One of my Daily Deals purchases from American Girl was Samantha's frilly frock. I've read several well-written, thorough reviews of this outfit, so I won't do a lengthy review, but I wanted to show how it looks on my different dolls.

I don't have Samantha, so Saige got to be my AG model. The dress fits really nicely, but I don't like the way the wide neckline looks on this body style. I also don't think it is appropriate to the era, as all Samantha's former outfits seemed to have a higher neck. the boots fit well but were difficult to get on.

I love how the bow looks with her curly hair. Saige had slightly loose limbs, so I was happy that the tights and boots actually help her stand up better.

Dana, my Journey Girls doll, rocks a more modern look with Addy's snood worn like a beret. I think this would style would look really good on the new GOTY, Grace. The vinyl breastplate looks a little better, but the dress is too wide for her narrow shoulders and a little baggy at the waist. The boots were also loose, but the tights improve the fit and look.

This dress does not look at all Edwardian to me, but it does have a vintage feel. With a quick wig change and the snood worn in the classic style, I think Dana has a bit of a 40's or 50's vibe.

I think the Madame Alexander body style works best with this outfit because of the vinyl breastplate and fuller waist. I used the wig with bangs and let the curls hang loose below the snood.

So, who do YOU think wore it best?

After looking at my sister's amazing Valentine's projects,  I was feeling rather creatively deficient,  so I decided to challenge myself to come up with a quick and easy Valentine's Day doll idea. All I used was a plain red dress, some decorative tape from the dollar store, and some scraps of craft foam. I just lined the collar and bottom of the dress with the tape and then made some simple matching sandals. Voila! it's a great temporary embellishment to turn an every day dress into something special.

Here's a view of the back of the dress and her simple hair style. This doll is Cinderella from Disney Princess and Me. I think she looks adorable in this casual modern ensemble.

You can find lots of fun patterned tape just about anywhere and for any season. This plain red dress would work great for Christmas or Independence Day too,  and the tape is easy to remove without leaving residue on fabric. Go see what you can create!

I have been hearing about the new doll line Espari for while now, so I just had to go to Barnes and Noble and check them out. These dolls and clothing seem to be made by the same company that produces the Journey Girl line for Toys R Us. I picked up the Pretty Plaid reversible fashion pack, and I really love it. The set is available from Barnes and Noble stores or online, and it retails for $19.99. It includes a black beret, denim jacket, reversible dress (red on one side and plaid on the other), black belt with bow, black boots, black flats, white ankle socks, a white slip, and a faux pearl bracelet. 

Halloween is just around the corner, so I want to squeeze in some last minute Dolloween ideas for you. One of the easiest ways to create a quick costume (for dolls or people) is to put together an easy cape. Let's face it, we've been tying towels and blankets around our necks for ages. Here are some quick, easy (no sew!), and inexpensive cape ideas for your dollies:

Photo Details:
The purple leotard and white leggings are from Walmart. The pink boots are from K-Mart and the white boots are from Springfield. The black super-hero outfit is made from a sock and a dollar-store tutu skirt. The gold headband is a piece of sequin elastic. 

I found these adorable mini hats at my local dollar store. They come in packs of three for a buck, and they work well for 18 inch dolls or minis. the dollar store is a great place for doll sized Halloween finds.

The hats have a solid piece of felt on the bottom and are attached to an alligator clip. They look cute on any size head, so all your dolls and girls can match each other. I can't wait for Dolloween!

Many of you may have seen this pink dress before on my blog, but I wanted to let you know where it came from. I found this sweet plush rabbit several months ago at a local thrift store for $4, which included a doll stand. She is a little shorter than an American Girl doll, with a large head and a thin body. The body is stiffer than a regular plush toy and has jointed arms and legs. The arms are quite long for the body, especially for a rabbit, but it does help the dress fit other dolls more easily.

The decorative lace head-piece was sewed to the rabbit's head, but I snipped the thread and attached the decoration to a straw hat. The dress easily opens in the back with Velcro, so I was able to try it on other dolls. The waist and the arms are a little loose on most 18 inch dolls, but I was able to make the dress fit better by tying a ribbon sash at the waist and placing clear elastics on the sleeves. I love how the dress looks on my American Girl and Heidi Ott dolls, but my favorite was a Duck House doll I rescued and transformed. It started as a boy doll, but I wanted to use the wig for my son's play doll, so I replaced it with another thrift-store wig and made a beautiful girl with golden locks. Doesn't she look lovely in this pink outfit?

Here are more pics of my awesome thrift-store dress on various dolls. I was so excited for this find!

Happy Birthday Saige!!

According to her books from American Girl, today is Saige Copeland's birthday! Saige was the Girl of the Year for 2013, and she's the only official American Girl doll I have ever purchased. My daughter absolutely loves this doll, and Saige has helped her through some tough times, including hospital stays, doctor's appointments, medical tests, and just rough mornings. In Honor of her birthday, here are some of my favorite posts featuring our favorite GOTY, Saige Copeland!

• Mini Saige Cake
• Saige goes to Comic Con
• Mini Saige as Anne of Green Gables
• Saige as a Pioneer
• Saige as Princess Leia
• Saige's Modern Doll House
• The Power of Dolls
• Saige makes me breakfast in bedFabulous 50's Saige
• Patriotic Bandanna Dress

Look what I got for $3.80!

I haven't been to a Kohl's store for a while, but when I stopped in today I was delighted to find some great clearance bargains, including this Dollie and Me dance set. It was 90% off the regular price of $38, which ended up being just under $4! I bought two of them, so I was able to clothe both my daughters and their dolls all in matching outfits for under 10 bucks. These seem to be a pretty nice quality, but the fit of the leotard is a little off. The neckline was way too big for my youngest daughter, so she probably won't be wearing that part for a while, but she loves the tutu skirt. The color and sparkle make it great for dress-up play or an easy costume. This would make a great fairy skirt, and I was thinking I could add some snowflakes to make an Elsa ice queen tutu.

Here is the doll dress on Saige. It's all one piece with a leotard and attached tutu skirt. I like the overall fit on an AG doll, and it should easily fit other brands. It's too short for a dress, but it makes a nice dance outfit, especially with some tights or leggings.

I bought these two sets plus a pair of shorts and a skirt, all for under 14! My receipt said I saved $111!! Overall, I think it was a very good value. Kohl's also has some cute girl and doll pajama sets on sale right now for around $13. The regular prices for the Dollie and Me line are too high in my opinion, and I have found that the quality is not as high as other brands of matching sets I've purchased. If you can find them on clearance or on sale through Zulily, though, I think it's worth it. Definitely not bad for under $5! You couldn't even buy the doll outfit for that, even with a coupon! The change of season is a great time to hunt for clearance bargains. If you find some good ones, be sure to let me know.

I am always on the lookout for new clothing ideas for my mini dolls, so I was pleased to find the Printable Doll Clothes site. Elizabeth, a talented designer and doll collector, offers a variety of patterns to quickly clothe a variety of doll sizes. She also includes plenty of pictures, tutorials, and even videos to show you how to use the different pieces to create amazing outfits. I used the free dress pattern from the sample section and adapted it several different ways.

For Felicity's dress I cut a wider inner circle from the circle skirt piece to widen the waist and make it a little shorter. I also cut a couple of slices out of the circle to remove the excess overlap. I used the waist band piece for the headband and the two straps taped together for the sash. I kept on her shift to use as the bodice.

For Ivy's Asian-inspired dress, I used the extra pieces i cut from the skirt to make long sleeves.

For Rebecca's simple shift dress, I only used the top pattern piece, leaving some white at the bottom to add length. Then I cut slits to make fringe. I cut the waist band in half to make extra strap pieces so I could use two on each side for sleeves. For a finishing touch, I cut a larger heart from the skirt piece to decorate the top.

Elizabeth provides specific instructions for using her patterns to fit a variety of dolls. You can read the instructions for the AG Mini Dolls here, and 18 inch dolls here. Head on over to the Printable Doll Clothes site to check out the other outfit collections, which you can purchase in the PDC Etsy shop.

The Printable Doll Clothes site inspired me to make more paper doll clothes, so I decided to combine and adapt a few free printables to make this Anna costume for my mini Felicity. 

The bodice is an embroidery reference pattern by MomoKurumi at deviant art, and the skirt is from a Disney paper craft from the Disney Family website. 

I cut a slit up the back of the bodice piece and trimmed it down for a better fit. Then I taped the bodice together at the sides, placed it on the doll, and taped the back closed.

I cut out the skirt piece and then trimmed it just below the tabs so it would fit around the doll's waist. Then I placed it on the doll and taped it together in the back.

Here she is wearing Cecile's black boots and a little pink cleaning cloth for a cape. I couldn't do the signature braids because I want to maintain Felicity's original hairstyle, but I think she still looks cute.