Today is American Girl Emily Bennett's birthday. I always loved Emily because she has such a cute meet dress, and she looks quite a bit like my own daughter. Alas, I couldn't afford to purchase her before she retired, and I haven't really found a comparable doll I can use as a stand-in. I did, however, find an old Battat doll at the thrift store ($6) who looks quite a bit like Molly. Her hair is a little more reddish and she has brown eyes instead of gray, but the bangs look similar, and I think my mock Molly looks pretty close once she has the braids and glasses. What do you think? Since the weather has been so cold here lately, I dressed her in this DIY ice skating outfit I put together.

Leotard, Leggings, and Skates: My Life As ice skating set (on clearance for $5 after the Winter Olympics) from Walmart 
Coat: Springfield Collection. I folded the bottom of the long coat under to make it look shorter so her cute skirt would show, and I added some decorative snowflake brads for buttons.
Muff: Home-made with a piece of white fleece.
Glasses: Hand-made by me with wire I had on hand.

Her hair was pretty messy, but actually in pretty good condition. I tamed it with a little bit of water and fabric softener, brushed it with a wire brush, and flattened the bangs with a hat before braiding it into that classic Molly style. Now our "fake" Molly is ready for some real fun!

The theme for this week over at Camp Doll Diaries is all about the 1950s, so I decided to post some pictures of the 50s inspired felt skirt I made for my "vintage" vinyl doll a few months ago. This was my favorite play doll when I was a little girl, and I loved it to death, literally. The hair just got un-salvageable, so I shaved it off, and I use a variety of different wigs for her. This one is what I call the Laura wig, because it reminds me of my sister Laura's hair when she was younger. I got it from an extremely ugly porcelain doll that I rescued from a thrift store and rewigged with a much more suitable style. This wig looks great on many different dolls, and I especially Iike the look of it with this Nifty Fifties style. I sewed on a strap of thin, clear, elastic cord, so it holds the wig on the doll's head without having to glue it down. I prefer to make the wigs non-permanent so I can change them up whenever I wish.