Dolly Diaper Bag

I decided to get a head start on my Christmas sewing this year since girlie number four is due in early December.  All the sewing I've done in preparation for our real baby has inspired me to do some sewing for doll babies too.  Just like real mamas, little mamas need a place to put all their baby's stuff.  I found a great tutorial here for a lovely faux quilted diaper bag for little girls.  This tutorial was very clearly written with excellent pictures and detailed instructions.  I hope you'll give it a try when you are in need of somewhere to keep all your doll baby's goodies.

Fully lined and "sew" sturdy!

Here is how ours turned out along with a few shots of what I'll be placing inside for a special little girl's Christmas gift.






Don't wait until it's too late this year.  Now go play with your dolls!
-Whimsy

Contents: A rolled-up changing pad, a contoured burp cloth, a dolly-sized diaper.  It's hard to see the diaper as it is the same fabric as the diaper bag's flap.  The royal blue straps you see are the two front Velcro closures on the diaper.
 

A Busy New Site for Doll Goods

I wanted to write a quick post to let you know about a new site for doll enthusiasts.  Where can you find a last-minute swimsuit for your dolls trip to the beach next week?  Where can you find a deal on a mint condition, very hard to find, now retired Felicity?  Well, Dollabee, of course!  Cinnamon from Liberty Jane has created a new site for all things doll.  Dollabee is now up and running and is intended to function"like Craigslist, but for dolls."  I am eager to spread the word in hopes of seeing more and more of you posting and purchasing dolls and doll goodies you find on Dollabee.  I hope to see you there soon!
-Whimsy

Dolly Travels

Once you have a few friends in your collection you will want to bring them along with you when you go places.  Proper dolly care does not allow for dolls placed on the floorboard of your car or strewn about carelessly.  Here I have sewn a Dolly Take Along Tote using McCall's Pattern M5019.  This pattern was easily cut out and constructed fairly quickly.  The pattern markings and terms were clear.  I would rate this an intermediate project since you are working with interfacing and turning requires proper strap and lining placement.  A girl could sew this with much assistance.

 Here I've taken my embroidery machine and embellished the pocket with a wand applique, some ribbon, and her name.  As you can see, once constructed the tote is huge!  Both Samantha and Fancy Nancy are standing up inside with plenty of room to spare.  My model girly is 7 and the tote is about as big as it could possibly be for her to carry around.  This would be great for a slumber party or a play date with friends.  Let me know if you try this pattern and need any help along the way.  I'd love to help.

Now go play with your dolls!
-Whimsy

Our Twinn Family is Growing

While I have yet to stumble across a fabulous My Twinn or American Girl Doll for $5 at a thrift store, I have had almost as much good fortune on Craigslist.  It seems many girls don't "get into" My Twinn like they do AG and often want to help their Twinns find new homes before the dolls are hardly in played with condition at all.  Such was the case for us when we found our newest dolly, another Kate.  She came to us blonde but we have since made her a brunette.  Her body was perfect but her former dolly Mama had not been taught how to care for dolly hair properly.  It was really too broken and dry to be salvaged for styling.  Megan Joy (as she is now known) has caused me to wonder what I can do to spread the word about this wonderful doll.  I would love to see the better-made My Twinn doll more in vogue and in more little girls hearts and homes.
There are many fine handmade fashions that can be purchased for American Girl and other similarly-sized dolls on the market today.  That is no longer the case for My Twinn clothing.  You are currently obligated to pay the higher prices for clothes from the doll manufacturer, buy outdated handmade styles online, or make your own.  The fact is, many little girls love to dress their dolls in clothing that is more like what they wear.  Due to popularity among doll collectors, most My Twinns are seen dressed in toddler clothing or other less trendy styles.  I have been inspired to begin a crusade to help My Twinn owners and lovers everywhere to be able to find high-quality handmade fashions for their Twinn dolls that are more in keeping with dress styles of today in order to encourage the popularity, ownership and play of these great dolls!  If you are an excellent source for this, please send me your link and I will put your store in our Doll Mall.  Until then, enjoy your play!
-Whimsy

Another Twinn

Since I have two girls that play with dolls so far, I felt that we needed another Twinn to keep the first one company.  So, back to eBay I go while the My Twinn company is again involved in some turnover.  Once the dust settles I'll feel comfortable buying directly from them.  The girls and I began our search through the pages of My Twinn listings, finally our eyes fell on this beautiful gal and the "oohs and aahs" began.  We waited patiently two more days for her listing to end and made her our own.  When this pretty girl arrived we were thrilled with her looks, but oh did she smell!  The girls and I do not care for cigarette odors and her wig was the main culprit.  What to do, re-wig or Downy Dunk?  Since her adorable blonde bob was the main reason we fell in love with this girl, we decided to dunk her.  Guess what?  It worked.  Just remember, since her style is short we had to try our best to keep the wig cap itself dry so that the adhesive would not be compromised.  I was especially concerned about this since she is a Denver-era My Twinn. 
Her facemold is known as kissy "Kate" because of the sweet pout her lips seem to have.  My little girl decided she looked more like a Mary Grace to her so that is what she is known as here.  A few carefully placed squirts of Fabreeze took care of any body odors she may have had.  Poor girl.  I think she spent a week at our doll salon getting made over before she was ready to play.  The girls were about to burst!  We are quite pleased with our newest dolly addition and can't wait to dress her up and show her off to all of you.  Now off to find some My Twinn sewing patterns!
-Whimsy