I have not done a cheap doll find post in awhile, but I decided it was time. One of my favorite places to look is Oriental Trading. They have so much for parties and crafts and if you are creative you can find some great items that work for dolls. I always start by searching "miniature" or "mini". I will admit Hazel and I have been checking things out for awhile since she is planning on having an American Girl themed birthday party this year. It was going to be a Beforever themed party until she got Saige as a hand-me-down. For the birthday party we knew we wanted to get the Mini Neon Tote Bags, so we will start with these. Hazel set up the scene as her dolls having a slumber party. The tote bags work for the girls to bring her things for the night. At Hazel's party they will be for the dolls to bring home their favors (and we are planning on getting the matching Neon Tote Bags for the girls).
Hazel's doll,Ginger, is showing you how the bag works for the dolls. They come in four colors.
I plan to personalize the bags for the dolls. I took a few of the bags and added some paint. I made two trick-or-treat bags as well as one in Charlie Brown fashion.
I discovered it was easier to use paint markers rather than paint and a brush to get better details.
Hazel's dolls have been learning about some of the Beforever dolls that Hazel does not have. They have been reading books about Josefina. I printed the covers on cardstock and printed several copies of the blank pages for the pages of the book. I used a little glue stick on the pages to keep it all together. (Use the link to print your own copies.) The dolls wanted to have a fiesta, so I got them these Mini Maraca Keychains. I took off the chains and we used rubber bands to have the dolls hold them.
They are ready for a fiesta!!
Hazel likes to have Ginger run a bakery. Today she was working at a candy store. Kit was happy to server herself some jelly beans. The bags for the candy are the bags from Hazel's Shopkins collection. She is not into Shopkins anymore but uses some of them as food for her dolls. The "candy" is held in Mini Plastic Candy Containers with Lids. (When we stopped at American Girl the other day we saw containers filled with candy in the to go box at the Cafe that looked like the Mini Plastic Pedestal Containers with Lids.)
For candy we used various things. For gumballs we used pearls and round beads. For candy sticks we used cut straws. For jelly beans we used jelly bean beads that we got a few years ago from Oriental Trading. Our final jar was Hazel's idea. She used faceted beads on small pieces of pipe cleaners to look like hard candy.
We found these Dr. Seuss Mini Notepads. We thought they were the perfect size to be Dr. Seuss books for the dolls.
Since they are notepads they open on the top instead of the side. Here is Hazel's doll Mimi holding one of the books so you can see the size for the doll.
Now another fun mini we found are these Light-Up Mini Grabbers. Kids seem to love these grabbers as toys. Hazel has one. My mother-in-law uses one when her back is bothering her to pick things up. Now there is a doll size one. Ginger is using one to pick up her tote bag.
And they light up with the flip of a switch.
Now Hazel's dolls like to write notes to their friends and celebrate birthdays and other holidays. They need some cards to do this. I made some (and you can print them too) so they could write some. To make the envelopes there are four steps.
We are sealing them with Mini Heart Big Sticker Rolls stickers. They are the perfect size for a seal on the envelopes. I also addressed three of the envelopes with made up addresses for Gabriella, Tenney and Z Yang.
I included some birthday cards, thank you notes and just blank cards.
I think we will make some invitations for Hazel's friends' dolls too for her party. Won't that be adorable? Here are the cards with Ginger so you can see the scale.
Now for her dolls' slumber party there needed to be games. We found these Mini Black Dice Beads. We love playing Yahtzee so I made her dolls a Yahtzee game.
For the Yahtzee dice cup I used a large glue stick cap. On my printable I have the red strip with the logo on it. I used strong double-sided tape to attach it.
My printable includes Yahtzee pages as well for the doll. Hazel's dolls were excited to play a game.
Saige couldn't believe Ginger got a Yahtzee on her first roll. She wanted to play a different game, so I made her a Parcheesi game.
I used ideas from American Girl Ideas. She has a great printable Monopoly game for the dolls as well as Sorry and Uno. She used pushpin magnets for her Sorry pieces. I couldn't find pushpin magnets quickly so I bought pushpins and cut the pins off with wire cutters. For the dice cups I used regular size glue stick caps (except the cups do not fit in the box).
Saige was happy to play Parcheesi!! You can print your own board and box here.
The girls wanted to try a game that needed a little more skill. So we had them play Boggle. We got these Letter Games for them and I printed out some "Boggle" sheets. Hazel pulled out some pencils she has for the dolls including one we made from a toothpick.
We also made them milkshakes using Rockin '50s Shot Glasses. I tried a couple of different methods. My first was using clay but I found filling the glasses took a lot of clay and they didn't look perfect. However Hazel really liked when I painted the sides of the glasses. I put a little clay in the glass to give it weight and hold the straw.
I topped them with white air-dry clay (Model Magic works well). Then I made a red cherry for them. I also used a bit of glitter for sprinkles. On the chocolate one I used a brown paint to be chocolate sauce on top of the whip cream.
Hazel got a strawberry milkshake at the American Girl Cafe this summer, so I am comparing mine to theirs. What do you think?
Now Mimi wanted a vanilla one. You can see how the size works for the doll. (By the way as a miniaturist I find the name brand scales to be so incorrect for 18-inch dolls! It drives me a bit crazy.)
Ginger was serving the milkshakes as well! Which kind would you like?
I also made her dolls some lemonade and strawberry lemonade cups. I used recycled Communion glasses from our old church. When I was a deacon we would wash them and put them in the recycling bin, but I took some home thinking they were the perfect size for dolls. For the liquid I used white glue and acrylic paint and stuck in a thin straw or a piece of a straw coffee stirrer. Aren't they cute?
So those are our doll finds!! What have your dolls been up to?
Thank you to everyone who shared with us at our last party!! It was full of amazing crafts! Below are some features from the party, but this is just a small sample of great ideas shared! This week we have one group of features. Also remember for your child-oriented crafts, activities, lessons, etc. Sharing Saturday is going on!! For any cultural related posts (diversity and/or multicultural as well) be sure to share at the month long Creative Kids Creative Blog Hop.
Features
1) From Busy Being Jennifer: Rolled Fabric Rose Farmhouse Wreath
2) From Bombshell Bling: Fall Hedgehog Wreath
3) From Creatively Handmade: Handmade Fall Cards
4) From Fresh Squeezed Life: How to Make Pillow Shams
5) From Taylor Bradford: DIY Pink Skeleton Key Charm Necklace
6) From Duct Tape & Denim: Junky Pumpkins with Vintage Jello Molds
7) From Refresh Living: Candy Corn Fall Candle Holders from Old Glass Jars
8) From Sparkle: Mini Cheesecloth Ghost Globes
9) From You Brew My Tea: Frankenstein Upcycled Tin Cans
Thank you to everyone who shared the last week!! I hope you will share again!! If you are featured here, please feel free to grab a featured button to display proudly on your blog. I would love the help spreading the word about Crafty Weekends!!
5) From Taylor Bradford: DIY Pink Skeleton Key Charm Necklace
6) From Duct Tape & Denim: Junky Pumpkins with Vintage Jello Molds
7) From Refresh Living: Candy Corn Fall Candle Holders from Old Glass Jars
8) From Sparkle: Mini Cheesecloth Ghost Globes
9) From You Brew My Tea: Frankenstein Upcycled Tin Cans
Thank you to everyone who shared the last week!! I hope you will share again!! If you are featured here, please feel free to grab a featured button to display proudly on your blog. I would love the help spreading the word about Crafty Weekends!!
Please share family friendly crafts here. Just crafts and/or patterns--no recipes, lessons, etc. You can share craft product reviews as well. By linking up here you are giving me permission to share your links and to pin your links. Please follow my Crafty Weekends Feature Pinterest Board to see all the features from these fun link parties!
