Just sharing some fun pictures that Zoey took this afternoon in our super snowy backyard!

Meet Zinnia!

Zoey has decided on a name for her Wellie Wishers doll Camille. She will now be known as Zinnia and be called Zinnie for short. She loves nature and studying about herbs as well as just spending time outdoors.

She is sooooooooo cute! We discovered that she fits nicely in some of the clothing that we had gotten for Zoey's Disney Rapunzel doll. We put her in this dress along with a hat that belongs to Bitty Baby and she was set for exploring in the yard.

She really photographs well it seems and it's SO much easier to stand her up in poses since she is a somewhat stiff doll with no soft body and limbs strung with strings.

I think I love her as much as Zoey does! Her little hands and feet are so sweet...love her realistic looking eyes and that she has a wig cap like the larger 18 inch American Girl dolls.

Her hair is silky soft and shiny, just like her older American Girl doll counterparts and hers particularly seems to be very easy to manage.

Here are a couple more photos of her...

She's off to do some more exploring in the woods now!

A Fun Surprise!

Right away when American Girl first debuted the Wellie Wishers line of dolls and accessories I wasn't keen on them. They looked small, and like they were made of hard plastic and I just simply couldn't wrap my head around being excited about them since we were such fans of the 18 inch dolls. Well, several months later and here we are...the newest doll owners of one of them!

Zoey really wanted Willa but she is currently back-ordered until January or something crazy like that so she quickly chose her second favorite Camille.

Zoey sold some of her older toys that she no longer plays with and used the money to purchase Camille. Right now American Girl has free shipping on the Wellie Wishers collection so that helped her to be able to make this special purchase.

I kept telling Zoey that the doll would be little and hard just to prepare her for being disappointed upon her arrival but low and behold...we are BOTH simply smitten with her! She's SO CUTE!! And so photogenic too. We took her out for a mini photo shoot this afternoon (will share the photos soon!) and we just love her to pieces.

She might need a friend soon...oh dearie me! Really and truly, if you have been on the fence about how you feel about the Wellie Wishers collection you may want to give them a second chance, they are simply adorable and we are now fans for sure!

Decorating the Christmas Tree!

Today was the day! We always decorate our Christmas tree after Thanksgiving and before our holiday break is over and it's "back to school" time again. This year was no exception!

Patrova was so excited to put the star on the top this year...

and Nellie was tickled to help with the tinsel for the fireplace. 

The pups got in on the fun and festivities too...they may have gotten in to a bit of mischief here and there however!

Bella helped with the tree decorating too.

Zoe hung the stockings on the mantel and set some under the tree for Santa to find. She even tucked some candy canes in them to make things look all the more merrier.

After all the decorating it was time for relaxing by the fire with some yummy treats!

And last but not least...a family (and friends!) photo for the Christmas card!

We hope your Thanksgiving break was a wonderful one and that you are starting to feel the spirit of the holidays yet to come!

Summer Sewing!

One of the things I love most about summer is that we are able to carve out some more time for doll projects! Zoey and I have been having some fun lately working on some sewing projects for the dolls. For this project, a mini skirt, we used a pattern from the book Sew in Style by Erin Hentzel (Zoey got this book for Christmas last year). We are both very new to sewing so we needed something very simple for our first project...this was perfect!

Sew in Style by Erin Hentzel

One of the things that I love about this book is that she rates all the projects from easiest to hardest and she's very thorough with descriptions, photos, directions and also includes a glossary of sewing terms that you should become familiar with...all in a way that isn't overwhelming for a beginner!

Here are some shots of our doll skirt...

(Please don't mind the sparkly looking backdrop on our basement wall...we recently had a birthday party here and just haven't taken it down yet!)



We had a little hiccup along the way with the velcro...accidentally sewed one strip on the wrong side of the fabric, but we got to figure out how to use our seam ripper so that's good!



Here is Zoey's doll, Zoe, modeling her new summer mini skirt with one of American Girl's tee's...doesn't she look ready for a fun day downtown with friends?

A GIVEAWAY from Doll Shoe Lane!

*Edited with the WINNER in the comments!!!*

I am so excited to share a giveaway with our AG Doll Play fans and readers! Awhile back now, Noah from Doll Shoe Lane contacted me asking if we would be interested in featuring a review and/or a giveaway on our blog and I checked out his store and quickly got back to him with a YES! Well, with the end of the school year craziness and then with my daughter attending a week of dance camp right away, things got busy and here I am finally posting our review and giveaway on the doll blog!

I have to say, Zoey and I were both impressed with how fast the shipping was, and the presentation itself once the shoes arrived was top notch.

The shoes came wrapped in plastic with a business card and then there was also included the materials needed (instructions too!) to create your own shoe box!!! This is such a great added touch since it adds to the experience of "play" for the dolls. They can go shopping, give shoes as a gift, have a gift to open, etc. Such a great bonus!!

Here is a picture of the un-folded box with tissue paper and instructions on how to fold your box:



It was pretty easy, Zoey was able to do it no problem but for those that may be craft inept (no shame here!!) they even provide a website you can go to to view picture step-by-step instructions!



Here is a picture of the business card for Doll Shoe Lane that's included...



Eeek!! We LOVE our froggie slippers!! They are so adorable and unique, our dolls adore them! They tell us they are comfy too. The stitching detail is truly amazing and the care taken while creating these is apparent for sure. So sweet. It's always fun to have something for the dolls that's different than what everyone else has...this fits the bill in that department!



So, on to the fun part...the giveaway!



Our doll Claire here has one pair of Doll Shoe Lane shoes to give away to one lucky AG Doll Play reader. We are giving away this beautiful rainbow pair of shoes...



To enter the giveaway please do the following:

• Share here in the comments section (of this blog post) one of your favorite pairs of shoes or slippers by checking out the Doll Shoe Lane Etsy Shop.
• Share a link to this blog post on your Facebook page or blog (if you have one...don't worry if you're not on FB or if you don't blog, you will still be entered with your comment!)
• Make sure if you are on Facebook that you already "Like" AG Doll Play
• and Make sure you "Like" Doll Shoe Lane on Facebook as well. Introduce yourself and share that AG Doll Play sent you and that you are so excited for the doll shoe giveaway!

That's it!  Pretty easy to be entered into the drawing. A random winner will be chosen from all those individuals that do the above and will be announced here on Monday, June 20th.  

Please note that this contest is open to US residents only...thank you for understanding. AS ALWAYS, MAKE SURE YOU HAVE YOUR PARENTS PERMISSION TO ENTER INTO THIS GIVEAWAY!!

Sharing a couple more photos of Claire showing off her brand new froggie slippers...she loves them!

Some Great finds for Lea's Bahia Berry Stand!

We have added a few things to Lea's Bahia Berry Stand that I made last week!  (If you haven't started making yours yet, just go for it.  It is so easy if you follow the tutorial from American Girl Ideas. If I had had to buy all the paint and foam core, I would guess this has a cost of about $15 to make.)

I found this tin at Michael's for under $2! Just what we needed to hold cold beverages.  I used the ice from the OG ice cream truck and the bottles of sparking juice are from a retired AG fiesta set. 

The tin might be a little small, but it works.

While at Michael's we also found a tube of fruit.  I used the 40% off coupon so they were only $6. I love the textures and variety!  This set came with an assortment of fruits and veggies- my favorite is the artichoke! 

The doll can even hold the fruit!

But, the best find was this back drop I found from Walmart.com for $18 with free site to store pick up.  Unfortunately, they are no longer available on the site.  Perhaps they will return.  They are available HERE from the manufacturer.I have also seen these backdrops on ZULILY HERE.  If you try Zulily, type FunDeco in their search and you can follow FunDeco to receive an email when they return.

The backdrop has 4 scenes.  It is meant to be standing so you can play with all 4 at once, but it can easily be used flat or just in one corner.  I used the winter scene with the AG winter scene and they are exactly the same height and work well together.

And our favorite addition to the Bahia Berry stand-  LEA!!!!  Here is a quick shot of Lea with the girls visiting the beach.  Lea arrived yesterday!!  YAY! Gracie used some gift cards from Christmas to buy the sale package which included Lea, her mix and match swim suit sets and her beach accessories for $150 including shipping!  What a steal!  This is the first time we've welcomed a GOY doll so early in the year and I think we are going to enjoy having her all year and collecting for her throughout the year.. Gracie dressed Lea in Isabelle's clothes and I think they work for her! In fact I like these colors on her better than her meet dress- although she is not dressed for the beach! More pics of Lea to come.  I can do some comparisons of her and other dolls if you have any requests be sure to add them in the comments below.