The Doll Wardrobe

Maple's Laboratory: Gathering Supplies, Part One

2012-02-15T13:37:00.000-05:00

So we have about a hundred thousand different things we could be posting about, but we can't do it all in one day. Pacing ourselves is necessary. :-/

Plus we wanted the Activity Two pics to sit at the top of the blog for awhile. They are wonderful entries - Vote for your favs on or before February 19th. (p.s. Activity Three Pics are due March 1st.)

Today we return to the topic of Maple's Laboratory, so this is Maple posting.

Bask in my glory.

We stopped in at Michael's craft store to pick up supplies for this project. We got a lot of things, so we'll split them into 4 different posts to do them justice. We kept the store receipt (or at least we think we did) so if you want to know how much an item cost, just ask us and we'll let you know (once we find the receipt, haha).

We purchased objects to decorate the lab furniture as well as accessories to go in the lab - hopefully that makes sense. If not, you'll figure it out as we go! Haha.

For this post, we'll show you the metal accoutrements we purchased to decorate/accent our lab and the tiny vials we found. We aren't going for a contemporary, sleek look - but rather an old-fashioned, Victorian look, with some steampunky bits thrown in.

Now we were thinking of just gluing gears on our masterpiece in various places for the aesthetic, but then we watched this video and figured we needed to up our game.

We certainly don't want to end up falling on our face, like Justin Bieber's holiday music video that attempted to harness the steampunk trend. While combining it with elves laying down some hip-hop and break-dance moves, tiny orphans defying child labor laws, and the steamy fog from Michael Jackson's Captain EO set or something. Oh yeah, and that Arthur Christmas animated movie is part of this as well.

Qua? I mean, they've actually managed to make Santa's Workshop look slightly disturbing.
Just look at Justin's vest. Yikes...

Most of what we bought is designed by Tim Holtz for scrapbookers/crafters. And we also have one thing from K&Company. There are a couple more things we are looking to get, but this was what was available in that store. These items are easily purchased online through Amazon and scrapbooking supply stores. But we wanted to see them in person to get an idea of scale. Nothing like your own two eyes to make sure you like the size of something. ;-)

First we have clock faces, empty plaques, and keyholes. We have already used the plaques (in a project that we'll show you soon). The clocks and keyholes still have to have their destiny mapped out in order to maximize their awesomeness. :-D

Clock faces range from 1 1/2" to 1 3/4" in diameter. Keyholes are generally 1 1/2" high and 1" wide. Rectangular plaques are 2" high by 2 1/4" wide. The oval plaques are 2 3/4" high by 2 1/4" wide.

Then we have spinners (for the clocks), keys, and gears. We haven't used any of these yet - but again, we are plotting. Some of the keys are a bit large, but that probably won't stop us from using them somehow. They have flat-backs, fyi - so they can be glued down easily to a surface.

Spinners are sized for the clocks - so not very huge. The keys range from 1 5/8" to 3 1/2" and the gears range from 3/4" to 1".

And last but not least for today, the fantastic tiny glass vials from Tim Holtz. They are real glass, and they have real cork tops. They are amazing and we are trying to come up with ways to fill them with different substances that look legit. Flavia de Luce (one of our inspirations) has tons of glass jars full of different materials that were collected and purchased by her Great Uncle Tar de Luce. So we want a bunch of different things in our vials that she has in her lab. Then we'll have to figure out a way to make tiny, old-fashioned labels for our substances. :-D

The tallest vial is 3 inches high with cork, and the tiniest ones are 1 1/4" high with cork.

We hope you have enjoyed this first look at some of the supplies we are gathering for our Laboratory Project.

Stay tuned for more posts soon!

Activity Two Pics! Start Voting Now!

2012-02-11T15:56:00.000-05:00

Sorry for not posting this sooner! Lots of little technical difficulties added up to a long delay with this post.

Here are all of the entries we received for Activity Two of the 2012 Grand Photo Contest! There are 64 in total - Thank you for entering everyone!

(63rd and 64th ones were added a couple hours after we posted this because they were missing)

The theme was Holiday/Celebration. Here is our explanation for the Activity Two theme:

"Show us your doll(s) celebrating and having some happy good times. Your pic can be related to a holiday - any holiday from throughout the year and throughout the world. If you want to show us a pic about Halloween, or Kwanzaa, or the Chinese New Year - go for it! Any holiday works!

Or you can show us any type of celebration - like a birthday, quinceanera, graduation, wedding, etc. Show us what is special about the holiday or celebration you have chosen!"

The entries are wonderful - So be sure to vote for your favorites by emailing nora.demington@gmail.com.

We won't use your email address in any way.

You can vote for more than one picture.

You can vote for yourself.

If you can't email us, feel free to vote by comment.

Your commented vote will not be published.

One set of votes per person.

Please send in your votes within one week, so that is anytime

on or before Sunday, February 19th.

Let the peoples know that you liked their pic(s)!

PLEASE DOUBLE-CHECK YOUR ENTRY.

If we missed an entry, messed up your caption, or there is something wrong with your pic, let us know asap.

p.p.s. Start thinking up what you'll do for your Activity Three "Being Charitable" photos -- those will be due March 1st, just to give y'alls a little extra time.

The entries... in no particular order....

Photo Number One

"One popular Victorian celebration was May Day. People would dance around a May pole, then leave baskets of flowers on the doorknobs of their friends' and neighbors' houses. In this picture, Nellie, Lily, and Emily are dancing around the May pole holding their cone-shaped May baskets of flowers."

Photo Number Two

"Who doesn't LOVE cake!!!!"

Photo Number Three

"I picked 4th of July - go red, white, and blue! Every Independence Day, we celebrate with a cook-out picnic with friends and family. I wanted to do this for my entry, so I went to work creating the scene and got creative. It's winter, right, so there's nothing around to remind you of July, there are no fireworks, and the parks and picnic spots are unusable. I kept thinking about what to do, and finally figured it out. I taped blue flannel fabric to my wall to make the sky, and cut out paper grass which I later taped to 'the sky'. I grabbed a red and white checked shirt that I got from the thrift store and folded it into the space to be the picnic blanket. I dressed Ruthie in her most patriotic outfit, and placed a thermos, sandwich, and apple right where I wanted them. I used a play-food plate for the sandwich, and left some crumbs on the 'blanket'. Then I realized that no picnic is complete without pesky ants! So I hopped onto the computer and printed of a whole bunch of ant templates, which I cut out and added to the scene. During the editing process I added a flag and fireworks, since I couldn't get my hands on either of those props in time (not that real fireworks would be a good idea inside, lol). And that's 4th of July! (PS. There is no sun!!! AGH!)"

Photo Number Four

This is Jordan (blond AGD) and Kat (red head Springfield Collections doll. Christmas is their favorite time of year and they love the snow, but they live in Los Angeles and do not get any snow. So they put fake snow up and start decorating.

Photo Number Five

HAPPY NEW YEARS!!

The new years celebration is for celebrating the new year :D

(This is Kiana and Blake watching the Fireworks)

Photo Number Six

Katie loves delivering valentines to all of her friends. She also enjoys dressing up for the occasion!

Photo Number Seven

This picture my daughter took is of a "welcome to the family" celebration.

After Christmas she purchased MAG #44 (Nicole) and that is who Kit and Olivia

are welcoming to the family. They are having a "first night in your new

home" sleepover! :) They made a sign for her and are enjoying some popcorn,

drinks and snacks along with Coconut and Sugar. Looks like Coconut really

wants that popcorn! Lol :) I know this isn't an official holiday or

celebration but she wanted to do it this way. It's also dark as to show

it's at night.

Photo Number Eight

"To celebrate Valentine's day, we make cheerful paper heart garlands and hang them on our windows!"

Photo Number Nine

"Julie celebrates easter with her dog."

Photo Number Ten

"While thinking of suitable holidays to use for their Round 2 photo, the girls decided Valentine's Day would be most appropriate considering it's just around the corner! So after many hours of preparation in outfits, locations, food, decoration, and many other subjects, they present to you their Valentine's Day party! Enjoy browsing! :)"

Photo Number Eleven

"This is Samantha and she is welcoming a new baby sister!"

Photo Number Twelve

"I know a lot of people will most likely be doing this one, but I love all the pink in Valentine's Day! I decided to set up a party scene and make it as realistic as I possibly could. I hung pink, white, and red balloons upside down to create a 'ceiling' if you will, and taped the ties to my actual ceiling. Below the balloons, I taped a group of hearts, to make the theme obvious. I spent half an hour covering the 'table' box in two pieces of fabric and pinning the ends out of sight in such a way that you couldn't really tell what was done. Then I set the table with the cups and saucers, and put my version of Bakerella's (a baking blog, and more) milkshake cupcakes (scaled down) onto the saucers as the dessert. I dressed Ruthie in her custom ladybug dress, and Addy in DolzDreamzzz'z (on Etsy) Shirts and Skirt and Interchangeable Headband Combo Outfit, using only the pink half. And then, ta-da! My masterpiece was done, and ready for entry! (PS. I totally "HEART IT"!!!)"

Photo Number Thirteen

Photo Number Fourteen

"Ashley-Rose is having a lovely time celebrating Easter! Spring is her favorite time of the year and she loves doing things outside! She is wearing her one of her cutest outfits and is ready to roll! Ashley-Rose is egg hunting and she has only one more egg to find."

Photo Number Fifteen

"A cute pic for Valentine's Day, each doll with a special valentine to celebrate!"

Photo Number Sixteen

"I decided to do a wedding for my Celebration. Here you see my doll Ruby as the bride.

Cue the Organist!"

Photo Number Seventeen

"Jackie and Felicity finish their cupcakes at Jackie's birthday party. Jackie is thanking Felicity for coming."

Photo Number Eighteen

"Nicki and Chocolate Chip are enjoying Mardi Gras together, complete with kings cake!"

Photo Number Nineteen

"I chose birthday, and decided to make my photo seem to say party without showing a party scene. So I chose balloons, one doll, and a gift bag. I didn't have the ability to use helium, so I blew the balloons up myself. First, the balloons were scrubbed on top of my little sister's head to create electricity and then stuck to the wall for a little while before they fell down. Then I tried double stick tape, and boy, was that a nightmare too! But finally, I got them to stay, and they haven't come down yet. I used double stick tape again to make the balloons' ties stay in Nellie's hand; although they preferred to stick to mine. I dressed Nellie in the top, headband, and tie from DolzDreamzzz's (on Etsy) Butterflies & Blue Skies Outfit, and changed out the skirt with a pair of jeans. The bag was from Christmastime, but looked the most versatile out of what was available to me, so I picked it and stuffed it with Happy Birthday tissue paper. I would have preferred taking the picture outside in the sun and in the summer, but I did the best with what I had."

Photo Number Twenty

"Chinese New Year."

Photo Number Twenty-One

"It's Lanie's birthday! Rebecca, Kit, and Penelope decided to join her for this exciting event. Lanie is about to blow out the candle, and the girls are really excited. In front of the table are Lanie's many presents, which she can't wait to open!"

Photo Number Twenty-Two

"Happy Birthday Alyssa! Alyssa is celebrating her birthday, and she received a pink unicorn. She is so excited, it's just what she has been wanting."

Photo Number Twenty-Three

Below is a picture of Alyssa in a blue wedding dress.

Beside her is an open present , Yank (the dog), Cassie, her bridesmaid, and a beautiful white horse.

I chose the celebration of a wedding because it can be the happiest (and most stressful) day of your life!

Photo Number Twenty-Four

"Rebecca's favorite holiday is her

birthday because she gets to have a party with her friends, gets

treated like a princess AND gets cake. What could be better?"

Photo Number Twenty-Five

"It shows my dolls and their horse Jackson (wearing a santa hat) posing with their Christmas presents and it's supposed to be a Christmas card type photo."

Photo Number Twenty-Six

A very happy unbirthday to you!

The Mad Hatter and Alice have been waiting for you to join their unbirthday Tea Party!

"Now, How about a nice cup of tea?"

Photo Number Twenty-Seven

"May Day is Lei Day in Hawaii"

On May Day it is a tradition to give a Lei to someone else by placing the floral necklace around their neck. May Day is a celebration of Ohana and the Aloha Spirit.

Kanani is offering Jensen a Lei on May Day. Later they will be joining in the islands festivities such as hula, lei making and the Lei Queen Parade.

Photo Number Twenty-Eight

"Hi, I have chosen the Christmas Holiday, where its winter with snow. (:"

Photo Number Twenty-Nine

"Trick or treat," says Samantha and her friends.

"Here's your candy whats your costumes?" says Mrs lady.

"I'm a fairy!" says Kailey. "I'm an Indian!" says Kaya.

"I'm a princess!" says Rebbecca. "And I'm a ballerina!" says Samantha.

Photo Number Thirty

"The girls at St. Therese Academy are really excited. That's not surprising: it's the last day of school! Here, Melody and some of her friends chat in the courtyard."

Photo Number Thirty-One

"For my holiday themed photo, I thought why not make it a Roman Holiday! Samantha is dressed up as Audrey Hepburn in Roman Holiday and having a wonderful time pretending she is in Rome! Because any day can be a holiday, right? "

Photo Number Thirty-Two

"Dakota is convinced that every day is a holiday celebration when balloons are involved!"

Photo Number Thirty-Three

6 Dolls....... 1 Golden Egg

Easter is a special time of the year for us dolls. After we come home from church, our human hosts an egg hunt. See those silly colored Easter eggs? They don't matter- the only thing I can focus on is reaching the 1 and only golden egg. This part of the egg hunt is intense and in slow motion. Oh just a few steps away, I can literally hear the Halleluiah Chorus!

Photo Number Thirty-Four

"Josefina celebrates a happy Chinese New Year by wearing a lucky red dress and holding a dragon head such as that used in the traditional Dragon Dance. She stands in front of a background of brocade silk and a wall-hanging of Chinese characters."

Photo Number Thirty-Five

"AnneMarie (Emily) is recycling at her school's Green Day celebration!"

Photo Number Thirty-Six

"This is a Thanksgiving celebration."

Photo Number Thirty-Seven

"My favorite holiday/celebration is Christmas. I L♥VE Christmas! My picture shows Felicity with her presents on Christmas morning, just before she opens them. There was no more Christmas wrapping paper available, so I got some polka dot paper from the dollar store, and wrapped my props. The boxes are only wrapped where you can see them, but they look complete - I already fooled my sisters with them, lol! I took three branches from our tree and placed them in my photo cubby, to create a Christmasy background, and dressed Felicity in a green nightgown that matches her eyes, the paper, and the branches really well. I couldn't decide on just one picture, so I did a collage. "

Photo Number Thirty-Eight

"Janie, Caitlin and Jess love to make homemade Valentines."

Photo Number Thirty-Nine

"I decided to do Halloween because I like all the spooky decorations. I also love to go trick-or-treating. In my picture, Kit went trick-or-treating as a black cat. One of the treats that Kit wanted to get for Halloween was a ghost sucker. Kit's first stop was Felicity's house. When Kit came to Felicity's door, Felicity told Kit that she made them just for her and with love."

Photo Number Forty

"All the doll BFF's are having a Valentines Day party! Marie-Grace gets the honor of pulling the winning entry out of the raffle bag! Everyone is so excited! (Dolls shown are Kanani, Lanie, Nikki, and Marie-Grace)."

Photo Number Forty-One

"When Suzy walked into her living room her 3 best friends gave her an 11th birthday surprise celebration!"

Photo Number Forty-Two

Our dolls decided that they wished to enter with Halloween photos as that is ther favorite holiday.

From left to right:

Beth is dressed as the Native American, Katie is the Medieval Princess, Andy is dressed as the puple Lego, and Kendall is a Jedi Knight. The camera caught the group as they paused against the fence while trick-or-treating. We had a very warm Halloween this year on the Mid-Atlantic, so the boys were happier in shorts. Katie complained about her velvet being too warm.

Photo Number Forty-Three

"Lily Rose and Callie get ready for a Valentine's Day party!"

Photo Number Forty-Four

We decided to showcase a winter birthday celebration as we get awfully tired of American Girl only recognizing spring birthdays. For her 14th birthday on January 15, Maura decided on a small party in the local ice cream parlor. Her two closest friends sang 'Happy Birthday' as she pondered what exactly to wish for. "What about a new American Girl doll?" she thought, before realizing that that wish had already come true (see her new Ruthie doll in the bottom right corner?). "Oh, wait, I know what to wish for!" Maura thought excitedly. She made her wish and blew out her multi-colored candles one by one. What do you think she wished for? If I tell you, it might not come true! Anyway, a fun time was had by all three girls, and they are now anticipating the next birthday to celebrate.

Photo Number Forty-Five

"When I was littler, my favorite holiday that we celebrated in school was Valentine's Day. I loved going to the store to pick out Valentines and candy for all my friends, and then putting them in everyone's mailboxes that they'd made earlier that week. In this picture, Kit and Felicity are celebrating Valentine's Day at school. Their class decorated the classroom with pretty hearts, and there are already a few Valentines in their mailboxes. Kit made a special Valentine just for Felicity and was so excited about it, that she couldn't wait to get to school to give it to her."

Photo Number Forty-Six

"I chose Church for my Celebration because at my church, there is always singing and/or shouting, because it is wonderful that the Lord gave us his son to die on the cross.

During Church, the preacher is preaching, Macy (MG) is listening to him, Cyela (Cecile) is shouting (in a good way), and Brittney is praying."

Photo Number Forty-Seven

"Charlie's favorite thing about Valentine's Day is surprising someone she loves with something special. Hayden's favorite thing about Valentine's Day is CHOCOLATE!!!!" :)

Photo Number Forty-Eight

"The Crazy Doll Lady & Girls!!

All my nieces dolls, mine and Nana’s at the coast, I crocheted everyone swimsuits and we had a summer seaside celebration and picnic in our cabin on the ocean side. They threw their new beach balls up in the air and had tons of fun."

Photo Number Forty-Nine

"Susie and Natalie didn't want to do much for Valentines Day. They just set up a few decorations, gave each other card, and enjoyed being together."

Photo Number Fifty

"Here is my doll Elizabeth setting up the Christmas Tree!"

Photo Number Fifty-One

"My girls spent all morning making cookies and valentines.

Here are some for you! We hope you like them!"

Photo Number Fifty-Two

"For Chinese New Year, Ivy, Julie and all the dolls from Sweet Pea Cove decided to celebrate by holding a parade complete with a long, red dragon. Ivy, having it be her idea, got to lead alongside her best friend Julie."

Photo Number Fifty-Three

"It's Valentine's Day and Charlotte(MYAG #55) is giving Rebecca a Red, Heart shaped Pillow."

Photo Number Fifty-Four

"Thanksgiving Feast!

Chrissa, Rebecca, and Millie celebrate Thanksgiving with delicious food!"

Photo Number Fifty-Five

Happy Saint Lucia Day!!

This is a tradition me and my family celebrate that is from Sweden!! The tradition is where the oldest daughter gets up early in the morning to make breakfast for her family and serves it to them in bed. When you go to present them with their meal you have to wear a white dress with a red sash around your waist and a wreath with candles lit. Since I am 13 I light 3 candles and next year on December 13 I will light 4 candles and yes it is real fire that is why you must be really careful! Saint Lucia day is every year on December 13, the story is a girl name Lucia got up on the 13th in Sweden on one early morning and made breakfast for all the elder ones in her village this was during the winter in north Sweden there they have harsh winters very cold! Lucia walked to every door presenting them food also walking around her village wearing the candles on her head. And that is why I celebrate this tradition with my family and my dolls.

Photo Number Fifty-Six

"I decided to combine holidays and have Emily dress up as a valentine for Halloween! Isn't Emily cute? I made the big red heart out of cardboard and the candy bag was a quick throw-together of purple fabric and an Altoids box. Happy Valentine's Day! :)"

Photo Number Fifty-Seven

"Molly and Rilla are having the time of their lives at one last winter ball. All the friendly people, glittering decorations, and glowing lights make for one wonderful night."

Photo Number Fifty-Eight

"Two ladies meeting at a Christmas party, while Kirsten prefers to sit, Josefina is intent on standing."

Photo Number Fifty-Nine

Fiesta Fun

Dakota took a blind whack at the flower piñata that was stuffed full of candy. Sofia’s 14^th birthday party sure was a lot of fun! She thought of the banner that read “FELIZ CUMPLEAÑOS” and all of the delicacies that filled the large table. In an effort to burst open the piñata and shower all the girls with candy, Dakota took another smack at the hanging flower.

Photo Number Sixty

"Julie, Ivy, Delilah, and Birdie are celebrating Valentine's Day by decorating fun Valentine's!"

Photo Number Sixty-One

Ms. Elizabeth Melody Evans will soon be Mrs. Douglas...right before the ceremony, she pauses for one last reassuring look in the mirror: her mother's veil, and a dress hand-sewn by her sister..."It's perfect!" she sighs to herself as she lifts her bouquet and heads down the aisle for the biggest celebration of her life.

Photo Number Sixty-Two

"Cassie's Birthday Party"

Photo Number Sixty-Three

These are my dolls (Julie, Kaitlyn(MyAG), Chrissa, and Josefina)

on a very exciting Christmas morning.

Photo Number Sixty-Four

Kanani makes valentines for her friends.

You've reached the bottom of this post! Huzzah!

Please vote on or before February 19th!

Email your vote to nora.demington@gmail.com.

Or if you can't send in an email, please comment below with your vote.

Thank You!

Meet Kidz n Cats Jakob!

2012-02-09T21:48:00.001-05:00

Warning: Long Post.

Yep, even though Mike was on his way here before Jakob was - Jakob ended up showing up first - today in fact!

If you have no idea what I am talking about you'll want to check out this post here: http://thedollwardrobe.blogspot.com/2012/02/we-are-super-excited.html

We ordered two Kidz n Cats dolls - Mike and Jakob. They are designed by Sonja Hartmann (German doll designer) and marketed by Heart and Soul and distributed by Madame Alexander here in the USA - or something along those lines. Primarily they are marketed to Europeans. So it is a rather confusing task to find them online for the US or Canadian market because there are like 100 company names associated with the line.

You can buy Kidz n Cats from the Madame Alexander website - but they are also available from individual shops and sellers, like the Toy Shoppe and Doll Market, as well as Ebay sellers and on Amazon. So it is best to shop around online first before buying in order to get the best deal. The prices from place to place vary quite a bit.

I know y'all expected us to look like this when Jakob arrived today:

But we didn't. Us girls were trying to play it cool. ;-)

The girls just hung out casually as Penny cut open his box and then I took various pics.

So it was really just me being a crazy fangirl with a camera.

Jakob. We knew our balloon of excitement would burst - and it has. He is a very nice doll - but we don't think he is really compatible with AGs. His face is a lot smaller and it looks a lot more realistic than the AG girls. And overall he has a much smaller, slimmer build and is not really as tall as them. Here he is with Kenna.

Yeah. Doesn't quite work for us. Maybe we'll get used to it, but initial reaction is no - these boys will be in their own photo shoots.

Here he is in his box, but released from the ties that bind and doing a dance:

Out of his box, sans shoes.
He is a cutie.

He comes with a form to join the Kidz n Cats doll club, and
a little catalog that has a paper doll and a few outfits in it to cut out:

With Kenna again, who is wearing a Sophia's Collection dress from Ebay, and
the leggings and shoes from McKenna's School Outfit:

Jakob's Face

As you can tell he has a lot of facepaint and he's got those long, long eyelashes. Well one set of his eyelashes was already coming off. Quality? Not quite. Either the glue stinks or this "brand-new" doll has had a hard life in his box. Also, his left eye (right while facing him) has a small crack in the corner of it. Yeah. :-(

So we decided we'd just take both sets of eyelashes off of him and store them for now. Here he is without his long lashes, looking slightly shocked. He still has light lashes painted onto his face, as you can see.

His cheeks are totally rosy red. Sure it was cold outside, but once he was inside long enough - he didn't need to look like he was permanently blushing. So Penny said she was going to Magic Eraser some of that color off of his cheeks. She also thought he had a bit of a doll-zombie look to eyes, so she added a bit more brown lashes with acrylic paint to the corners of his eyelids during his "makeover" for more definition and to tone down the whites of his eyes.

He doesn't look 100% different and one could say his still looks feminine, but we think this will do.

Three phases next to each other: 1) Out of box 2) Without eyelashes 3) With a lil extra eyelash paint and less cheek blush.

Jakob's Wig

Dry, stiff, thin, and not easy to manage. We have read that the first edition of the Sonja Hartmann Kidz n Cats had much better wigs before Madame Alexander was involved. This is a pretty bad wig, in our opinion. We'd change it up, but it's almost not worth the effort since Mike and Jakob are pretty much going to be all we get as far as Kidz n Cats, and it's not like we'll be buying them a huge wardrobe given their size difference in comparison to AGs.

And even though the wig quality is bad, the color and shape kind of suit him. We'll just deal with it for now. We can do more photos of his wigs from various sides and angles if you want - just let us know.

Jakob's Body

We haven't stripped him down to his nuddie pants yet - just his undies. But his body has a lot of scuff marks on it already. He is supposed to be brand-new, so we aren't sure what that is about. And he has stray dark marks on one hand. Can't win.

His legs are loose, but he can still manage to stand with some coaxing - kind of an expected issue when you have knee joints. His arms are tighter than Scrooge's purse-strings before his Christmas revelation. And this makes them quite hard to move. Of course, it also means they will hold a pose. If you can manage to get them into a position that doesn't look silly.

Jakob's Clothing

Shoes are too big even with him wearing thick socks. They just fall off his feet, and being loafers there is no way to fix that besides stuffing them with tissue paper. The design of them is nice. Quality is a bit cheapish. And it would be nice if they stayed on his feet.

Jacket is nice. It is lined and is very detailed. Its material is kinda lightweight though. It does fit the AGs. Which is very nice. Jakob's under shirt (tank top), boxers, and shirt are very nice quality items. We didn't have any problem getting his shirts off, but they don't have backs that open. You have to pull them off over his head. The pants have a button closure that is easy to open, not so easy to close. But besides that the quality of the pants is great.

Kenna borrowing Jakob's jacket:

Besides the scarf, hat, and jacket - we don't think that any of his other clothing pieces will really work for the AGs. We'll eventually do some more testing to find out for sure though. :-)

The hat and scarf oozed some sort of oil onto the cardboard interior of the box. Yep. Nice, right? They are fine, don't even feel oily at all. They are just normal knit items. The scarf is in two parts btw. The clothing they were near is fine, and Jakob looks fine - not like extra oily or something. But for some reason the box doesn't look fine and it lines up with where the hat and scarf were inside of it. So we don't have a clue what the knit items are oozing, but we'll keep them in a plastic bag unless they are being used for photo shoots. :-/

Maybe Jakob's wig is bad because the knit hat oozed something onto it while he lived in the box? We'll rinse his hair out a bit to see if that makes a difference.

Hmmm, what else? Not sure what else to say.

After his makeover, we changed him into a Sophia's Collection tee shirt we bought off Ebay. Yeah, it is a girl's shirt, but it works as a boy shirt for us. And then we posed him with Sun Ji and Sabrina to see how their facemolds would look with his.

Sun Ji's shirt is also Sophia's Collection from Ebay, her skirt is from Andrea Jene Threads, and her socks are from Aunt Bees Old Sew N Sew. Sabrina's two shirts are from Sew Urban Designs, as well as her necklace. Her leggings are from Lizziebee Design. And yep, those weird looking-things are Jakob's elbow joints. ;-)

Overall, we like him. He is a nice, cute doll. Not like best-quality doll we have ever seen - but certainly remarkable. We will keep him and use him for photo shoots. But he wasn't really what we wanted 100%. We'd like a boy doll that can hang out with the AGs without looking out of place, and we don't think this is it. He is just scaled too small - like an Elvish princeling, Legolas's younger brother or something. Maybe Jakob and Mike can have their own adventures here though. :-)

Any questions, comments, thoughts?

Feel free to share!

And feel free to comment with specific photo requests.

Maple's Laboratory: Painting Kanani's Shave Ice Stand

2012-02-08T16:02:00.001-05:00

Yo, Maple here.

Hopefully you've been following our posts and you know that I, Magnificent Maple, am crafting my very own laboratory for "Poisons and Criminal Investigations." My inspirations are Flavia de Luce and Sherlock Holmes.

The first step to create my lab was purchasing McKenna's Loft Bed Set. I did a couple posts on that set already (more to come). When we showed you the bed I told you that we were going to paint it a different color.

In order to pick a color for the bed, I decided to paint Kanani's Shave Ice Stand as an experiment. I plan to incorporate the stand into my laboratory, while still being able to use it as a food stand if we wanted to.

(Is it painting or repainting?

I mean, someone already painted it when it was made in China...)

We had a low-gloss painter's Indian Red Oxide acrylic lying around that looked intriguing, so I swathed it on the stand while no one was watching me.

After each coat dried, I added another. I ended up with lots of coats of paint. a) I wanted to hide the pink as much as possible and b) I wanted it to look like something you'd find in an old lab; a piece of furniture that has probably been repainted/painted many times.

Here is the initial product:

There are still spots left to paint on it, including the interior of the back. But I ran out of paint in my attempt to make it look the way I wanted it to. More paint is on backorder. :-( But hopefully it will come soon.

As for the loft bed, we plan on painting it the same color. We tried a couple different paints on it already - but none of them looked as awesome as this does. And this paint adhered well to both "wood" and plastic.

Also, if you didn't notice - I cut off the (pink!) flowers from the roof of the Stand and while that does help its appearance move towards being a laboratory work-space, the tiki "grass" roof is still out in the open.

Our plan is take decorative metal sheets and bend or hammer them to the shape of the roof. Then it will be a metal exhaust hood over the lab counter, instead of a tiki roof. But at the same time, we can remove the metal hood at anytime and turn it back into a tiki stand. We will keep you informed on how that part of the project goes. ;-)

Mo' pics, painted counter with bright flash:

Painted parts with less bright flash:

Any questions? Feel free to ask!

Stay tuned for more posts soon, including the Activity Two pics.

(Those pics will probably be up Thursday night or Friday.)

Part Five of Maple's Literary Effort Posted!

2012-02-07T18:55:00.001-05:00

In case you didn't know - Maple writes stories.

Currently she posts parts of a big story over at her special blog: "Maple's Fantastic Stores."

She just posted Part Five today: http://maplesfantasticstories.blogspot.com/2012/02/part-five-dads-decision.html

Be sure to read the other four parts to catch up or remind yourself of where we are at!

Activity Two Photos Due Today!

2012-02-07T12:31:00.000-05:00

We have about 1/2 the amount of pics for this Activity as we did for Activity One, so your chances of winning are pretty high.

And remember - the theme is any holiday - from any season, and anywhere in the world - or any type of celebration.

So send in your pic in today!

nora.demington@gmail.com

Check out this linky for more info:

http://thedollwardrobe.blogspot.com/2012/02/activity-two-photos-due-february-7th.html

We Are Super-Excited!

2012-02-07T00:42:00.000-05:00

Our balloon of excitement may burst soon. But for now we are super-excited!

And we will revel in it. ;-)

Why are we excited?

The first 18" boy dolls to ever live in Badger's Wood will be arriving soon.

Whaaa?!

Yeah, boys. With their boy cooties. Penny says boys don't really have cooties... But Maple said she would conduct some scientific experiments upon their arrival to find out the truth.

Penny is excited about these two new dolls: Kidz n Cats Jakob and Mike. She has always wanted boy dolls, but whenever she sees any they don't catch her eye. When people customize an AG girl doll into a boy doll, she still sees them as girls. Just with short hairdos. :-/

And a lot of the 18" boy dolls on the market (non-customized-AGs) look very young. Even when she saw Kidz n Cats Mike for the first time on Stassy Dodge's blog, he looked really young - like a toddler, which isn't what Penny wants.

But in their meet outfits these guys do look a lot older.

See pics below. (Mike even has a tattoo!)

Aren't their clothes just amazing?!

And as you can tell they have multiple joints.

(He's in his underwear!!! Accchhhhhhhkkk!!!!!)

Bonus shots of Mike and his tattoo!

So the whole household is atwitter, as you can probably guess.

But Penny worries about three things:

a) Maybe the quality of the dolls isn't up to snuff. She worries about the quality of their wigs. Whether they can be styled easily, and also whether their eyes will have that doll-zombie look to them. Which those things will only be determined once they arrive. (Patience is a virtue, right?)

b) Maybe the Kidz n Cats dolls will look weird with the AG dolls and won't really be able to work with them in the same photo shoots. Again, this won't be determined until they arrive. Penny is telling herself that if the boys look weird with the AGs, then maybe they can just be in shots by themselves or with our Karito Kids (we have 4 of these girls).

And of course c) Whether the boys will in fact look like toddler dolls once she has them in front of her human eyeballs. *Fingers crossed that they don't look like toddlers!*

So now we are all waiting.... and waiting... and waiting.

Mike is already on his way via UPS.

He must be a bit hyper.

Jakob is being processed.

He must be a bit more on the lazy side, or perhaps just contemplative.

It all seems like it is taking 4-E-V-E-R though.

Sigh.

Kenna Returns

2012-02-06T18:26:00.000-05:00

Kenna came back into the room carrying a watch, a pair of sporty sandals, CeCe's crinoline, and her underwear from her Meet Outfit.

She proceeded to put the underwear on her head, replace her shoes with the sandals, tie the crinoline around her waist over her clothes, and hand CeCe the watch.

"Look, I accessorized just like you wanted me to," she said smiling.
"And I think this new watch Penny bought us goes well with your pajamas."

"That's not exactly the kind of accessories I had in mind. You look weird..." CeCe replied.

"Yep, I know I look silly. But I don't mind wearing underwear where everyone can it see, and I'm not embarrassed by your pantaloons thing from earlier.

I don't get embarrassed very easily.

And I do want to be your friend, CeCe. I'm sorry you thought that I didn't."

CeCe smiled at Kenna.

"Now that we look all fancy, what do you want to do now?" Kenna asked her.

"Do you want to go play the Harry Potter Lego game on the Wii?" CeCe replied.

"I overheard Nora telling the girls how much fun it was.

And while I'm not that much into Legos, I do like Wii games."

"Okay, Let's go check it out!"

Kenna and CeCe went to the living room together to play with the Wii.

The End!

Thanks for reading our story!

Stay tuned for more posts soon!

p.s. Your 2012 Grand Photo Contest Activity Two Pics are due tomorrow, February 7th.

CeCe Admits Defeat

2012-02-04T21:41:00.001-05:00

Kenna was finishing up her Lego kit when CeCe came back into the room.

"I have dressed in my overly-theatrical pajamas and I got my Kit doll to comfort me.

I guess I'll be going to bed now," CeCe sighed.

"Oh?" Kenna replied. "Those are nice pajamas."

"You really think so?"

"Yeah, I do. So I just finished building my Lego kit..."

"You did?!" CeCe beamed.

"Yeah, are you sure you don't want to play Legos? You could be Catwoman and I'll be Batman. She is stealing a diamond and Batman is trying to get it back."

"Oh. No, I don't want to be Catwoman.

I thought we could do something else. Something different."

"Like what?" Kenna asked.

"I don't know. I'm out of ideas."

Kenna left the room and came back dragging a box.

"How about this?"

"More Legos!"CeCe gasped and threw up her arms, dropping Kit in the process.

"Yeah. But this time it is Harry Potter and not superheroes.

And it's the Knight Bus, that is different than a motorcycle and a street scene," Kenna explained.

"I don't want to build that!"

"You don't like Harry Potter either?" Kenna asked.

"No. I like Harry Potter. If you drag him into the room, then I'll be interested."

"Hmmm."

"You just don't want to play with me," CeCe looked down.

"That's not true," Kenna replied.

"I think it is. I don't think you want to be friends with me. I think you are embarrassed because I wore my underwear under your dress as leggings and I looked dumb. I really am a lot cooler than that."

Kenna studied Cece and then walked out of the room.

CeCe waited for a little while, but Kenna didn't return.

"Where'd she go?" Cece said to the empty room.

Stay tuned to find out what happens next!

CeCe Changes Tactics

2012-02-04T16:18:00.001-05:00

When we last left the CeCe and Kenna saga CeCe was attempting to play with Kenna but that wasn't really working out for her. Kenna wanted to play with Legos and CeCe isn't interested in them. And yet CeCe won't play with the other dolls.

(The last post on this storyline was Jan. 20th - fyi. Where does the time go?)

CeCe returned to the doll room to find Kenna.

This time she was wearing the green, black and white AG soccer uniform.

"How about soccer? You don't like gymnastics, I guess, but maybe you will like soccer!"

"Uh...," Kenna replied.

"See, I have these cool cleats and leg guards. And here is the ball and trophy. We can play against each other and see who wins the trophy. There was a certificate of excellence too, but I must have dropped that in the hallway as I came back here. It was hard carrying it all and not dropping the ball."

"Have you played soccer before?" Kenna asked.

"Nope. You just kick a ball, though - right?"

"Eh. I'm sure there is more to it than that... But I am still putting together my Lego street scene, so I'm not ready to play soccer. Also, I'm not really sure Penny would want us kicking a ball around the house. And it's a bit too cold to go outside to play soccer."

"I guess you are probably right," CeCe pouted a little bit.

"Why don't you show off some of the stuff Penny bought us in Chicago to the other girls?"

"I don't know. They have all lived here for awhile. We are the only ones who are new.

It will be weird talking to them," CeCe replied.

"That's not true, Annalise and Addy are sorta new as well."

"Yeah, but they already have friends they hang out with," CeCe sighed.

"I'm sure they'll hang out with you, too."

"Mebbe... But it's late. I'll just get ready for bed instead."

CeCec gathered up the soccer ball and trophy and left the room. Kenna tapped her chin and thought about her. She looked at her watch and noticed it was only four in the afternoon.

She wondered if she should follow CeCe and talk with her more.

"I'll go find her after I finish this kit," she said aloud to herself.

Stay tuned to find out what happens next!

Remindery Youtube Vid: Yep, Photos Are Due Soon!

2012-02-04T14:25:00.000-05:00

Kinda self-explanatory...

Activity One Winners!

2012-02-03T12:43:00.000-05:00

Well we spent a lot of time yesterday hemming and hawing over who should win Activity One. It was a difficult decision and there were a lot of potential winners in the group. So don't feel too bad if you didn't win -- it was a tough competition for this round. Of the top 26 pictures - most of them really could have won the Activity - they were all very good!

But only two of them can win...

(Drumroll)

Photo Three and Photo Thirty-One are the winners for Activity One. :-)

They were both really creative, and in different ways!

And remember - don't be sad that you didn't win. It was a tough call to make -- and there are still two more Activities to participate in! You might be able to win one of those!

Activity Two Photos are Due February 7th.

We only have a handful of entries right now, so the chances of winning are pretty high!

You can send in Activity Two photos even if you didn't participate in Activity One.

So enter today!

Go here to learn more about Activity Two:

http://thedollwardrobe.blogspot.com/2012/02/activity-two-photos-due-february-7th.html

Activity Two Photos Due February 7th!

2012-02-01T14:32:00.001-05:00

Well, we are still tallying votes and we will probably announce the two Activity One winners tomorrow. But that doesn't mean we can't remind you that the next photo is due soon. :-)

Here is the basic info: The 2012 Grand Photo Contest consists of three main parts. Activity One is complete.

Activity Two Photos are due February 7th. And Activity Three photos will be due later in February (Date to be Determined Later).

Even if you didn't send in a pic for Activity One, you can still participate in the other Activities.

Each Activity will have 2 winners - so that is 6 winners in total. The Final Round - Show Your Creativity - will determine who gets what prizes.

Prizes: The first prize winner will get a doll - either McKenna, Lanie, MyAG #26, or MyAG #55. His/her choice. All of the dolls are brand-new and in their boxes with their books or Innerstar U items.

The five other winners will each receive a $20 American Girl gift card.

For this contest anybody can enter, you don't have to be a blog follower or even be in the USA -- but if you are younger than 18 please get your parent/guardian's permission to participate, and if you are younger than 13, please get your parent/guardian's help with participation.

What type of photo should you send in for Activity Two?

Activity Two: Holiday/Celebration

Show us your doll(s) celebrating and having some happy good times. Your pic can be related to a holiday - any holiday from throughout the year and throughout the world. If you want to show us a pic about Halloween, or Kwanzaa, or the Chinese New Year - go for it! Any holiday works!

Or you can show us any type of celebration - like a birthday, quinceanera, graduation, wedding, etc. Show us what is special about the holiday or celebration you have chosen!

Email us the photo at nora.demington@gmail.com. And include some info about the holiday or celebration you chose. Due Date: February 7th, 2012.

Then a week of voting will commence, Penny chooses two winners from the top 50%, and those peoples will be entered in the "Final Round." (Same schtick as for Activity One.)

Things to Keep in Mind:

Youtube video and slideshows are okay, but we'd prefer a photo.

You can include more than one doll in your photos. Your dolls do not have to be AG dolls.

You do not have to enter all of the activities, you can do one or two or all. But if you win an activity we do want you to participate in the Final Round.

If you win one activity, you can still enter the other activities and get votes -- but each person who enters can only win one activity -- that way we have 6 different people in the Final Round.

If you miss an activity, that is fine -- you don't have to participate in all three activities to be in the contest -- but doing all 3 does increase your chances of getting into the Final Round.

No human faces in the photos please -- remember: privacy is important! Hands are okay -- but no actually identifiable people.

Our email address is nora.demington@gmail.com. You will be using this to send in photos and to vote.

If you are younger than 13 have your parent/guardian email the photos to us (remember: internet safety is important!).

We will be posting the photos here at The Doll Wardrobe - so make sure your photo is something that you don't mind if the whole world sees it. (Again, this is why you and/or your family really shouldn't be in the photo.)

Readers will be asked to vote for their favorite photos. They can vote for more than one photo. Voting will be done by email -- to vote you just email me at nora.demington@gmail.com and say something like "I vote for photo #8." Everyone will have a week to vote, from the point when we post the photos. You can vote for yourself.

The Doll Wardrobe does not share or sell your email to anyone. Only Penny sees your emails.

At the end of the contest we will email the winners for her/his shipping address. (This is why it is important you have a parent/guardian's permission to enter if you are under 18).

Any questions? You probably have some -- so feel free to ask! :-D

And remember, Activity Two Photos are due Tuesday, February 7th!

Please email your photos to nora.demington@gmail.com.

The best way to send them is as an attachment.

It gives us a better quality pic to post on zee blog.

Good luck everyone!

Last Day to Vote for Activity One Pics!

2012-01-31T16:30:00.004-05:00

Yeppers everyone - today is the last day to submit your votes for Activity One photos!

Check out all 52 entries here:

http://thedollwardrobe.blogspot.com/2012/01/winter-wonderland-photos-vote-begins.html

Email your votes to nora.demington@gmail.com before tomorrow. One set of votes per activity per person. You can vote for more than photo. You can vote for your own photo.

And FYI:

Activity Two photos - "Holiday/Celebration" - are due February 7th.

Anyone can enter Activity Two - even people who didn't enter Activity One.

Any questions??? Feel free to ask!

CeCe's 'Bun' for Inky

2012-01-30T19:29:00.000-05:00

Whattup peoples! Sorry for the lack of posts. We are working on several things for you from many different directions and that is taking a bit of time.

Reminders about the 2012 Grand Photo Contest:

Votes for Activity One are due in by tomorrow, January 31st.

And Activity Two pics are going to be due on February 7th.

Today we have a brief interruption in our other two main storylines (Maple's Laboratory and the CeCe and Kenna Saga). [And of course we have sixty other things on our to-do list: Agent S stories, doll jewelry tutorials, holiday photos, outdoor photos, recent purchases photos... the list goes on and on and on... we just can't keep up with ourselves!)

We wanted to show CeCe's hair in our version of a bun. It's not perfect, but twisting her hair into a sleek, smooth bun wasn't going to happen for us. Haha. Inky asked to see her hairstyle from the back - so that is what we are attempting to accomplish.

CeCe is wearing McKenna's School Outfit sweater and skirt, along with socks from Aunt Bees Old Sew N Sew, and AG shoes from a different outfit. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail and then secured with one loop of a hair elastic. Her ponytail was then twisted into a bun-like shape and secured with the rest of the elastic. Her curls do peek out - which we like. I am sure someone more talented could really tame her hair a bit more, but we like the bun a little unruly. ;-)

More pics!

Hope this was useful to those of you considering Cecile!

Stay tuned for more posts!

Maple Insists: McKenna's Hamster Set

2012-01-25T19:45:00.002-05:00

Ah, the elusive hamster.

AG FINALLY makes a rodent pet set --- I mean how many kids out there have hamsters, guinea pigs, mice, rats, and chinchillas???? A LOT right? --- And they bundle it with a $225 bed set. Which will then cost $23 more to ship, never mind the taxes if you live a state with an AG store. Qua? This seems really dumb to us.

AG, are you reading this? The hamster set being only available with the bed was dumb. I, Maple Twiggs, declare it to be so on January 25th, 2012: Dumb, dumb, dumby-dumb-dumb.

Sure, sure you could say that it was brilliant marketing and business strategy, blah-blah-blah. I don't give a billy goat's gruff. Simply said, a lot of kids want that hamster and you have made it impossible for them to get it.

The spirit of AG should be charity and understanding. Forcing people to buy a $225 bed, to tell their children they can't have it, or to search Ebay endlessly for just the hamster part of the bed set is not charitable nor understanding. :-(

I wag my butt at you AG.

Le sigh. Not really much one little doll can do in the face of corporate greed - but I have said my piece.

Now I will discuss the hamster set itself. It is cute and sufficient. The hamster is super tiny, like a bebe ham. He is a little bit over an inch long. So in approximate scale, that would be a three-inch-long hamster in real life. Tiny lil dude. We haven't read the McKenna books yet - so we can't tell you the kind of hamster he is supposed to be. But this is like the size of a Siberian dwarf or something. See my collage below.

He is a molded piece of plastic that is flocked. Then his eyes are painted a black color that will pierce into your soul. My hamster's eyes are a little large. I think he was eating some special brownies or something...

I still have to figure out what to name him, and I am not sure if I will keep him as part of my laboratory. True, a hamster in a science lab makes sense. But have you seen the gear he comes with? Totally Barbie-plastic-happy stuff. Fine for people who like that. But not overly convincing as something that should be in a science lab. At least the hamster itself isn't a chunk of hot pink plastic. Although AG probably considered that option...

I will probably end up revising his equipment or making a new tank thingy for him.

If anyone has any suggestions for revising the equipment or finding new stuff,
please feel free to share them in the comments.

The hamster equipment includes the tank/cage, a wheel, and a food dish. The water bottle is permanently attached (as far as we can tell) to side of the tank. Once everything is inside there is pretty much no space for the hamster to move. Sigh. His materialistic needs have crowded him out of his own home. Sounds familiar.... (looks around at a room full of dolls).

So here are the rest of the pics. If anyone has any questions about this set, please let us know.

Thanks for visiting us today!

Stay tuned for more posts soon!

Winter Wonderland Photos: Voting Begins!

2012-01-23T17:36:00.004-05:00

Hola! Here are all of the entries we received for Activity One of the 2012 Grand Photo Contest! There are 52 in total - and that is AWESOME! We hope we get this many for the next two activities as well. :-)

The theme was Winter Wonderland and it was supposed to be about what winter means to you/your doll(s).

The entries are fantastic - So be sure to vote for your favorites by emailing nora.demington@gmail.com. We won't use your email address in any way.

You can vote for more than one picture.

Please send in your votes within one week, so that is anytime

on or before Tuesday, January 31st.

Let the peoples know that you liked their pic(s)!

p.s. If we missed an entry, or messed up your caption or something, let us know.

p.p.s. Start thinking up what you'll do for your Holiday/Celebration photos -- those will be due a week after voting is complete for Activity One. So that is February 7th, y'alls.

The entries... in no particular order....

Photo One

"I wanted my picture to be different than what I think other peoples photo will be like. So I added in some color, just some of it! :) I wanted my photo to be dramatic, but yet interesting. I wanted it to be a mystery of where she came from and where she is going so I didn't add any buildings or hints!

The photo is called: Lady of the Winter"

Photo Two

"Rilla pleads with Molly to take down the Christmas tree. 'It's three weeks past New Years, for crying out loud!'"

Photo Three

"This is Nora (#55), walking through the wardrobe into Narnia. Sadly, we don't get much snow in Cincinnati, so we make a fake snow day! Fortunately, fake snow is a lot warmer than real snow!"

Photo Four

"This is Macy, the Ice Princess. Every Winter, she floats down with the snow and stays there, until it melts and comes again the next time it snows."

Photo Five

"Since snow doesn't exist in the deserty climate in which we live, we used some of our holiday decorating items to give us the look of a winter wonderland. Renee modeled for our photo. To us, a winter wonderland is something like a sense of awe. Walking out your door and stopping dead in your tracks at the beauty of nature. "

Photo Six

"Imagine a girl walking out in the snow for a moments refreshment before a snack."

Photo Seven

"Here in California, we usually only dream of snow. Our 'Winter Wonderland' usually consists of rain, rain, and then some more rain! But that doesn't stop Hayden from enjoying the wintry weather. As she likes to say when quoting one of her favorite literary heroines, rain 'provides so much more scope for the imagination.' She loves wandering through the drizzly weather, armed with her favorite rainbow-colored umbrella, making up stories in her head about castles and princesses. And she always dreams that maybe, just once, the rain will turn to snow! :)"

Photo Eight

"Here is Jess enjoying a cup of caramel hot cocoa while watching the horses play in the snow."

Photo Nine

Mia: "We have got to find a bigger hill."

Lexi: "Yeah, this thing is practically doll-sized!"

Mia and Lexi decided they wanted to go sledding for this photo contest,

but this was all they could find! They were very disappointed.

Photo Ten

"When I saw the theme I almost immediately thought of my own winter wonderland. When most people think of a winter wonderland they think beautiful, white, soft snow. However, my winter wonderland is at a beach. Warm water, warm sand, and warm sun. Living on an island is an awesome experience. Having Nani (Kanani) as a friend is good 'cause she can show me the ins and outs of island living. The collage I did is just one fun day at a beautiful beach. From making sand castles, to making sand angels. From taking pictures, to eating ice cream. Even just admiring the beautiful view is amazing. Hope everyone enjoys my winter wonderland!!!"

Photo Eleven

"Ariel is not used to cold weather, but when her cat got sick, she had to take her out, no matter the weather. She grabbed her nearest coat (she forgot her boots and gloves!) and sled out with Pepper in the lead. When she finally saw the vet she was over joyed."

Photo Twelve

"To me, a winter wonderland involves snow in two different ways. One is when snow is falling, and I have a book, comfy seat, and hot cocoa, so that I can be all cozy while I watch it fall. The other is when I'm outside playing in it, and can be in a snowball fight. For Activity One photo inspiration, I picked the latter.

My entry depicts a chilly day in mid-January when almost all the dolls are outside playing (some had colds or broken bones and had to stay inside) in the snow. Gracie is hiding behind the tree on the left, and Nellie and Addy are hiding behind the tree on the right. The picture is amusing because Ruthie 2 (we call her Ruthie 2 to keep her different from Ruthie Smithens) is caught running between trees just as Ruthie is about to fire off her snowball. This is a piece of Winter Wonderland to me."

Photo Thirteen

"*No dolls were hurt in the snow*"

Photo Fourteen

"Kanani, Licorice, and hot cocoa."

Photo Fifteen

"Jessica Quint spends some time outside playing in the snow.

She takes a little rest and leans against a pile of snow."

Photo Sixteen

"Heading Down Hill Sledding, Rosey Red checks, in the icy cold snow ."

Photo Seventeen

"Gwen enjoys taking a winter walk on the trail in the woods. She took Pepper along today, who is very excited to be outside with someone. But Gwen would like to go inside soon- it's really cold out!"

Photo Eighteen

"I feel like a winter wonderland must be enjoyed in a solitary, peaceful, thoughtful tramp through a secluded wooded area. A chance to forget the real world, and to just relax with the wild things. I originally wanted to do something similar to the scene I just described - a whimsical scene depicting a doll sleeping out under the stars, surrounded by trees and the glow of the moon....but since I have been sick, I wasn't able to get a nighttime scene. So I settled for second best (and more realistic) wilderness wandering. I wanted to show Nellie's footprints, to emphasize that she had chosen to go out alone....alone into the splendor around her, in a whimsical sort of way."

Photo Nineteen

"Here I have my doll, Ivy. :) My idea for this photo was really getting into the holiday spirit. When I was looking for something to spruce up my dolls' rooms for Christmas, so I found some string, scissors, tape, and little snowmen from the American Girl Magazine and made a photo story of Ivy decorating. I put together the steps and made this picture! :D"

Photo Twenty

"When Mia woke up one Saturday morning, there was finally snow! It hadn't snowed where she lives since November! So she quickly put on her snow gear and got her snow tube and went sledding! But after sledding up and down the hill many times, her hands were frozen! She then realized that she hadn't brought any gloves.... oh, Mia...."

Photo Twenty-One

"In this photo, my dolls Kit (left) and Penelope (right) are making a snowman in the 'snow,' which is actually just polyfill."

Photo Twenty-Two

"It is of my two dolls Alison and Elizabeth shoveling snow. That's what it seems we are doing most of winter : ) They seem to enjoy it though!"

Photo Twenty-Three

"This picture is Felicity in front of a pine tree covered in fresh snow! This was taken in Utah during winter-time. I really like how the color green of the pine tree and the green in Felicity's eyes match up. "

Photo Twenty-Four

"Under the full moon, snow had just fallen. Emily skids down the hill and Molly joyfully waves to her, giddy with excitement to be out in the snow."

Photo Twenty-Five

"This is a picture of my daughter Angelia's doll Nicole (MAG #44) with Sugar.

It was taken just last night after our big snow here in IL. Lots of it but

so pretty! :) She wanted to go out and check it out so I thought well might

as well do a pic out here too! She decided to have Nicole pull Sugar along

in the sled. The top she is wearing is Mia's and everything else is off

brand items. "

Photo Twenty-Six

"What does winter wonderland mean to us? Friends spending time together while drinking hot coco and catching snowflakes!"

Photo Twenty-Seven

"I chose this photo because I was always so excited when it snowed (which wasn't very often) that my mother would have to tear me and my siblings away from the window for just long enough to get us into our sweaters and coats and boots. Since Molly was my first doll, she was the obvious choice for this picture."

Photo Twenty-Eight

"These are my dolls Chrissa and Kaitlyn (MAG #26) having fun sledding down a hill."

Photo Twenty-Nine

"(From left to right) Jensen, Kirsten, Rowynn and Kanani making cookies. After a day of play in the cold it's always nice to come inside and enjoy some warm, fresh baked cookies. Look out or Jensen will eat all the chocolate!"

Photo Thirty

"I see my Winter Wonderland as being outdoors only. When I was asked what the dolls would be doing, I answered, 'Sledding!!! - what else did you think?,' so sledding it was! It was the first time that my dolls had ever gone sledding, and they had a blast. I almost decided on a collage of their winter fun pics, but then decided to showcase my favorite one. It was a blast - literally. The wind was very willing to blow the dolls down the little hill we made, and they made pretty good speed for only having three feet to travel downhill in a human-toddler-sized sleigh. ;)"

Photo Thirty-One

"Snow Days go faster than school days! After playing in the snow all day, Kirsten and Nicki pause to watch a beautiful sunset."

Photo Thirty-Two

"Well it doesn't snow much in Mississippi and it did 3 times last year so we probably won't have any for another 10 years or so. Lily Rose my #24 in the picture decided to make a snowman out of popcorn balls. She enjoys making treats and this is a great 'treat' to make in the winter."

Photo Thirty-Three

"'Winter Wonderland' in my mind means plenty of sledding and snowball fights! In this photo, Sophie and Kit are testing out their snow dish and sled. 'Whee!' they cry excitedly, as they slide down the faux snow-covered hill. The hill I've created with plenty of stacked-up cardboard boxes and a huge piece of white fabric. Behind them, Jessica and Lindsey are having a snowball fight - or they are trying to anyway. Somehow snowballs made out of packing peanuts aren't quite the same, but they are making the best of it!"

Photo Thirty-Four

"On a chilly winter walk, Dakota is delighted when the first snowflake of winter alights on her eager fingertips. "

Photo Thirty-Five

"Zinny and Nali are mushing their way back from Starbucks with their Siberian Husky named Rex. "

Photo Thirty-Six

"Gwen and Chrissa had really wanted to make their entry special and do a photo with fake snow (as there is none in Texas), but every attempt to create 'snow' failed: their paper snowflakes resembled Chinese men with mustaches more than delicate snowflakes, the cotton balls were nowhere to be found, and the humans denied them the use of their toilet paper. So instead they decided to keep things casual and hang out their pajamas. Here they are celebrating winter in the best way they can imagine: with mugs of hot chocolate, colorful cupcakes, and good friends! :)"

Photo Thirty-Seven

"Annabeth dreams peacefully, as visions of snow dance through her head...but wait...

Do dreams really come true?"

Photo Thirty-Eight

"Imagine a lovely lady walking her dog, and caught in a sudden snow flurry,

and quickly walking home."

Photo Thirty-Nine

Photo Forty

"Enchanted Winter Wonderland"

Photo Forty-One

"This is Melody's contest entry. Melody is the Kailey doll and Isabella is the Madame Alexander doll. I assume you know that doll sitting on trundle of bed = Kirsten. Here's the caption.

I: This is the best sleepover ever!!!

K: Agreed.

M: Sorry we didn't do makeup. I just have Lip Smackers and nail polish.

I: That's OK.

M: Ooo! Justin Bieber song!

*all sing*

BABY, BABY, BABY WOoo

BABY,BABY, BABY NOoo"

Photo Forty-Two

Photo Forty-Three

"The snow fell softly on a chilly winter day. Dakota snipped away at a white piece of construction paper as her friend Marisol hung a string of paper snowflakes on the mantle. Nicki sat beside Dakota, unfolding the snowflake she just finished while eyeing the tasty treats on the table. The three friends enjoyed their snow day and wished for more to come."

Photo Forty-Four

"Only if I could have a day in the cold with mom more often. I am positive it should snow year around!!! ~Kirsten"

Photo Forty-Five

"Kanani's view of a winter wonderland is a calm, peaceful and quiet area where she can sit down surrounded by her favourite things. She is an aspiring dancer so she has her Swan Lake poster and red dance shoes near her. She's also a big dreamer so she has lots of different coloured glitter and pearls around her since she believes it brings good luck! To remind her of her beautiful home in Hawaii she has a coconut on her table as well as some souvenir rocks on the floor. Kanani loves to look fabulous so she has all her make up surrounding her."

Photo Forty-Six

Lilly: "I'm such a snow angel!"

Photo Forty-Seven

"Kiana and I were having a Snowball fight, though She wasn't to happy to ruin her dress, Oh well!

(In the picture Kiana Laday and Alana Jakeub)"

Photo Forty-Eight

"For me, Winter Wonderland is all about a certain elegant winter sport. I've never actually been ice-skating, but I dream of someday being able to skate as well as the figure-skating pros. So I wished for my entry to depict some dolls skating. The actual rink would never let us go and take pictures of dolls on the ice during open skate hours, so that was out of the question. But when it rained for a day, and then snowed the next, there was black ice on the driveway, which caused me a bunch of delight. Trying to get the dolls to stay still on the slippery ice, trying to take steady pictures on the slippery ice, and trying to keep myself from figure-skating and shaking the ice so that the dolls would fall down, made this picture a rather hard one to take - but it's taken! I love a dramatic flare, so Addy does a triumphant split on the ice while Ruthie (left), and Gracie (right) look on with awe."

Photo Forty-Nine

Photo Fifty

Photo Fifty-One

EXTRA! EXTRA! One more picture added in because it was lost in the sea of emails!
Sorry!

Photo Fifty-Two

This is my doll Nicki Skiing in our backyard, it's funny because the day you posted

the contest it snowed here!

Vote today peoples!

Again, you can vote for more than one photo.

Send your votes to nora.demington@gmail.com

on or before January 31st.

Maple Insists: McKenna's Bedding

2012-01-22T21:43:00.002-05:00

Yo. Maple again. We are going to do the bedding post first because it was mostly ready and the Winter Wonderland pics post isn't as far along. But stay tuned for that post. They will probably be posted on Monday. Then the voting will begin. :-)

Here are the pics of McKenna's bedding, chair pad, and rug. Only one of these pieces will be used for our final project and the rest will belong to other beds here. We will use the mattress, which will have a new cover.

Bedding.

Circle pillow.

Chair pad and chair....

Fyi, The chair pad's ties are stitched into place so we had to carefully cut the stitches.

Top of chair pad.

Bottom of chair pad.

From the side.

Chair without pad.

Rug.

Stay tuned for more pics of McKenna's bed accessories sets. :-)

Maple Insists: McKenna's Loft Bed Intro

2012-01-21T15:46:00.000-05:00

Whattup peoples. Maple here. I have taken over the blog for a little while/for this post/for a couple posts. I am tired of seeing CeCe and Kenna hog the posts. Yeah, I said it.

So I have been reading these Flavia books by Alan Bradley and watching Sherlock Holmes movies. Then I saw McKenna's Loft Bed and decided I wanted it so I could make it into my "Poisons and Criminal Investigatory Laboratory."

Luckily, Penny is humoring me (after staring at me blankly for a little while) and she ordered the bed. Here it is in pieces, hence the "Intro" part of the post title. There will be more pics of the other parts of the bed to come - the bedding, hamster set, accessories, etc. Soon. Probably some of that today.

The bed is still in pieces so that I can paint it more easily. Yeah, I said paint it. AG purists are crying somewhere right now. But the paint will come. Oh, it will come.

The title of this ongoing project will be "Maple's Laboratory" -- so if you want to find all the posts about this later on, just click the label "Maple's Laboratory." Hopefully that is clear....

The bed is actually more of a light pinky purple than what it appears to be in our photos. It looks a lot more purply in our pics than it is in reality.

The three pieces together, but not clicked together.

The left side.

The right side.

The top.

Bottom of the top piece, as you can see it is meant to click together in only one way.

Stay tuned for Part Two: McKenna's bedding, chair pad, and rug. :-)

Photos Due Today!

2012-01-21T11:31:00.003-05:00

Yep, photos are due today.

Anytime before Sunday if you haven't sent them in yet.

What photos?

The 2012 Grand Photo Contest Activity One: Winter Wonderland Photos!

Click the linky to learn about this contest:

http://thedollwardrobe.blogspot.com/2012/01/2012-grand-photo-contest-starts-now.html

Prizes are one doll, and five $20 AG gift cards for six lucky winners!

Kenna Begins to Ask Questions

2012-01-20T19:27:00.002-05:00

CeCe came back into the doll room with the warm-up outfit jacket on

and more pieces from McKenna's accessories to show Kenna.

"Do I look less like a hospital orderly now?" CeCe asked.

"Yeah, I guess so. Are those dollars the real thing?" Kenna replied.

"No, I don't think so. They are only printed on one side," CeCe answered.

"So I can't use them to buy more Legos?"

"No... But they are still fun. And check out the other stuff I brought: your journal, gymnastics book, ID card, a book report, and a letter from your studio.

They are really cute! We can play with them if you want to."

"Hmmm. Those don't really look like mine. Even though it is my face on that card. I could use the journal to keep track of my ideas for Lego constructions.
But the rest of it I'm not really interested in."

CeCe scrunched her nose up in frustration and left the room again.

...............

She came back in a little while carrying a pile of accessories
Penny had bought for them at AGPC.

"Do you want to play with these? You said you liked the sneakers I am wearing. Here, you can have your own. And there is a pair of mismatched socks, a corduroy bag, slippers, and a headband. We could mix and match this stuff with outfits and pajamas."

"Hmmmmm. These slippers are very soft and fuzzy.
But I just finished building Catwoman's motorcycle, so that means I still have to build the little street scene for the figures. That will take a bit of time."

"Yeah....," CeCe said. She squinted her eyes, thinking hard.

"You could find one of the other girls to play with, ya know? I bet a lot of them will have fun mixing and matching these things with the other doll clothes," Kenna added.

"Yeah. I could probably do that," CeCe said quietly. "But I'll be back soon..."

She gathered up the accessories and left the room.

What will CeCe try next?

And why won't she ask the other dolls to play???

Stay tuned to find out!

Winter Wonderland Pics Due Saturday!

2012-01-19T12:41:00.001-05:00

Whattup peoples! Yep, we are here to interrupt our previously schedule "CeCe and Kenna" storyline to remind you that the 2012 Grand Photo Contest is happening now!

http://thedollwardrobe.blogspot.com/2012/01/2012-grand-photo-contest-starts-now.html

Clicky the link to read about the contest.

Activity One photos - Winter Wonderland - are due on Saturday. This coming Saturday.

As in, January 21st, 2012. Yeah, like in 2.5 days.

So if you want to enter Activity One - send us your pic on or before Saturday....

January 21st....this Saturday...

You could win grand prizes! A doll or one of 5 AG gift cards! Ooooo!

CeCe Persists

2012-01-18T17:25:00.000-05:00

CeCe came back into the doll room wearing McKenna's gymnastics warm-up pants and sneakers with her practice wardrobe tee shirt. She had more bits and bobs from the McKenna collection to show to Kenna.

"Look Kenna! There is a backpack, a Thermos, a necklace, trail mix, and a new hairstyle card in this set. Some of this stuff came with your meet accessories."

"Oh, nice," Kenna replied as she finished putting Catwoman together.

"Do you like my new outfit?"

"Uh... yeah, sure. You kinda look like an orderly at a mental hospital called 'Gymnastics'...

but whatevs... Those are nice sneakers," Kenna said.

"You never like anything do you?" CeCe responded.

"I like my new Lego Catwoman," Kenna said blankly.

CeCe rolled her eyes and left the room again.

Has CeCe given up?

Will Kenna be left to her own devices from now on???

Stay tuned to find out!

CeCe Tries Again

2012-01-17T19:07:00.000-05:00

CeCe completed her new outfit and returned to Kenna's side.

"Those are some pretty flashy shorts," Kenna remarked.

She was proudly displaying her new Batman figure
that she had just finished putting together.

"They are like velour stuff," CeCe replied.

"I think you are supposed to fold over the waistband," Kenna said.

"Oh... oops. I didn't know."

"It's okay. They look okay like that.

They are kind of shiny though, and not in a flattering way...," Kenna replied.

"It must be the lighting in the doll room and the camera. It is making them look weird."

"Yeah, must be the lights...," Kenna's voice trailed off.

"But the shrug is neat, right? And the set comes with an ace bandage, a hairstyle card, and these hair ties. And also we got a gym bag from Ingrid. These look like fun, right? We could do your hair together. I bet it would look pretty in these folded braids from the card."

"I know you are trying hard to get me interested in other things, CeCe,
but I'd rather just build Catwoman next," Kenna replied.

CeCe's shoulders dropped in sadness.

"Okay, well I'll be back soon....," she sighed and turned to leave.

Though defeated, she hoped it was just temporary.

Will CeCe change out of her flashy shorts?

Or leave them on and move to South Beach?

Stay tuned to find out!

CeCe's New Suggestion

2012-01-16T21:40:00.002-05:00

CeCe came back in 20 minutes with a new suggestion.

Kenna was studying the guide to her Lego kit.

"How about we play gymnastics?," CeCe said to Kenna. "I found your gymnastics leotard

in amongst the new stuff. Look at how cool it looks!"

"Uh....," Kenna replied.

"In your AG story books you want to play gymnastics all the time

and it looks like tons of fun. Let's try it!" CeCe smiled with glee.

"Well... I'm not really into gymnastics," Kenna responded.

"What do you mean? In the books you are," CeCe said.

"Well, that is in the books. I'm not that McKenna. I'm Makenna, Kenna.

I am different. I like things like Legos. Not so much the gymnastics."

"That is weird. I thought for sure this would work."

"Sorry. I'm not hot on running around half-naked and doing flips...," Kenna replied.

"Hmmm. Well there are more pieces to the outfit. I'll show them to you!"

And with that CeCe skipped out of the room.

Will CeCe be able to convince Kenna that she is destined to like gymnastics???

Stay tuned to find out!

CeCe Sans Pantaloons

2012-01-13T19:00:00.000-05:00

CeCe came back from changing and looked a lot better without her pantaloons.

"How do I look now?" she asked Kenna.

"You look awesome. My shirt dress thingy looks better on you than it did on me.

Now let's get started on these Legos."

"Really? Still with the Legos?" CeCe replied.

"Yeah, don't you want to build this?"

"Why would I?" CeCe shook her head no.

"It's Batman and Catwoman," Kenna answered.

CeCe stared off into space for a little while, not sure how to reply.

"I'll be back," she said and then left the room.

Where did CeCe go?

Will she be back?

Stay tuned to find out!

Kenna Changes Her Duds

2012-01-13T12:00:00.000-05:00

Kenna decided that she would humor CeCe. She changed her outfit and accessorized.
Of course she still wanted to be comfortable though. The accessory she chose was the AG casual watch and the outfit she picked was AG's Ruffled Hoodie outfit.

CeCe was disappointed Kenna hadn't picked a historical outfit to wear but decided that she would go along with the flow. She changed into Kenna's meet outfit so they could both wear modern duds.

"You aren't quite wearing that right CeCe," Kenna commented.

"What do you mean?" CeCe asked.

"Uh, your pantaloons under my outfit," Kenna answered, pointing to them.

"You had leggings on in your meet outfit.

These were my meet outfit leggings."

"Nope, they're pantaloons. You aren't supposed to wear pantaloons underneath the shirt dress thingy. It really doesn't go. Pantaloons aren't leggings. They are underwear. I had underwear on underneath my leggings.
So it is kinda like I can see your undies," Kenna replied.

"Oh..."

"It's okay, you can fix it. Just take off those pantaloons and put on undies.

I'll get started on these Legos while you do that," Kenna added.

"Legos? What about trying on clothes and stuff?"

"Oh I like this outfit. I don't need to change again.

I mean I wouldn't have put this iron-on on this tank top....

...And I wouldn't have put these dressy sandals with this outfit. But it works for me."

"Oh. Okay. Well I'll go fix my outfit and then I'll come back.

Maybe we can talk more about this Lego thing then," CeCe said.

Has Kenna convinced CeCe to play Legos?

Or will she just return wearing another fashion faux pas?

Stay tuned to find out!

CeCe Accessorizes

2012-01-13T06:00:00.000-05:00

CeCe found her accessories that we showed you in the previous post

and added them to her outfit.

"Don't they look wonderful?" she asked Kenna.

"I guess they do look very pretty," Kenna replied.

"Do you want to dress up in a historical outfit too and we can pretend that we are

in 1850s New Orleans together?" CeCe asked.

"Nah. I'm not too interested in doing that at the moment.

Penny bought me this new Super Heroes Lego set at Water Tower Place
and I want to start putting it together."

"But that doesn't look like much fun," CeCe sighed.

"It does to me," Kenna smiled.

Will CeCe play Legos with Kenna?

Will Kenna dress up in historical clothes for fun?

Or will CeCe give up and pretend to be in 1850s New Orleans on her own?

Stay tuned to find out!

Cecile's Accessories

2012-01-12T23:00:00.000-05:00

So when we bought our Cecile doll at AGPC we also got her accessories. They are awesome. The set includes the blue hat, pearl necklace, and mittens/gloves. (They are sewn as lightweight, silky mittens but with white lines embroidered on them so we can all pretend that they are lightweight, silky gloves...)

The accessories really complete her meet outfit, which we will show you the whole ensemble in the next post. For now, here are some basic pics of the items.

Stay tuned for pics of CeCe in her complete meet outfit!

Maple Insists: Trends to Sew

2012-01-12T16:25:00.001-05:00

Every year we have grand plans to show off trendy human clothing items on our blog as helpful hints for those who sew doll clothing (and possibly sell it to the masses).

And every year we do two or three (at most) posts about this. D'oh. We will try to do better in 2012. Maple insists that we need to do better about this, so she has taken over this campaign.

We know people's minds often go blank when trying to dream up what to sew next. Or perhaps they get a bit nervous, saying to themselves: "I think it's cute, but will people like it? Will they buy it?"

So with Maple's help, we are attempting to more firmly establish this series of posts -- "Trends to Sew"-- and each time we do create one, hopefully at least once per month, we'll address one clothing line and give you examples of clothes that we like. Yes, we will be getting on our soapbox. And no, there won't be anything pink shown in the "Trends to Sew" arena. Blues and greens are beautiful colors peoples, try them. ;-)

We will be exploring pre-teen, teen, and young adult fashions that we think would be awesome in dolly format. Some people might say -- "That looks a little mature for my doll/taste." That's fine, but other people are looking for that. There are a lot of older girls and collectors out there with AG dolls that don't want to dress their doll in younger-looking fashions. And they tend to have more on-hand moola than the average 8 year old. (We say this every year, but it begs repeating. There is a reason Liberty Jane outfits are so popular, y'alls.)

Maple suggested we look at Hollister this month. So we begin with a look at their recent offerings and point out items that we think have potential for dollies.

1) Contemplating outerwear options? Try jackets and hoodies with (fake) fur-trimmed hoods. We haven't seen any yet in dolly scale and we think they'd be awesome. (And yes we own some human ones ourselves because we love fuzzy things, haha.)

2) Jeans. A life necessity. Skinny jeans are very in right now. Liberty Jane offers a skinny jean pattern, fyi. http://www.libertyjanepatterns.com/

When creating yours consider using "destroying" methods, paint stains and smudges, and small embroidered accents like you see on the pair below. And the rolled cuff is in, btw.

White seems to be an in color for jeans -- it has a sort-of washed-out grey look to it. Just make sure your pair isn't see-through. No one wants to see dolly's beige or dark skin through their pants.

You can try these styles with normal "boot-cut" jeans as well. LJ also has a pattern for those.

Having a difficult time finding awesome jean fabric at your local retailer? Shop online for fabrics. Go to the clothing stores and find jeans to cut up and re-make into dolly jeans.

Having a difficult time finding jean fabric to easily sew with? The ones you have are super-thick? Try the thinner denims they make now for skinny jeans that are almost a cross between soft jersey and denim. They use a similar, stretchy fabric for jeggings a lot - so you might try cutting up a pr of those, or asking your fabric retailer for soft denim or jeggings/leggings denim. It might be easier to work with than the thick stuff.

3) Hoodies. We never see enough of these in the AG-size market. Not sure why. They must be a pain to make or something. But Liberty Jane carries a pattern for them, so we're not sure what people are waiting for... Hoodies are ubiquitous.

Try dark and bright blues, greens, and greys for your hoodies. Even a nice cream color. And if you are ambitious you can try making your own embellishments. But stay away from floral iron-ons, pink ribbons, butterflies, unicorns, etc. AG does enough of that.

Create your own brand-name and add it just like Hollister does - all the major lines do it. You can too. Or even a symbolic logo, like Hollister's seagull, American Eagle's eagle, and the LaCoste alligator. Just don't make it pink...

Two varieties to try: With zipper...

And without zipper...

We wouldn't try the button-down hoodie -- it seems like a sewing nightmare -- but we do like the coloring of this example.

4) Tee Shirts. Yep, you should make some. We think more people should make shirts, cardigans, and hoodies to sell as separates. Some people are already doing that with great success. Keep it up!

Every top and jacket you sell doesn't have to be accompanied by jeans or pants. Once people own a couple prs of pants and jeans, they are more interested in getting a variety of tees, tanks, cardigans, and hoodies for their dolls. Trust us, we know.

Sure AG only sells complete outfits, but does Hollister, American Eagle, Justice, Nordstrom, and so on, sell complete outfits? Nope, not unless we are talking about dresses. They all sell separates peoples.

Let's say you offer just complete outfits - the average customer might buy one or two at a time. But if you offer smartly-priced tees, tops, tanks, cardigans, and hoodies as separates - the options are endless and you will probably end up making more sales. It's easier for a customer to put a bunch of $8 tees and $12 hoodies into their shopping bags than several $35 outfits. See? Hope this makes sense to y'alls.

When designing your tees, try fabrics and colors that you won't find in the AG catalog. Soft jerseys that you could layer over tank tops. Heathered fabrics. Subtle patterning. See the top below for a great example of this.

And then there is the graphic tee. I believe we say this every year as well. Make your own graphic tees. You've gotten to the point where you can sew Liberty Jane's Free T-Shirt pattern in your sleep? Well, spice it up. Try applying your own graphic to it.

Want to try your own iron-ons? You can design them on your computer and print them at home on iron-on transfer paper. See here for more info: http://h71036.www7.hp.com/hho/cache/344461-0-0-225-121.html

Not sure what kind of iron-on to make? There are clip art and photos online, both free and for sale, check that stuff out. Design your own if you are Photoshop or Illustrator savvy. Or try to use your own pic, maybe as sepia toned or black and white. You could even do a black and white, or color tinted pic with a single color accent like the Hollister tee below. Again, browse the mall or online shops -- look at what they are putting on human tees for inspiration. AG's giant floral iron-on with the word "Happiness" underneath it is not what you find on human clothes. :-/

And Liberty Jane offers several types of shirt patterns you can work with, adding graphics to them or just using modern, trendy fabrics. Baseball tees, polo shirts, off-the-shoulder drapey shirts, one shoulder tanks, and even the new Cortina shirt with the ruffly sleeves. Plus much more. Explore the options peoples!

5) Tank Tops. The tank top has evolved. Yep, you can still make the normal rib-knit tank and offer it up to the buyers. That is cool. But there are a bunch of new styles you can experiment with. Ruffles. Bows. Sashes with bows. Lace accents. Dual-layering with lace. We have seen some of these out there - but we think y'all can go further. They might be a pain in the butt to sew. But you guys are smart. We know you can do it.

The key to these styles is light-weight, thin, soft, supple fabrics. Don't use the rib-knit on these puppies -- they will look bulky and your ruffles won't drape as they should.

You might be saying "I can't find these fabrics in my local fabric store!" to us. Go to H&M or Forever21(or local equivalents), buy some clothing and slice it up peoples. Who says you can't deconstruct human clothes to make into dolly clothes?

6) Cardigans. The cardigan has also evolved. We have seen progress in the AG cardigan world -- but there could be more. Try simple, same-color embellishments like the flowers and sashes you see below.

And look for boldly striped fabric options, like these navy and cream, and turquoise and white examples. And note how these puppies are slightly longer than those above. The longer "boyfriend-style" cardigan is very trendy. Pockets are also nice, but you don't need to make them.

If you are looking at these cardigans and crying because of the buttons and the button-holes (yes we know those are a pain to create) -- Just make your knit cards sans buttons. Yep, that is totally doable and many lines have cardigans without closures.

7) Shorts and skirts. Yep, Hollister makes short shorts and short skirts for the Bettys. This is a fact of life. For dolls, we'd make them longer. Trendy shorts should come to about mid-thigh on your dolls and skirts should fall slightly above the knee. No need to make things Hollister-short - then they will just look like they don't fit right on the dolls.

But we include them here because there is still good design going on with the Hollister garments (despite their brevity). For instance, this dark denim pair of shorts with gold thread seams, and rolled up, gently frayed cuffs: very stylish.

Going the more casual route - sweat pants in shorts format. Hidden elastic waistband. White drawstring bow - which can be non-functional and just sewn on to the front. Rolled cuffs to show off the soft underside of the sweats fabric, and a logo accent. Just make them mid-thigh length and dolly is good to lounge on the couch, jaunt to the beach or gym, or go for a bike ride down to the ice cream shop.

This is a nice style of skirt to try with a lighter-weight, soft, supple fabric. Something you can easily bunch up at the waistline seam where all those wrinkled little pleats are hanging out. This is made from a super-soft cotton corduroy. Might be a little tough to make it out of the same fabric in dolly scale. But again, you might try looking for non-see-through jerseys and fabric designed for leggings and jeggings to use with this style skirt.

Alright, we've come to the end of our first "Maple Insists: Trends to Sew" post.

Hope this was helpful!

AGPC loot reveal posts coming soon.
Don't worry, we haven't forgotten about them.

The pics are currently being prepped. :-D

2012 Grand Photo Contest Starts Now!

2012-01-11T16:00:00.001-05:00

So yep, we are doing a new photo contest.

And here is the big explanatory post that kicks it off. ;-)

Prizes: There will be six winners in total. The first prize winner will get a doll - either McKenna, Lanie, MyAG #26, or MyAG #55. His/her choice. All of the dolls are brand-new and in their boxes with their books or Innerstar U items.

The five other winners will each receive a $20 American Girl gift card.

So here is the outline of the contest: three activities, and a final round....

Activity One: Winter Wonderland

What does "Winter Wonderland" mean to you? Show us in an awesome pic with one or more dolls. Let your mind run wild. Snow. Snow Angels. Snow Men. Shoveling snow. Igloos. Huskies. Hot cocoa by the fireplace while looking at snow falling through the window. Skiiing in Alaska on steep rocky slopes. Hibernating in a cave full of bears. Lots of stuff happens in the winter - so think hard and come up with a great photo!

And if you are like "I want snow in my pic but we don't have snow here right now." Fake snow works just as well. Paper snowflakes. Polyfill. Random white fluff. Etc. Etc. AG doesn't photograph their doll pics with real snow. Be creative!

Email us the photo at nora.demington@gmail.com. And include some info about your ideas for the picture. Due Date: Saturday January 21st-- A little over a week from today!
Then there will be a week of voting, after we manage to post everyone's pics and info here on the blog. (You can vote for more than one photo.)

Votes will then be calculated and Penny will choose 2 winners from those people in the top 50%. So if there are 18 entries, for example, Penny will look at the 9 people with the most votes to pick two winners. The winners will be entered for the special "Final Round" and will have a chance to win zee doll. Ooooo!

Activity Two: Holiday/Celebration

Show us your doll(s) celebrating and having some happy good times. Your pic can be related to a holiday - any holiday from throughout the year and throughout the world. If you want to show us a pic about Halloween, or Kwanzaa, or the Chinese New Year - go for it! Any holiday works!

Or you can show us any type of celebration - like a birthday, quinceanera, graduation, wedding, etc. Show us what is special about the holiday or celebration you have chosen!

Email us the photo at nora.demington@gmail.com. And include some info about the holiday or celebration you chose. Due Date: To Be Announced (about a week after our voting for Activity One is complete.)

Then a week of voting will commence, Penny chooses two winners from the top 50%, and those peoples will be entered in the "Final Round." (Same schtick as for Activity One.)

Activity Three: Being Charitable

Here is your opportunity to highlight a cause close to your heart. Step One: Pick a charity! Step Two: Show us a picture of your doll(s) doing something to help that charity or related to it in some way. We don't recommend having your doll just holding up a sign for the charity - be creative peoples!

For example, you could choose World Wildlife Federation as your charity - let's help endangered species get back on track! You might show your doll being smothered in a sea of panda goodness. Or maybe just feeding a baby panda. We recommend using a stuffed toy for that. China doesn't lend out baby pandas for doll photo shoots. We already asked.

But of course your charity can be anything. Curing cancer. The Hiefer Project. AIDS Awareness. UNICEF. Doctors without Borders. Animal Rescue. Juvenile diabetes research. Habitat for Humanity. Foodbanks. Natural disasters aid. Teach America. Sierra Club. Ronald McDonald House. The list is endless.

If you don't already have a charity in mind - do some internet research, ask your friends and family for their suggestions. There are so many great causes out there to support.

Email us the photo at nora.demington@gmail.com. And include some info about the charity you chose to support and your ideas for the photo. Due Date: To Be Announced (about a week after our voting for Activity Two is complete.)

Then a week of voting will commence, Penny will choose 2 winners from the top 50%, and those peoples will be entered in the "Final Round." (Same schtick as for Activity One and Two.)

As a special bonus we will make donations to the two charities represented in the winning photographs from Activity Three. :-)

The Final Round: Your Creativity!

The winners of the three previous rounds will be asked to submit a final photo for a chance to win a doll as the first prize. This photo should showcase your creativity. It is sort of like AG Playthings "Anything Goes" round. It has to be something different than your previous photo entries, and since there aren't really any "instructions" it can be a little more challenging. It's a chance to put your thinking cap on and go "outside the box."

Email us the photo at nora.demington@gmail.com. And include some info about your ideas for the photo. Due Date: To Be Announced (about a week after our voting for Activity Three is complete.)

Penny chooses a winner from the six entries (no voting this time, ooooo). Then that person will be asked to choose which doll they would like as their prize: McKenna, Lanie, MyAG #55 or MyAG #26. The other 5 people will win the $20 AG gift cards, as we explained above. Exciting!

Things to Keep in Mind:

The picture can be any size, but 400 pixels wide or wider is recommended or else your pic will be very small on the blog and difficult to see. Every pic we personally post here is 500 pixels wide, so that is what you should be aiming for as well.

Using Photoshop and other photo editing programs is fine.

You can include more than one doll in your photos. Your dolls do not have to be AG dolls.

You do not have to enter all of the activities, you can do one or two or all. But if you win an activity we do want you to participate in the Final Round.

If you win one activity, you can still enter the other activities and get votes -- but each person who enters can only win one activity -- that way we have 6 different people in the Final Round.

If you miss an activity, that is fine -- you don't have to participate in all three activities to be in the contest -- but doing all 3 does increase your chances of getting into the Final Round.

No human faces in the photos please -- remember: privacy is important! Hands are okay -- but no actually identifiable people.

Our email address is nora.demington@gmail.com. You will be using this to send in photos and to vote.

If you are younger than 13 have your parent/guardian email the photos to us (remember: internet safety is important!).

We will be posting the photos here at The Doll Wardrobe - so make sure your photo is something that you don't mind if the whole world sees it. (Again, this is why you and/or your family shouldn't be in the photo.)

Readers will be asked to vote for their favorite photos. They can vote for more than one photo. Voting will be done by email -- to vote you just email me at nora.demington@gmail.com and say something like "I vote for photo #8." Everyone will have a week to vote, from the point when we post the photos. You can vote for yourself.

The Doll Wardrobe does not share or sell your email to anyone. Only Penny sees your emails.

At the end of the contest we will email the winners for her/his shipping address. (This is why it is important you have a parent/guardian's permission to enter if you are under 18).

Any questions? You probably have some -- so feel free to ask! :-D

And remember, if you want to participate in this contest,

the Activity One photo is due Saturday, January 21st!

Please email your photos to nora.demington@gmail.com.

The best way to send them is as an attachment.

It gives us a better quality pic to post on zee blog.

Good luck everyone!

Quick Post:The Second McKenna

2012-01-11T12:16:00.001-05:00

Yep, those savvy readers who spotted two McKennas in our shameless teaser pics were right. There is a second McKenna hanging out here in Badger's Wood, and she is ready to participate in our next big thing: Our 2012 Grand Photo Contest!

We will explain and begin the whole contest in another post - but for now we can tell you there will be 3 main categories to the contest, one final round, 6 winners in total with one First Prize winner. The First Prize winner will get to choose between McKenna, Lanie, MyAG #26, and MyAG #55.

(Our last First Prize winner chose MyAG #26 as her prize but then changed her mind and asked for MyAG #55 -- but we will get a new MyAG #55 for this contest so that the main winner will have 4 dolls to choose from.)

The other five winners will receive $20 American Girl gift cards. Woot!

This contest will be sorta be like our big 2011 Summer Photo Contest - but a little different. So as a teaser for this upcoming contest -- here are some shots of the Second McKenna with Kenna, our McKenna.

If the First Prize winner chooses McKenna she will get this AG gym bag pictured below as well. It was given out on January 1st, 2012 in the stores. Ingrid gave us a couple as extra goodies. :-)

Anyone excited about this upcoming contest???

p.s. More AGPC loot reveal posts coming soon. :-)

Meet CeCe and Makenna!

2012-01-11T02:14:00.001-05:00

Hola! We we begin our AGPC loot reveal posts by showing y'alls the two dolls we bought for ourselves - Cecile and McKenna!

Except Cecile declared she wanted to be called CeCe and McKenna announced that her name was Makenna and not McKenna. And that she preferred to be called Kenna. They are just a bit fussy.

CeCe still has her hair in the net. Kenna's hair is down, free from the front puff thing. Her hair is really nice. Ours doesn't have any of the little short hairs under the main hairs in her wig. Don't know if it is like that on all of them. We'll check.

But besides that her hair is pretty and fun to play with. It is a caramel/honey blonde color -- basically lots of different color hairs bonded together on the wig. Here is a shot that gives you a good idea of her hair color.

In many pics her hair looks blonde because of the sheen it has. But it really doesn't look that blonde blonde in person. Also her hair has a plastic plate in the front of the wig -- like I have (Mia) -- hers makes it easy to style the hair in different ways, adjusting the part to be where you want it to be or not exist at all. And even though "plastic plate" doesn't sound great -- it is really nice and not at all like a bulky plate there. Hope that makes sense.

Meanwhile Cece's hair has two tones to it and is very pretty. The curls are going to be a nightmare for us since we like everything smooth and in order for dolly hairs. But she is just so cute we are sucking it up and pretending the frizzy curls don't bug us. ;-)

Big love for both of their meet outfits. They are both made of win. Of course CeCe's looks even better in comparison to Marie-Grace's "pink-plaid-polyester-nightmare" (as Lauren rightly called it).

We do have the crinoline under Cece's dress - and that is why it looks full (like it should). We got the chemise and crinoline set for Christmas - Thank you Santa!

And we honestly like Kenna's meet a lot more than Kanani's meet. To us it looks a bit more mature and sophisticated, while still working for a 9-10 yr old. Who says 9 yr olds can't look sophisticated?

p.s. Kenna laid claim to the mini Coconut that comes with the American Girl Place store exclusives Sweet Dreams accessories set. That is the tiny dog you see in some of these pics. :-)

Stay tuned for many more AGPC loot reveal posts coming soon!

Let us know if you have any questions about either/both of these dolls. :-)

Shameless Teaser Pics of AGPC Loot!

2012-01-10T12:07:00.003-05:00

Stay tuned for more!

Quick Trip to Chicago: Our Pics of the American Girl Store!

2012-01-09T17:33:00.000-05:00

So this weekend we hitched up the horses, jumped in our wagon, and headed to Chicago for one night in the Park Hyatt by Water Tower Place - yep, our destination was the American Girl Place Chicago!

We went intending to buy a good deal of loot - which we will share pics of with you soon. Our purchases include "something" that will allow us to start up the next big Photo Contest with a doll as a first prize. Woot! So stay tuned for that. :-)

But first we start with pics of the store -- our fastest Facebook friends responded to our inquiry that they wanted to see store pics first. So here we go!

Brief thoughts on our hotel for those of you thinking about going to Chitown: We really loved the Park Hyatt - it was very close to where we wanted to go and very posh. It is not inexpensive though and we didn't really see families there - just one, with older kids. But it was nice and we would recommend it to anyone wanting to stay right in the middle of the action on the Magnificent Mile.

AGPC was easy to find .. it was just across the plaza and to the left from our hotel. It is located in this building pictured below.... where AG and Macy's are the two anchor stores. Water Tower Place has seven floors of shops, cool elevators, and even a LEGO store. ;-)

Front of the AG Store... It has two floors, and while compact, the store does have a lot of space.

We buzzed through the store taking pics of everything we could, while trying to avoid taking too many shots of peoples. Haha. There were a good amount of people there this weekend -- not crazy crowded -- it was nice to see people enjoying the store. At AGPLA and AGPNY we usually have the store to ourselves for some weird reason, so this was a big difference.

Here are three Youtube slideshows of the store and the displays. We didn't take pics of everything but we tried to get as much as we could. And they aren't all fantastic photos, haha. We tried to use flash at first, but then we'd get a lot of glare and we were blinding people since our flash is so bright. So we went sans flash and many of the pics are a little yellowy from the overhead lighting. Then we wrestled with them in Photoshop, but we didn't always win. Oh well. We tried. We tried.

First part of first floor of store...

Second part of first floor of the store...

Second floor of store...

(Two of them you might have to watch through the Youtube link because I like to use music Youtube doesn't want me to use. :-P)

Also, a BIG shout-out to Ingrid Argueta - Personal Shopper at the AGPC. We didn't make an appointment with her since we didn't know if/when we'd actually be going to Chicago. But she stopped us while we were on the floor picking out dolls and asked us if we wanted her help.

We probably looked like we were having problems carrying all of our loot in the shopping bag by ourselves (haha) - so she invited us back to the Personal Shopping room and helped us figure out what we still needed to find. Then she went out to the floor and picked up the things we needed. And as special frosting to the cake she gave us a bunch of extra goodies! She was totally awesome!!!

We were like - "We thought we needed an appointment to work with PS." She was like, "No you can just walk in here and find us if you need help." Which is also awesome!

So if you are going to the AGPC and want help, ask for Ingrid Argueta. And if you want to make a PS appointment before going there, ask for Ingrid Argueta. If you are there and just want to meet her, ask for Ingrid Argueta. Or if you want to talk to a PS over the phone, call 312-288-2816 and ask for Ingrid Argueta. :-)

It was very nice to be helped and get extra goodies even though we hadn't made a PS appointment -- Thank you Ingrid!!!

Have questions about the store or the products or anything?

Let us know in the comments below!

Packages!

2012-01-06T21:59:00.002-05:00

Just a head's up to all of those peeps waiting for packages from us - They are all boxed up and we keep trying to get to the USPS and the UPS places -- but the fates are against us.

They should be on their ways soon though! Sorry for the delay - sometimes we are slow!

(Actually we are always slow...)

Holiday Round-Up: Coconut Pajamas!

2012-01-05T18:42:00.003-05:00

Hola! Sorry we were gone for so long -- holiday traveling again! But now we are back and we will try to post as much as possible.

Today Maple is modeling one of our Christmas presents - American Girl Coconut Pajamas and slippers. This outfit comes with the top, cropped leggings, slippers, and two hairbands - which you can see on Maple. She is posing next to a giant bear named "Mr. Grizz" on the couch in front of the Christmas tree, as well as on a chair with Mr. Grizz near the stockings. :-)

They are really nice pjs and slippers and we recommend them. Of course the slippers are very red (as well as super-cute) - don't leave them on your doll for too long, they may stain. We don't know for sure, but we don't want to find out.

If you want this set yourself you probably shouldn't wait too long to get them - sometimes the holiday pjs stay around for a long time and sometimes they don't.

This was our first post for our "Holiday Round-Up," i.e. what the dolls got for the holidays.

Stay tuned for more!

Giveaway Winner Announced! And Happy Holidays!

2011-12-20T03:50:00.000-05:00

Anyone curious who won our Special Awesome Fantastic

36-Hour Holiday Gift Giveaway???

The winner is...

Michelle W.

We are about to email you right now Michelle -- so check your inbox soon!

We ask that you respond to our email within a week or we will have to select a new winner.

Thank you for entering everyone!

We hope y'all enjoyed all of our 25th Anniversary Giveaways and we send a big Thank You out to all of the shopkeepers who donated to our big project this year.

Thank You Shopkeepers!

Tomorrow our busy, busy, busy holiday activities start up and we probably won't be able to post everyday. We will try and post some little things though if we can.

But in case we aren't able to -- here is our Official 2011 Happy Holidays card to you!

Of course, Maple insisted that she be featured on it this year,

but I made sure to put my name first. ;-)

We hope everyone spends awesome times with their family and friends this season!

Toodle pip y'alls!

Agent S: We Interrupt This Broadcast!

2011-12-19T21:35:00.001-05:00

"We interrupt this broadcast to report that Evil Dr. Pepper has escaped

from the New York State Penitentiary!"

Yes, this evil doggie had escaped prison and managed to find his way down to Orlando while we were on vacation! He is Agent S's old nemesis and he decided to come to Florida to harass our poor Yorkie. :-(

While in Orlando he stole a bag of souvenirs that Penny had bought for all of the Badger's Woods dolls here at The Doll Wardrobe. Oh no!!!

Will Agent S be able to retrieve the souvenirs????

While in Hollywood Studios Agent S received intel from Team Possible that Evil Dr. Pepper may be dining at the Prime Time Cafe. Our Super Spy took this opportunity to get some dinner.

Agent S was supposed to signal the waiter (also a secret agent) by creating a bow-tie out of a dollar bill, and the waiter would know we were the good guys and let us know if Evil Dr. Pepper was nearby.

He told us that the evil doggie had just left to go watch Fantasmic. So we headed over to the show ourselves.

While at the show, Mickey signaled to us with secret sign language that Evil Dr. Pepper had left early and was already on a bus back to his hotel. Apparently he had eaten too much popcorn and felt sick to his stomach. Agent S's attempts to capture him were foiled!

On our way out of the park, we saw this giant Christmas tree that was really pretty. Our first attempt to photograph the tree looked like this.... yeah...

But here is a better one. ;-)

Do you think Agent S will be able to find Evil Dr. Pepper soon???

We want our souvenirs back...

Stay tuned for more adventures!

Have you entered the Special Awesome Fantastic 36-Hr Holiday Gift Giveaway yet???

http://thedollwardrobe.blogspot.com/2011/12/special-awesome-fantastic-36-hr-holiday.html

Enter before 11:30 AM EST December 20th, 2011!

Special Awesome Fantastic 36-Hr Holiday Gift Giveaway!

2011-12-18T23:15:00.001-05:00

Didn't win a doll this time around? Don't be too sad!

Now you have an opportunity to win a special package of gifts from The Doll Wardrobe Blog! It will be our last 25th Anniversary Giveaway.

Enter now - it only lasts 36 hours!

We will run this giveaway until 11:30 am EST Tuesday, December 20th.

And we will announce the winner soon after that time.

You must be 18 years old or older to enter this giveaway. If you are younger than that please have someone 18 years old or older, like a parent or guardian, enter herself/himself. One entry per person please, but you can have other family members enter as well.

To enter, please write your full name and your email address as a comment to this post. It will not be published and only Penny will be able to see it. One winner will be drawn out of a hat, i.e. randomly picked. Only entries with a full name and an email address will be put into the hat. If you win, Penny will email that address to notify you and ask for your shipping address.

What will you win???

A Ty Li'l Ones doll - Trendy Taylor, a Doll Jewelry crafting kit from American Girl, a pink American Girl Place doll tee, girl's wristlet, and girl's headband from American Girl, a pair of leopard print sandals from Megori Girls, and six gingerbread doll cookies from Pippaloo. Plate and candles not included.

Any questions???

Feel free to ask below in the comments. :-)

2011 Fall/Winter Doll Giveaway Winners!

2011-12-18T17:46:00.002-05:00

Hola! We were waiting to post this until our First Prize Winner responded to her email, but might as well do it now before we forget what we are doing, haha.

That's right -- this post announces who won the dolls in our 2011 Fall/Winter Doll Giveaway!

We have two winners this time because so many of you guys joined our Facebook page --

Thanks so much! -- Big Hugs for All!

Our First Prize Winner is...

Priscilla R.

And our Second Prize Winner is...

Christian M.

If Priscilla R. looks like your name -- check your email inbox asap! You'll have a week to respond or we'll have to choose a new winner. :-(

Christian, we'll email you after Priscilla picks which doll she wants as her prize.

If Priscilla doesn't respond to her email within a week, you (Christian) become the First Prize Winner.

Priscilla gets to choose from MyAG #55, Lanie, MyAG #26, and Ivy.

Then Christian gets to choose from the remaining 3 dolls.

And after all is said and done the two remaining dolls will show up in our Special 2012 Photo Contest and Doll Giveaway which will start in.... you guessed it, 2012!

Thank you for entering everyone!

We really appreciate it. :-)

And for those of you who got all the way to the bottom of this post -- Stay tuned for a special Pippaloo cookie giveaway which will only last a short time and will start soon. Ooooo!

Agent S: Mission Elite Spy Training

2011-12-17T05:09:00.003-05:00

Well after Mission Beignet Agent S said that he really needed to crack down on the villains of the world but that he needed more advanced training to do so.

His orders were to report to Hollywood Studios and get tips on being a spy from the Extreme Stunt Show Team.

While there we saw a lot of cool stunts...

We met Lightning McQueen...

And helped him defeat an evil enemy.

The Team waves us goodbye after giving us super-secret, super-spy advice....

Then Agent S insisted that we get some tips on being Intergalactic Super Rebel Spies from R2-D2 and C-3PO over at Star Tours.

We even got to see a Star Tours Flight Center.

And we got to go on our very own shuttle for an exciting 3-D adventure!

After all of that hard work/fun Agent S volunteered to eat some Mickey Mouse shaped ice cream to accompany our Pippaloo "mouse-shaped" ice cream in a photo.

Life is so hard. ;-)

Stay tuned for more adventures with Agent S!

Nov/Dec Giveaway Winners!

2011-12-16T16:50:00.002-05:00

Hola! Sorry for the delay!

Who wants to know who won the Nov/Dec 25th Anniversary Doll Clothing Giveaways?

Anyone? Anyone?

There were three prizes and so three winners:

Niki S. won the black and pink coat.

Angela V. A. won the green tee and corduroy pants.

And...

Patrick J. won the red historical dress.

We will be emailing these three winners right now - so look in your inboxes soon! Y'all will have a week to respond or we'll have to pick a new winner.

Thank you very much for entering everyone. We hope you liked all of these AG 25th Anniversary giveaways this year!

And a big thank you to the three shops that donated items for this giveaway:

Cutie Pie and Me

Mom Awake's Winter's Edge

And...

Katherine's Creations (kgabor19)

All three of those shops are full of fun stuff right now -- so be sure to check them out!

Thank you shopkeepers!

And of course if you haven't entered our Doll Giveaway yet -- do it soon! Saturday is the last day to enter and two winners will be announced on Sunday. :-)

http://thedollwardrobe.blogspot.com/2011/10/2011-fallwinter-doll-giveaway-starts.html

Calling Kellee K.!

2011-12-16T14:32:00.001-05:00

Hola -- Our first post of the day with more to come --- The winner of the Quietude Quilt set never answered her email, so unless we get something from her soon, we'll be announcing a new winner for that giveaway.

Kellee K. are you out there? If so - check your email today!

Here is the post announcing her as the winner: http://thedollwardrobe.blogspot.com/2011/12/quilt-set-winner-announced.html

Major Giveaways Ending Soon! Enter Today!

2011-12-14T14:39:00.000-05:00

You could win a major award!

[Might as well be very blatant with this quick post. ;-)]

The Nov/Dec Giveaways for doll clothing end tomorrow -- Thursday is the last day to enter and the winners will be announced Friday.

http://thedollwardrobe.blogspot.com/2011/11/novdec-giveaways-enter-here-today.html

The Doll Giveaway ends Saturday -- that is the last day to enter that giveaway. Two winners will be announced on Sunday -- We will be giving away two dolls this time. So the first prize winner gets to choose from 4 dolls and the second prize winner gets to choose from 3 dolls. :-)

http://thedollwardrobe.blogspot.com/2011/10/2011-fallwinter-doll-giveaway-starts.html

Enter today peoples before it is too late!