Molly Thrift Store Find

 I found Pleasant Company's trunk for Molly!

It was $20 and I found it in a pile of stuff in the garage (!) of my local thrift store.

It's a wonderful piece, but Molly is not my girl, so this trunk is going to live with a friend instead.

Mattel probably does not owns the rights, but I would 100% buy a bookmark or a Christmas ornament that looks like the PC logo plate on the trunk.

Amazing Addy Thrift Store Find

I found a Molly wearing Addy's prototype dress at the Salvation Army, the one that never has anything good, that looks like the land of lost hopes. 

The one in walking distance from my girlfriend's apartment, so I joked that we are going to have to start taking romantic walks to the thrift store to look for AG stuff. 

Anyway, it took me a couple of months to take a picture.

I was absolutely thrilled! 

I sill need to get a picture of Molly. She is all cleaned up, but she still has loose limbs.

I have had some amazing thrift store finds in my time, but this one is definitely one of my best.

Thrift Store Find

 I found this at the thrift store this week!

It's a Disney doll, maybe Cinderella, wearing the A Girl of Today First Day Outfit shirt.

I actually already have this shirt, but for $2, it came home with me!

I think the crown might fit AG dolls, so that's a bonus.

I'll donate the doll back to the local thrift store that benefits the community.

Miss AG Bear and More

 I decided to indulge my inner child and buy Miss AG Bear.

She was on Marketplace for $20, with all of her original clothes and accessories. Hat, vest, skirt, backpack and watch.

I was really pleased to have her in such good condition, like brand new, with all of her items.

She was in a  different city, so naturally I visited the thrift stores while I was there.

And, to my utter surprise, I found Josefina's bed for $5. 

It's just the bed frame, so mattress or pillow or blanket.

But I'm so excited! And it's tagged Made in Taiwan for Pleasant Company.

I haven't fixed it up yet for her. I will take more photos when I do!

Thrift Store Find: Addy's Prototype Meet Dress

 Yesterday, I had a doctor's appointment in a town about 30 minutes away from me.

Several hours after the appointment, I had an ASL class in the same town.

I decided to not spend time and gas driving back and forth after my doctor's appointment. 

Instead, I visited several of my favorite stores in this town.

Since I had plenty of time, I decided to stop by one thrift store that I never find anything at. I thought maybe I would find some small accessories to use in the doll house.

To my utter surprise, I found Wellie Wishers Emerson for $7 in among the kid's toys. She had her dress and boots and everything.

I was even more surprised when I found Molly in the collector dolls section. Molly was very dirty and had messy hair.

She was marked at $5.

And she was wearing Addy's prototype meet dress.

I knew what it was immediately. I have seen one in person before. One of my friends has it and showed it to me.

I couldn't believe it.

I circled the store several times to make sure that I hadn't missed anything, then I went to check out.

I still can't believe it.

I don't know how I have such good luck at the thrift store. Living in Wisconsin probably helps, since we had the MCM sale for many years. 

Wow.

I thought for sure I would wake up and find that this was all a dream.

Classic Summer

 I love all of my dolls. But I feel almost a sense of awe when I handle Felicity and Samantha and the items from their original collection.

They are so beautiful, and I love them so much. I wanted them so much as a child, and I feel so lucky that I own as much as I do.

I am so glad that I was careful as a child not to lose pieces like Felicity's sash and lace cap.

I recently went to sale where I was thrilled to be able to acquire Samantha's doll pram and Felicity's summer hat. So naturally, I needed to do a photo shoot!

Beautiful Lissie

I thought it would be funny to have Samantha pushing mini Samantha in the doll pram. 

In fact, I am displaying the pram this way in case it falls, so that her porcelain doll doesn't fall and break.

Squee!

I'm including this picture because you can see part of the top of her hat.

Do you have any very favorite American Girl or other doll items? What really makes you go, "Squee?"

A Skirt for Mini Molly!

 I joined a challenge on Ravelry to sew doll clothes for the mini dolls.

It worked out perfectly. I bought this mini Molly last year. She had her original hair ribbons but was missing her skirt.

The first thing we had to make for the challenge was a skirt for the mini dolls!

I used fabric from an old pair of pants. It's a different color than Molly's original skirt, but I feel like the texture is perfect, and makes it look better than making a blue cotton skirt.

Molly says it's about time she has a skirt again!

I love these older mini dolls. Their faces are so cute, in a chipmunk-y kind of way.

Pioneer Dresses

 I made two pioneer ensembles using Kirsten's patterns from the Pleasant Company.

I have used these patterns before.

This time, I made sets with her school dress, birthday apron and bonnet. I did use the bodice for the apron dress to make it a bit easier.

I am going to send one of these sets to a friends who just did a homeschooling unit on Little House on the Prairie. One of the dresses is read because we know that in Little House on Plum Creek, Ma dressed Laura in red.

I am very happy with how this turned out!

You can see a dress that I made before from this pattern at this blog link.

Wilhelmina

 Sometimes it's fun to play with a doll that is not your own... especially when you don't have time for your own dolls. 

This Pleasant Company American Girl of Today #14 is not mine, but I got to take her around and take some lovely pictures outside. Her name is Wilhelmina.

I have a serious soft spot for the older Pleasant Company dolls, since they are contemporary with my childhood.

I had fun taking pictures of Wilhelmina. I hope you enjoyed seeing them!

Hairstyle for Addy

 My friend found a second hand Pleasant Company Addy this year, and then a few months later, I found one too! 

We are joking that our dolls are twins and we need to have a get-together with the dolls.

Anyway, I thought that the way she did her Addy's hair is SO CUTE, and she kindly took a special set of pictures just for me to share on the blog.

She pointed out that it's very close to Kirsten's hair, but I don't care. I love it!

I'm also VERY partial to Addy's Beforever hair style. Addy just has great hair to play with!

Felicity's Wardrobe: Felicity's Rose Garden Dress

 I suspect that with the 35th anniversary release, everyone is re-discovering their appreciation for the original meet dresses.

In my totally biased opinion, Felicity's Rose Garden dress is one of the best of the meet outfits, and it helped me to fall in love with her.

I had to choose between Felicity and Samantha as my Christmas present, and I knew that Santa would only ever bring me one American Girl doll. I chose Felicity.

It's such an elegant dress with its rose garden print and ruffled sleeves.

I'm so glad that Felicity is my girl.

The Sublime Six

 The recent release by American Girl of its first six dolls in their original outfits hit me right in the feels.

I have five of those dolls, all but Molly.

I made sure to get the original dresses for each, although I don't always have the accessories.

I was inspired to change my five into their original meet outfits and take a group picture. 

All of these but Addy are the Pleasant Company dolls.

I just think they are beautiful, and they hit me right in the nostalgia feels.

I really used to memorize their catalogs.

So this release makes me very happy.

I don't think I am going to buy any of the re-released dolls myself. Money and space are an issue.

I am just really glad that the dolls are now available for everyone who wants one, everyone who wanted one as a little girl.

Pattern Review: Addy's Nightgown

 I made Addy's classic nightgown from the Pleasant Company pattern.

I used real flannel, and it's very cozy for the freezing weather we have been having.

This is the second time I have made this pattern.

The first time was years ago, and one of the sleeve bands was too tight and didn't fit over her hand.

This time, I realized something that I am not sure I noticed last time.

The button placket is made by making a pleat from the front bodice piece. I have never seen this kind of construction before, it's a bit odd. It's so easy to cut a small piece of fabric and make the placket separately and not risk messing up the measurement of the bodice. 

Also, I  added a quarter inch to the bodice back to make sure that it could close easily, and I think that this was a good decision.

So this pattern has a few potential shortfalls, but it came out okay.

It doesn't have buttons yet. I don't have any white or clear buttons that are the right size.

I will wait till it's warmer and I can go shopping.

I am glad that I finally re-made this pattern, because I have wanted to for years. 

Samantha's Nightgown

 I always loved Samantha's nightgown. I was not able to buy it until I reached adulthood, but even now, it's very soothing to me to put it on her.

This is not the official American Girl Samantha's nightgown.

This is actually a version of Samantha's nightgown that I made myself.

I used the official Pleasant Company pattern.

The lace is different- I just used what I had in the house.

The ends of the sleeves are different too. I put in a sleeve band instead of using elastic.

However, I am really proud of this. I think it looks like Samantha's nightgown at first glance, even in person. You don't notice the differences unless you are looking for them.

This is going to be a gift for my little cousin, and I hope it makes her happy.

We are the Girl Scouts

I have been meaning to do a Girl Scout post for some time. Years, actually.

I have two different Junior Girl Scout uniforms that I wanted to compare. 

Then I got some Girl Scout cookies made by Pippaloo, and I really had to make this post!

Anne and Kanani are wearing the Girl Scout uniforms.

Anne is wearing the Girl Scout uniform made by American Girl, back when it was the Pleasant Company.

 I have a great fondness for this uniform. It has lots of pieces and is very authentic.

Back when the Pleasant Company started the Girl of Today line, you could write in and suggest outfits that you wanted to see offered. I wrote that I wanted a Girl Scout uniform!

I never heard back, but as you can see, they made the uniform.

I am probably not the only one who suggested it, and I am sure they had other factors in making the uniform, but it still makes me very happy.

Kanani's uniform is off brand. I believe it was made by Emily Rose doll clothes.

You can see the original post I wrote here.

An identical uniform is for sale here.

Both uniforms have good points. The insignia on Kanani's uniform is much larger, but it is embroidered.

That makes it look more  like real patches.

The insignia on Anne's uniform is printed, but I think it looks more in scale.

The tab on Kanani's shirt in particular looks loo large and a bit awkward to me.
You actually can't see the tab well in these pictures, because it is hidden by her hair.

The worst thing is that the skirt for the Emily Rose brand uniform is too tight, and there is sort of a gap in the back. I can just barely get it to snap closed on Kanani.

The cookies by Pippaloo are gorgeous. The detail is amazing.

I was also amazed at how small they are!

You can easily tell which cookie is which.

Even Tagalongs and Thin Mints are distinguishable. That's amazing when they are both round, brown cookies.

I am so happy with the doll sized Girl Scout items that I own.

This is a really special part of my collection, and there will likely be more posts on the subject in the future.

Anne's Wardrobe: School Jumper

Here is another on-trend 1996 outfit, the School Jumper.

AG Trading Cards: Meet Felicity

On the front of this trading card, Felicity glares at Jiggy Nye as she clings to Penny's back.

The back of the card says:

Jiggy Nye was furious when he saw Felicity riding Penny.

Later, Father said to Felicity, "It is never wrong to try to earn something you love. Indeed, 'tis only wrong not to try. You hoped for something and you put ____ behind your hopes."

What words complete his sentence?

1. good money

2. dreams and schemes

3. hard work

Answer: 3

AG Trading Cards: Meet Molly

On the front of this trading card, Molly practices dance moves with Susan and Linda while wearing a hula skirt.

The back of the card says:

Molly's mother helped the girls make Halloween costumes. She showed them how to make hula skirts from newspaper and green crepe paper.

When they went trick or treating, the girls got apples, doughnuts, molasses kisses, peanuts, popcorn balls, and their favorite treat. What was their favorite treat? To find out, change each letter to the one that comes after it in the alphabet:

Snnsrhd Qnkk Onor

Answer: Tootsie Roll Pops

This is maybe my favorite part of Molly's story. In second grade, I insisted on copying her costume for Halloween, even though it was much too cold for it!

AG Trading Cards: Meet Kirsten

I love the illustrations of the American Girls and their dolls. 

Kirsten looks sadly at Sari on this trading card illustration.

The back of the cards says:

The Larsons had to fit all their possessions in just two trunks when they traveled on the ship to America. Kirsten had to leave Sari in the big painted trunk in Riverton because

1. The family had to walk to Uncle Olav's farm since they couldn't afford a horse and wagon.

2. Kirsten had to help carry more important things than her doll.

Answer: 1, 2

AG Trading Cards: Meet Samantha

On the front of this trading card, Samantha and Nellie looks so scared as they look up at Lincoln.

The back of this card says:

Samantha was very upset because no one would tell her why Jessie had stopped working for Grandmary. Samantha and Nellie slipped away in the night to Jessie and Lincoln's house to find out what had happened. They discovered Jessie had left because

1. She'd had a new baby

2. She'd been kidnapped

3. She'd gone to New Orleans to be a singer.

Answer: 1

Poor Nellie had a lot more to lose from sneaking out at night than Samantha did.