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.

Christmas Crafts & More

Although I have not been sharing them all, we have been doing some crafts for Christmas. So for my Christmas Eve post, I thought I would share some of what we have been up to and a few other things we love for Christmas!! By the way Sharing Saturday is 2 weeks long and still going on. For Christmas Day there will be some Christmas themed features and the continued link party!!

Let's begin at the beginning of the season. In November Hazel and I purchased four rabbit ornaments for the Multicultural Kid Blogs Ornament Swap. I also made three (well five) ornaments from fabric.  

The Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen -- Parragon Book Buddies

Disclosure: Parragon Books sent me a copy of this book free of charge. All opinions in my review are my own and I did not receive any other compensation. As always I am providing links to the book for your convenience.

Parragon Books sent us a copy of the soon-to-be-released The Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen retold by Mandy Archer. Now you know we love our fairy tales. We have read many fairy tales and versions of fairy tales with our Fairy Tales in Different Cultures Series. However we have not read too many of Hans Christian Andersen's tales.

Princess in Black and the Perfect Princess Party -- Book Review & Costume

Disclosure: Candlewick Press gave me an advance copy of this book free of charge to 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.

Have you discovered The Princess in Black yet? I wrote about our discovery of this amazing series back in July. Hazel chose The Princess in Black as her prize for finishing the Barnes and Noble Summer Reading Program. It had been a tough choice, but she was really glad with the outcome!! This became one of her favorite books ever. Then we discovered that a new Princess in Black book was coming out October 13th and from Candlewick Press--one of our favorite publishers. I asked for a review copy and they sent it right away. Can I tell you how excited Hazel was to have the second book in the series months early? Oh, my, she has been telling everyone about it. Anyway, today we are sharing The Princess in Black and The Perfect Princess Party by Shannon Hale and Dean Hale and illustrated by LeUyen Pham. 

Coastal Crafts -- Book Review

 Disclosure: Lark Crafts 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. 

We have been having a heat wave here in Massachusetts this week. It ended today with some much needed rain. However it made me not want to give up the feeling of summer. Hazel is back in school now and I actually took a part-time job to fill my days a bit while she is there, but I still want summer back. How about you? Well I found a wonderful way to preserve some beach memories and they are from Coastal Crafts by Cynthia Shaffer.  

I fell in love with many of the crafts in this book. I love the candle on the cover, but could not find the right jar for it. I'm still looking. We do not need anymore pillows, so I skipped those for now as well. We did however enjoy making some stationary. Some of the book stationary are pictured on the back cover.

Themed Play Dates -- Oriental Trading Products Review

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 the products for your convenience but do not receive anything if you buy from them.

Perhaps it is my love of planning parties and such, but I love throwing themed play dates for Hazel and her friends and Hazel really enjoys them. This summer we have had or will have three different themed play dates and we used some products from Oriental Trading to make them even more fun. The themes are fairies, mermaids and Bible stories: Creation and Noah's Ark. 

Sharing Saturday 15-27

Thank you to everyone who shared the last two weeks!! With the USA celebrating its Independence Day last week, we did a two week long party. There were many fun ideas shared! If you have not checked them out, you should. For the sampling of ideas from the last party I went with Summer Features, Outside Summer Features and Some Favorites. Enjoy!!

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.

Mermaid Kisses and Sea Star Wishes Pajamas and Free Printables

Now Hazel and I frequent our local Gymboree store often. Someone Steve graduated from high school works there and through our visits to her we have gotten to know basically the whole staff. Hazel feels at home there and loves to go in to see if there is anything new in stock. She loves their clothes and has quite a few. A couple of weeks ago we noticed the Starfish Wish Two-Piece Short Pajamas .

Starfish Wish Two-Piece Short Pajamas

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...

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.

Easter Baskets for American Girl Dolls

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.

We have been getting ready for Easter with Hazel's dolls. We had a lot of fun filling baskets for them. Most of the supplies including the baskets came from Oriental Trading. We found a few other items elsewhere. Hazel kept making baskets while I took some pictures. She really was enjoying making them. 

Cheap Doll Finds

I found some fun doll things at some of the discount stores this week. I thought I would share them here. Let's start with our game.

Playing Grace Thomas Doll Bakery

Have you entered my current giveaway yet?

At the beginning of the year, American Girl Doll Stores introduced this year's doll of the year, Grace Thomas. Now Grace had an adventure in Paris that changes her life and she is a baker/business owner. When they introduced their new doll they gave souvenirs to people who came to see her at the store. Well, Doll Diaries had a souvenir set for a giveaway in January and I won it. Hazel was so excited!! We finally got it this weekend. Hazel immediately wanted to go through everything. She was not sure what the recipe box, recipe cards and dividers are for, but we decided she could use the box as a table for now. She put the Grace apron on her Hazel doll and created her own bakery. She used straws and cupcake liners for supplies since she was too lazy to get out her baking supplies. I however got out the baking accessories for her and set up the bakery.

Doll Valentine Play Date

 Disclosure: I was sent these craft lots 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 added links to the particular products for your convenience, but not for any compensation. 

Every year Hazel's school usually has the Friday around Valentine's off for a teacher's development day and it is right before February vacation. The past couple of years we have invited some friends over for a Valentine's Day playdate. This year we invited friends and their dolls. Two girls were able to come and the three girls had so much fun!! When they first arrived they picked out a mailbox for their doll and decorated it. I picked up small mailboxes at Target in The Spot section for $1 each. 

American Girl or 18-inch Doll Accessories from a Party Store Product Review

 Disclosure: I was sent these products to review free of charge from Shindigz Party Supplies. All opinions in this post are my own. I did not receive any other compensation for this review. I added links to the particular products for your convenience, but not for any compensation. 

Yesterday I received an email from Shindigz informing me that my DIY American Girl Themed Party had won an award (you can see the award badge on the post). I responded what a coincidence since I was about to write a review of Shindigz products to use with an 18-inch doll. So yes, here are some ideas of party supplies that work with 18-inch dolls like American Girl dolls. We are getting ready for a Valentine themed Doll Play Date later this week. Hazel invited a few of her friends and their dolls over. We are planning on having a tea party with the dolls. First of course all the dolls need tiaras. These mini tiara combs are the perfect size for the dolls.

Valentine's Gifts and Doll Party Supplies

 Disclosure: I was sent these craft lots 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 added links to the particular products for your convenience, but not for any compensation. 

Yesterday I shared Hazel's lucky ducky Valentine cards for her classmates and teacher with free printables. It is a little hard to put a card with a rubber duck into an envelope. However we wrapped them in a piece of red construction paper and then used these great We Know What Love Is stickers to seal them.  They are not pretty, but at least the card is hidden and the stickers have a Scripture and Valentine theme. (Hazel goes to a Christian school.)

DIY A Doll's Valentine's Day Box of Chocolates

Today is Multicultural Children's Book Day! Be sure to check out all the great book reviews!

Note: Links are provided for your convenience, but I receive no compensation.

While exploring one of my favorite craft stores, The Paper Source, I found these cute little heart boxes that looked like the right proportions for a doll's box of chocolate for Valentine's Day. I bought one for Hazel's dolls. Hazel of course wanted to have four. One for each doll. I bought her three more with conditions of helping clean the house today since we are snowed in. First we painted the box red both inside and out. I was going to add ribbons and flowers, but we have not gotten that far yet.

Doll Clothes from Outgrown Clothes

I usually pass Hazel's outgrown clothes to a friend who has a three-year-old girl. However there were a few I kept this time. One was a t-shirt that the tag was cut out and whoever cut it out cut the shirt as well. The second was her favorite dress (well actually I kept three favorite dresses, but I only did something with one so far) and the third is a favorite skirt. I started with the t-shirt. It had a pom pom type trim on the neck (this is what got cut) and a band at the waist. I cut the band off and then cut the neck decoration off and saved it for later. Next I got out my pattern for a BFC doll t-shirt from Beach Baby Doll Boutique. I won ten free patterns from Sylvia at Beach Baby Doll Boutique awhile ago and one of the patterns I picked was the Easiest Tee to fit BFC Ink. I have to say it really is the easiest pattern!! After completing the t-shirt I added a piece of the neck trim to the neck of the doll shirt.

DIY Doll Camping Equipment

Happy New Year!! I hope all of you have a healthy and successful 2015!! I know I am planning some exciting things for Crafty Moms Share and hope you will stay tuned. (One of the best ways to stay tuned is to subscribe to Crafty Moms Share! See the ways to do so in the right column.) I am lining up some amazing giveaways and reviews as well as fun crafts and activities to do with your child(ren). 

Today I thought I would share the main part of Hazel's birthday present from us. This year's family birthday party was American Girl Doll themed, so it seemed appropriate to give her something for her dolls. We gave her the beautiful carrying case with murphy bed from Queens Treasure for Christmas with a homemade quilt. When we were at the American Girl Doll Store for my birthday this summer, Hazel fell in love with the tent they sell. However I was not going to spend $85 on it. I figured I could come up with some way to make one. I happened to find roasting sticks on clearance for a $1 at the end of the summer and bought them thinking they could be the poles for the tent. I also saw this great tutorial over at The Frugal Crafter using cardboard to stiffen the sides, but I really wanted her tent to have a window like the one at the American Girl Doll Store. After a couple of tries I got a tent. It is not perfect and I now know what I would do differently. The first would be not bothering with the "poles".