Two Coats for Claudie

 I just realized that both American Girl and I made green coats for Claudie.

This amuses me.

Here is the green coat that I made. I used the Keepers Dolly Duds pattern that is available at Pixie Faire.

The snowflake on Claudie's nose in this picture kills me. So cute.

Here is the coat that AG made! 

It's a different shade of green, and a different style coat. They both work well for Claudie!

Here is a bonus picture of Phryne Valancy wearing the same coat.

I will have to take a side-by-side comparison photo when it's winter again!

Favorite AG Dolls

 I really should downsize my American Girl doll collection.

I am reluctant right now to sell even the dolls that I am not very bonded with, just because AG keeps making changes like putting an imprinted star on the dolls' foot.

Some dolls, however, I would never part with.

My two childhood dolls are Anne and Felicity. They are so special. They aren't going anywhere.

I am very careful with them and their collections. Each has a dedicated wardrobe that they don't share.

Anne, in particular, as an original Girl of Today #6, is super rare. She sold online recently for a thousand dollars. That makes me even more careful with her!

Fun Fact: Anne is named after Anne of Green Gables.

Samantha is the doll that I wanted as a kid and couldn't get. She's the first one that I bought as a newly minted adult.

Mara Frances is the first custom that I made, and she has such character. She always makes me happy.

I am also very attached to my Create Your Owns. They are all Jess molds. I love the Jess mold and I like to see more variation that AG makes with this mold.

Danielle is the first CYO that I designed (of two.) I love her! She has glasses and hearing aids.

Aurelie was the first CYO that I got at MCM!

Nadia also came from MCM.

As did Fern.

And Steffi.

Phryne Valancy is a 1920s CYO that I designed myself.

I adopted Cora from the mom of Super Inky!

I really want to do a group photo of my Jess mold CYOs some day!

I am also super attached to Girl of the Year Joss Kendrick. I really love her face mold, and I love that she is hearing impaired like me.

I am also falling more and more in love with Claudie lately. She has the sweetest face.

These are probably my top dolls, but they are almost all special to me in one way or the other. 

More Summer Photos

 Here are some more summer doll photos.

These photo feature the historical dolls! Well, some of them, anyway. I spent hours taking doll pictures and still didn't get all of the dolls changed and photographed.

That's certainly a first-world problem to have. It's not really even a problem- I spend as much time on the dolls as I find enjoyable. There's no point in making it into a chore.

Do you think that Josefina grew these flowers in her mother's garden? I certainly do!

Samantha is enjoying life at Piney Point.

I am always so careful with Felicity's sash in her summer gown. I try not to get any creases in it! I am also super careful with her doll.

Caroline is also enjoying the garden. 

Nanea is having a picnic! I love her lunchbox, and was glad I had a chance to use it.

It's really hard to get her to hold her sandwich!

Kit is on the lookout for news stories.

Summer Photos

 Summer is going by way too fast. I did manage to get some pictures of my dolls enjoying the sunshine while it lasts!

I was pleased to find these Madame Alexander mini dolls of Elphaba and Galinda at the thrift store. I knew that they should belong to Kavi!

I thought that the green blouse and the purple shoes were a nice nod to Wicked as well. 

I wish that AG would release a dress that Kavi would wear when her grandmother takes her to see Wicked.

Both Sylvie, my custom JLY 32, and Steffi, one of my CYO Jess molds, enjoyed some quality time with their dolls. (Here is a link to the post where I customized Sylvie.)

Mara, my custom Kaya, climbed a tree. (Here is a link to the post where I customized Mara.)

Angelica, my JLY 26, found some flowers that perfectly match her dress!

They are forget-me-nots, and I grew them from seed. Definitely growing some more next year.

Dress for Tiana

 A little girl of my acquaintance asked me to make some dresses for her Disney Animators doll Tiana.

I do not have a Disney Animators doll to model. I bought the Dress Basics pattern from Requiem Art Designs.

The first dress I made was a simple sundress with green fabric that I think is vaguely froggy, and thus appropriate for Tiana.

It was a bit plain on its own, so I added pink ribbons to pep it up a bit.

It looks funny standing there on its own! I hope it fits the doll well.

I plan to make a few more dresses before I mail them to their new owner.

New Items for Claudie

 Claudie's new stuff is the cutest.

She recently had a release with four new items: a polka dot middy dress, a winter coat, Christmas accessories, and a suitcase.

I bought all four new items, and I love all of them.

It's hard to choose a favorite, but I really love the Christmas accessories. It comes with a stuffed Velveteen Rabbit, a mini Velveteen Rabbit book, a Christmas tin, Christmas cookies, and a postcard to her grandmother.

Everything in the set is adorable. The cookies are some of the most realistic doll food that AG has done in a while. Well, the Pizza Hut Pan Pizza is also amazingly realistic and a must-have.

The pamphlet that came with her Christmas stuff was a mini story about her Christmas. That is not in her books. Her books take place 100% over the summer. They should put it in the catalog or something. It's adorable and will totally entice people to buy these items.

My biggest peeve was that the beret didn't fit well on her head and had to balance on top.

I really like her polka dot middy dress. The fabric feels nice. The boots are a nice quality. Her hat is adorable and sets well on her head, although the curls make it harder to put on her sometimes.

The coat is just beautiful and well made. The coat is even lined! It closes with Velcro in the front. I don't mind this. Sometimes when it is snowing and I want to take the dolls for a quick picture, it's a really a pain to manipulate the buttons and belt on Kit's coat.

The beret with the coat does not fit well on her head. I had to balance it on top of her head.

I also liked Claudie's suitcase and its contents. The suitcase is heavy and should stand up to a lot of playing. The mirror inside it has a loop on the handle so that Claudie can hold it easily! I love that.

I also love the historical accuracy of Claudie having Madame CJ Walker hair products.

All of these items are a flash back to the Pleasant Company. They are so well made and detailed.

I hope that everyone buys these so that we see more items like this from AG in the future!