Ballerina Barbie

This is, sort of, one of my favorite childhood Barbies.

An interesting thing about this Barbie is that her eyes are half blue, half purple.

Bad Doll Dress Purchase

My mom and I were driving in Illinois about ten years ago, and we stopped in Aurora, Illinois. 

Aurora is the home and Raggedy Ann and Andy. I am not really a Raggedy An fan, but why not.

We visited several shops, and one shop had these Amish inspired doll dresses.

It was only $10. I was not actively collecting at the time, but it was there, and I was impressed by the price tag.

I think I was thinking that maybe Kirsten could wear all or part of it.

Also, my mom sort of supported me getting it, which is opposite of her usual policy, so I got it.

Reader, I regret this.

This is the first time I have put it on a doll. It's been collecting dust for ten years.

It does not fit at all. The sleeves and skirt are too long, and the waist is too wide.

There is a huge gap of fabric on the bonnet that is not sewed shut at all.

But I am also older and more mature, and I now think it is icky to have doll clothes that are based on someone's religion.

Sooo, I have no idea what I am going to do with this monstrosity, but you won't be seeing it featured here ever again, unless it's to make a point.

Miscellaneous Melody

I am working on getting Melody's hair in the perfect flip. She came with flip on one side, and the other side was flatter.

I am using the curlers from the Our Generation retro set that I got from Secret Snarker.

Thanks, BeauCouer!

I have heard that using a clean, dry toothbrush on her hair can also help you achieve the perfect flip.

The curlers are very helpful, but I could not get them to stay on on their own. I used bobby pins to help them stay in place.

Hopefully soon I will be taking pictures of Melody with the perfect flip!

In the mean time, here is a comparison of the elephant I made for Melody from a Wren*Feathers pattern with the elephant from Melody's Bedroom Accessories.

The elephants are about the same size.

The store bought one is much better stuffed, and I think overall probably cuter.

Dog Meet Doll World

I am getting very brazen about getting doll pictures out and about in the real world.

A library near me was offering carriage rides drawn by dogs for children, as part of the summer reading program.

I asked if Anne and Stella could pose with the dog and its carriage!

Cute, huh?

I think they are a little sad that they didn't really get to go for a ride.

Anne's Wardrobe: Culotte Dress

Anne wants to let you know that she is going to kill me for this one.

Lea's Celebration Dress

I bought Lea's Celebration Dress at MCM.

Stella is the first to get to wear it.

 I honestly love this dress. The best way for AG to get me to but anything is to put embroidery on it. I am a sucker for real embroidery.

This is a really intricate pattern, and the colors play together beautifully.

Starfish dress again

I decided to put the starfish dress on #59 while she is here. #59 most closely resembles Dot, who was the book character that inspired the dress.

It looks good on her!

I don't know WHY the JLY meet dresses are so unflattering that the dolls look immediately better if you put them in something else. It's a universal rule that cannot help Mattel to sell the dolls.

Seriously, I like the newest meet dress better, but I think AG needs to work on their meet dress designs.

AG Create Your Own Doll

American Girl's new custom line, Create Your Own, just launched today.

Despite having no announcement about the launch day, the website is so busy that I cannot get it to load.

Every single face mold and skin color is already either low inventory or back ordered, according to friends who CAN get it to load..

American Girl did SUCH a bad job of planning this.

I am actually amused.

I guess this means the line is already a screaming success!

Edited to add:

I can finally get into the website, and I am having fun designing doll clothes.

It's entertaining, but for the most part, I have more options by sewing my own doll clothes.

Then I started designing dolls.

This is so much fun, but without a big plan, there isn't anything that I am ready to order at the moment.

Lottie Doll Wildlife Photographer Mia

A new doll was brought to my attention today!

I have heard of the Lottie dolls, but this one really captured my attention- Wildlife Photographer Mia!



I love this doll for so many reasons.

She is a VERY cute doll of color. Yay for doll diversity!

She is a wildlife photographer- and I cab spend hours in a canoe chasing around a heron to get that perfect picture.

And most importantly, she has cochlear implants!



I have been educating people in my life about cochlear implants lately..

As it turns out, I qualify for cochlear implants. I have reasons not to want to get them, but I approve of anything that helps educate people on this subject.

I think this is great for kids with cochlear implants, and it is a great tool to educate kids or adults who do not have them!

I am very excited about this little doll!



I have not heard of any other doll with cochlear implants.

American Girl dolls have optional hearing aids, but it is not the same thing.

This is great!

You can read more about Mia at Confessions of a Doll Collector's Daughter.

Meet Stella

AT MCM, I got a Just Like You 62. I did not have a name for her in advance.

To my surprise, I was able to pick out a name very quickly. 

Meet Stella!

Nanea Face Mold Comparisons

This is another post using the photos from Nicolel at American Girl Playthings.

She is so kind!

She made these great side-by-side comparison of Nanea's face mold with the other face molds that she owns.

I think it is very fascinating.

 Here is a group picture of all the dolls with different face molds together. They are so cute!

Nanea in Molly's and Emily's Clothing

Nanea Mitchell is now available to purchase for American Girl rewards members who are Gold or Berry level members!

I am not, and therefore I do not have a Nanea on the way.

(I am also not ready to make another doll purchase so soon after MCM.)

But Nanea pictures are beginning to be seen on the Internet!

User Nicolel at American Girl Playthings took some really lovely pictures of Nanea wearing clothes from the collections of Molly McIntire and Emily Bennett.

Nanea looks so cute!

I especially love how Nanea's hair is lovingly re-styled in each picture.

I contacted Nicolel and asked if I could re-post her pictures for those who are not AGP members.

She very kindly said yes!

I love Peter Pan collars, and this dress looks so adorable on Nanea.

 I think this is my favorite! Nanea definitely needs a swimsuit.

She is SO cute. She is rocking the color and the pig tails.

She also looks great in Molly's birthday dress.

 She is heart-meltingly adorable as a tap dancer!

 I have always loved Emily's meet dress, but it is SO gorgeous on Nanea.
A must-have!

In my collection, Molly's Christmas dress belongs to Anne, because I had a similar Christmas dress in 1992. Mine was in black velvet with a gold sash.

However, Anne might have to start sharing with Nanea- or I may have to re-create that dress in black velvet in doll size.

These pictures are soooo amazing and they make me so much more excited about Nanea!

Many thanks to Nicolel for sharing!

Mini Melody in Indiana

Mini Melody just went on a trip to Indiana and visited the University of Evansville in Evansville, Indiana.

This building is called Olmsted Hall. It was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, who also designed Central Park in New York City.

Melody also saw this very cool house on campus. It is the Peters-Margedant house, designed by Wesley Peters and built in 1935. 

It is important because it is the first house built in the Usonian style.

You can read  more about it here.

The pictures of Melody with this house did not turn out well, so you have to see it without her smiling face in front.

This fountain is a memorial to the basketball team of the University of Evansville.

In 1977, almost all the members of the basketball team died in a plane crash. Several days later, the last surviving member of the team died in a car crash. It is a sad story, but a lovely fountain.

Melody enjoyed her trip to Indiana!

Hearts for Hearts Target availability

This is not really big news, but it is exciting to me.

Hearts for Hearts just announced on their Facebook page that Target is going to carry Hearts for Hearts dolls again!

This is great news because it means you can pick one up in person!

Yay!