Memories

I have had some family members die this year who were very dear to me.

Luckily, I have some physical reminders of them that have always been special to me.

My great-aunt Ella Mae decorated this cradle for me. I believe that her son, who traveled a lot for work, bought the cradle at an Amish community. 

Ella Mae decorated the cradle with lace and ribbon and made a satin cushion that fit inside.

I know that she never had enough money to buy as many craft supplies as she wanted, so this is a very precious symbol of love.

My great-uncle Sidney fought in the army in WWII. He earned a Purple Heart.
He was also a deeply sweet man who fashioned this wooden carousel horse for me, and even painted it my favorite color.

These tokens of love have a special place in my collection and in my heart!

Pattern Review: Genniewren Mackenzie Dress

I really wanted to make Nisha a change of clothes from her meet dress, and here it is!

Jinjia Mixed Goods Celebrates!

Jinjia Mixed Goods is offering a free paper craft every day from now until December 25!

What a great way to celebrate!

They are being posted every five days, to be more manageable.

Check it out here!

Amelia wears the Warm Winter Accessories

Amelia wanted a shot at wearing the Warm Winter Accessories.

She is so warm and cozy! She approves!

Hearts for Hearts Hanging Out

Here is some eye candy of  three of my Hearts for Hearts dolls. They are so pretty!

 Consuelo

Shola 

Rahel

Group picture!

Felicity's New Outfit

The final outfit that I got at during the American Girl sale is Felicity's new meet outfit.

I have mixed feelings about it.

First of all, it is gorgeous. Oh, it is so gorgeous. I love it. I love the fabric and the color combination.

I have also been told that the bum roll is more historically accurate to her time period, so that is a plus.

I need to make a bum roll to go with the dress, but here you can see how there is fabric in the back of the dress to accommodate a bum roll.

And here is a rear view of the dress.

On the other hand, I am not sure what this dress is supposed to be in Felicity's wardrobe.
It's a fancy dress. Super fancy.
Wear it to the governor's ball fancy.

So is this supposed to be an everyday dress or a replacement for Felicity's ball gown?

I really liked it when AG made everyday historical clothing or even work clothing.
Felicity's rose dress that she originally came with looked like an every day dress. This does not.

I am sad that it is one piece. I am sure that this is cheaper to make and easier on the mothers of girls.
However, I loved that Felicity's ball gown came in two pieces and how that was historically accurate.

Thirdly, I wish that Felicity came with at least a shift under her gown and that you did not not have to buy that separately. That's just sad.

.....

On another note, this is not my Felicity in this picture. This is Astrid, my American Girl doll 61.

My Felicity is a chubby first run Pleasant Company doll from 1992. There is no way this dress could fit her. It was skin tight on Astrid.

I am thinking that Astrid can step in for Nan every now and then in this dress. I should take some pictures of the two of them together.

Still, this dress is so lovely that I had to buy it knowing that it would not fit my Felicity. That is some good design.

Melody's Christmas Outfit

In Melody's books, she is given this dress and the coat by her grandparents for her birthday on New Year's Eve.

However, American Girl calls this Melody's Christmas Outfit, so that is the title I am going with.

It comes with the dress, tights, shoes and headband.

I have had this outfit as long as I have had Melody, but somehow I never took pictures of it before.

The headband is basically a gold ribbon, but it looks nice in her hair.

The tights are basic tights.

The shoes are black flats with velvet bows. They do not match the dress at all. Come on, AG.

The dress is very pretty. However, the dress feels like plastic. I have said this about more than one outfit lately, but it is truer of this dress than of any other American Girl outfit. It feels like plastic tablecloth fabric, yet itchy.

I feel so sorry for Melody for having to wear a dress this uncomfortable!

Also, the sleeves are tight and limit her arm movement.

However, she looks flawless.