gift.

DIY Doll Sandals

A few weeks ago I bought Hazel some sandals for her 18-inch dolls. A couple of weeks ago we went to a birthday party at the American Doll Store and now we are going back next week to celebrate my birthday with my mother-in-law. Hazel has been getting into dressing her dolls a bit more, so we decided to try to make our own sandals. The owner of the store where I bought the sandals told me his sister-in-law made them after looking up how to on-line, so I began looking. There are many different tutorials out there. Here is what we did. 

Somewhat following the tutorials I saw on line and playing around, I made three pairs (somewhat successfully) of sandals in different styles. I also had one disaster, but learned a lot from it. To get a pattern it is best to trace the dolls feet. Our dolls are not American Girl dolls, but here is the pattern I came up with. (Click on picture for the pdf form of it.)

I found it helpful to label the top of the feet not to mix them up or make reversed cuts. I wrote the name of the doll whose feet I traced. I happened to use Hazel's Hazel doll. Now you cut this pattern out of craft foam. I wanted to find thicker craft foam, but had trouble. I did however find some thick foam white ghosts and black spiders at A.C. Moore. I bought two of each. If you do not have the thicker foam, you can use more thinner layers (I would use a total of five or six after my experiences). With the thicker foam you will have three layers--one of the thicker foam and two regular craft foam thickness (a top and bottom). I mostly used sparkly foam for the top layer, but it does not matter. After cutting the foam, you glue the top to the thick layer or if not using thick layer, glue the top and two or three of the middle layers. If using only thin layers you want a few layers on top before gluing the ribbons to the bottom (or the ribbons can rip the top layer and yes, I had it happen). Then all the sandals or at least most I saw have some form of stretchy ankle ring to make sure the shoe is not lost if it falls off. You can add beads to it or not. A thin piece of ribbon holds the ankle ring onto the shoe. You glue this ribbon--both ends with the loop strung onto it-- onto the bottom of your glued layers. Next you measure the ribbon for the top part of the shoe and glue it on. I also remeasure after I have glued it on to make sure it will fit correctly.

Depending on the style you are doing, you may want to adjust this step. To do what I call the crisscross sandals, you first glue a ribbon folded in half and linked onto the ankle ring the length of the shoe and then put the crosses through it.

Or if you are using a wider ribbon and want to shape it or shape any ribbon more bow like, you can tie the ribbon with the ankle ring and use beads if you want.

My tutorial pictures are however for the simpler form of just having a ribbon going across the top. Hazel and I each made more pairs for the tutorial which are drying now. 

After the ribbon layer is glued on and attached if it is going to be to the ankle ring, I put a piece of tape over the glued areas just to hold it until it dries. Next glue on the bottom layer and clamp it with clothespins. Let it sit for a few hours or overnight for the glue to dry. If you want to hide your layers you can glue a ribbon of equal or less width around the edge of the shoes. You need to pin or hold until the glue sticks. You can buy special foam glue. I did not and used my regular Aleene's Original Tacky Glue. I will share our other two pairs after they are dry and finished. If you have questions about my tutorial, let me know.

Her dolls seem happy with the new sandals and playing my models. 

If you are looking for more doll clothes and craft ideas check out:

• Doll Mermaid Tail (Tutorial Coming Soon)
• Leather Doll Clothes
• Baby Doll Clothes and Changing Area
• Making a Waldorf Doll
• My Doll Clothes and Craft Pinterest Board

MerryMakers Dolls--the Perfect Holiday Gifts for Little Ones

 

Disclosure: I was sent a doll in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Do you know the classic children's book, The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats? We loved it when Hazel was young and planned days around it like this one outside and this one inside. I love that it is a multicultural children's book that is just about going out to play in the snow. It is relatable to any child who lives where it snows. Plus the character, Peter, dresses in his red snow gear and looks adorable. Well along comes MerryMakers! They make dolls and toys that go with many classic children's books including The Snowy Day. 

Heritage Doll Clothes -- Making 1930s Doll Clothes -- Crafty Weekends Link Party

Hazel has discovered the American Girl books. She is loving the mysteries for older children. She also has fallen in love with Kit Kittredge. She really wants to get an American Girl doll. She has begun saving her own money for one. She is struggling deciding between getting Kit, Samantha or Rebecca. She really LOVES the Kit stories but likes the looks of the other two more. She has begun reading the other stories and is really just enjoying them all. Since it will take her awhile to save enough money to buy an American Girl doll I thought I would make some clothes from the various eras for the dolls she has. Since Kit is her current favorite I thought I would start with something from the 1930s. I pulled out Heritage Doll Clothes by Joan Hinds. I bought it awhile ago to get the pattern for a prairie dress and bonnet when Hazel was really into Little House on the Prairie. I still need to make it for her doll and the matching one for her.

Minnie Mouse Ears and Dress for Doll (and Girl) Crafty Weekends Projects and Link Party

Oops!! With the spotty internet on our vacation I missed writing my review for Earth Day!! Be sure to check out tomorrow's post for some great Earth books!!

Disclosure: Target links in this post will give me a small percentage of your purchase at no cost to you. 

After the crazy March we had weather wise and for Steve work wise, I really needed to get away to somewhere warm. Steve on the other hand just wanted to stay home and rest. We decided Hazel and I would go down to Florida (we have a time share there) and he would stay home. Since we were going to be in Florida we decided we would spend a day at Magic Kingdom and a day at Universal Studios. I found this fabric in my stash. It has beautiful flowers and Minnie Mouse heads on it. I showed it to Hazel and suggested I make a dress for her to wear to Magic Kingdom. I used Butterick Pattern 3860 to make her a dress. Since Hazel wanted to bring two of her dolls with us I thought I would make her doll a matching dress. I checked out the patterns I have downloaded and found one that used the slip pattern from Molly's Pretty Clothes. I didn't put on a ruffle and lengthened the pattern for the dress. I also wanted her doll to have Minnie Mouse ears. 

Learning about Indigenous Women with Map and Poster from Tribal Nations Maps

 

Disclosure: Aaron Carapella gave me permission to use his copyrighted photos. They are all copyrighted by his company Tribal Nations Maps.

Although some people still celebrate the holiday as Columbus Day, many are changing it to Indigenous Peoples' Day. I shared years ago about how I feel about Columbus Day. For more reasons to change the day to Indigenous Peoples' Day check out here. To celebrate Indigenous Peoples' Day, I turned to my friend Aaron Carapella of Tribal Nations Maps. Years ago I had the pleasure of sharing my prize with you of one of his amazing maps. Since then he has added so many different maps and products. He has added maps Indigenous Peoples of regions of North America as well as Central and South America. 

Sewing Books for National Craft Month

Disclosure: I was sent copies of these books in return for an honest review. All opinions in this post are my own. I did not receive any other compensation for this review. 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 am continuing with my craft books reviews. Today we are focusing on sewing. I have three books that include home decor, clothes, and doll clothes. I know I have plans to do some more sewing now that I am stuck at home. We will start with home decor. 

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.

DIY 1980's Doll Accessories -- A Crafty Sunday

 

Have you seen her yet? American Girl has come out with a new doll and she is from the 1980's. Her name is Courtney and I think I am in love. After all I'm an 80's girl. Although I'm not as in love with the actual doll (at least from photos) I love her outfits and accessories. I turned ten in 1980, so the 80s represent my teen years. I remember the neon, off-the-shoulder, leggings, legwarmers, rubber bracelets, walkman, denim, and scrunchies. Plus the Pac Man and Lisa Frank and rainbows. American Girl also added the Care Bears but I was a bit old for them. I decided to try to create some of the accessories for Hazel's dolls. 

Picture Books that Share Japanese Culture for Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month

 

Disclosure: I was sent copies of these books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month! Today I am sharing a couple of books that share fun pieces of Japanese culture. The first book is The Mochi Makers by Sharon Fujimoto-Johnson. It is recommended for ages baby through 8. 

Vacation Week Crafts - a Crafty Weekends Review & Link Party

Disclosure: Tuttle Publishing gave me copies 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.

This past week was Hazel's spring break. We have had quite the week and a half. The last week of school included Hazel's class's Easter play and my parents came to see her and celebrate Easter with us early. Then my sister came to go to the Museum of Fine Arts on Saturday with us. Then we celebrated with my mother-in-law on Easter Sunday. On Monday we headed to the American Girl Doll Store Boston (which is not in Boston). Hazel had saved almost enough to buy herself a doll. We loaned her the last $30 since we were going. My plan had been to take her so she could really decide which doll she wanted. Seeing the dolls in person helped her really decide which were her top picks. Some that had been top picks fell off the list in person. After a bit of thought she decided on Kit Kitteredge. She LOVES the books about Kit, so I thought this was a wonderful choice.

An Amazing Doll Shop (Dolls, Furniture, Clothes and Accessories)

Are you ever amazed by a company? I know there have been some companies that I find have horrible customer service. I tend to complain about them. Today I want to tell you about a company that has the best customer service. It is The Queen's Treasures. (Just so you know I am receiving nothing for writing this post. All opinions are completely my own.)

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.