Last night when we were checking the American Girl website we discovered that the new movie trailer was up for the movie Saige Paints the Sky!

After watching it we are even more excited to watch the movie than we were before!!  We will have to have a little movie watching party with friends and the dolls of course when the time comes for it to be released.  So exciting!

Reader Spotlight - Handmade Hot Air Balloon for Saige!

While reading through the reader comments on the AG Doll Facebook page the other night I came across this amazing handmade version of Saige's Hot Air Balloon posted by one of our fans!  Isn't it unbelievably cool!  I was just in awe of it when I stumbled upon it.  Beverly Abney (with the help of her husband) came up with this idea and in our opinion executed it beautifully.  The use of the office trash can is just brilliant...I even think that I have at times seen wicker trash bins (perhaps in the bathroom section) that might look neat for this too!  We asked Beverly if she was willing to share some insight into how she put this together and she happily agreed to share some of the following with us...

Supplies: 17 inch party balloon, salsa container (or something similar in size, for the base of the balloon), small wastebasket, lengths of all thread for the "ropes" (found at hardware store, size 6-32, 3 lengths of 3 foot sections), washers and screws, zip ties, masking tape, newspaper, flour, water, salt, sandpaper and Modge Podge

• I purchased a 17" balloon at a local party store. I blew it up to the size seen. I can get a measurement if you need it. You don't want to get it too taught, but it has to be firm enough to hold the paper mache.
•  I drilled holes in the bottom of very sturdy plastic salsa container and hot glued nuts to the inside of the bottom so I would have something to screw the all-thread through when I went to attach it to the basket. I also cut the rim off the container.
• Then I very carefully taped the container to the bottom of the balloon. I used masking tape to attach it with short vertical strips. I had to go slowly and carefully b/c it was hard to keep it centered. It is also important to get a smooth attachment, or it will rumple up the paper mache.
• Then you just start putting on the mache. I used regular newspaper cut in 1-1.5 in wide strips and about 4 inches long.
• I used 1 part flour to 2 parts water and a dash of salt and slid the strips through my fingers to get the excess liquid off before applying.
• I let it dry thoroughly between coats of mache. I had to use a very large bowl to stabilize it. I had to do the bottom and let it dry and then go back and do the other half. You have to do it as quickly as possible or the balloon will go down and ruin it. In other words, you need to get at least the first two coats of mache on it within 36 hours before the balloon starts to lose air. I put it in front of a fan to dry it faster. After 2 coats I relaxed a little because I felt that if it popped, it would still hold up to the extra coats of mache. I ended up doing 5 coats, and it probably needed more. The top is very stable, but you can press the sides in if you try.
• Then I let it sit in front of the fan for 2 days to make sure it was completely dry. If it is wet when you seal it, it will mold and rot from the inside.
• Then I sanded it smooth and wiped it off with a microfiber cloth to remove any dust.
• I sealed it with a clear acrylic sealer called Modge Podge. I put 3 coats on it.
• Then I painted it with three coats of white acrylic paint until the newsprint was completely covered. Then you can paint it however you want and then seal the paint again with Modge Podge to protect it.
• My daughter wanted the colors of the AG balloon, but wanted flowers, so that is what we did. I used a large rubber band to get the diagonal correct. Then I used stencils and Elmers Painters to do the flowers. You have to paint them white again before you can add the color.
• I purchased the wastebasket at WalMart for $7 and the 3ft sections of all thread at the hardware store.
•  So, after I was done with the balloon, I ran a nut and washer onto the end of the all-thread and then carefully screwed them into the nuts that were glued into the inside of the container until they were firmly attached. Then my husband helped me trim the free end of the all-thread and zip tie the all thread to the sides of the wastebasket.
• Then I hot glued ribbon around the exposed all-thread to make it look nicer and keep it from snagging clothing.
• Then I rigged 80lb test fishing line around it by tying it to the inside of the basket where the all-thread is attached and looped them together at the top, and attached this to more line that is tied off to a hook in the ceiling. This is for stability, it will keep it from being knocked over, and so we can "fly" the dolls up and down in the basket.
• The all-thread was size 6-32. Not sure what that means, but it would still flex and yet not bend too much.
• I would recommend that anyone who has not done paper mache to do a small test balloon so they can get a feel for how to do it neatly. You have to be patient, or it will get lumpy.

Links below for the products
http://www.plaidonline.com/mod-podge/brand/home.htm
http://www.elmers.com/products/paint-pens-and-other-supplies/paint-markers


Thank you so much for this run-down of how you created Saige's Hot Air Balloon Beverly! We think you did an amazing job and thank you for sharing your project with us at AG Doll Play!

Slumber Party-Saige Style!

Nothing is more fun than being 8 and having a sleep over, especially when two friends both love American Girl Dolls!  Friday night Zoey came over to our house for endless hours of doll play and fun.  My daughter Gracie is desperately hoping to get Saige and her horse this year (and secretly I cannot wait for her birthday to come).  With our love for art, we decided to create a few Saige inspired crafts at the sleep over.  The first, matching feather necklaces came from one of my favorite doll sites dolldiaries.com.  I realized after having the girls create necklaces (we used the earring template to make a necklace for the dolls, and the necklace template to create a matching necklace for the girls) that we should have colored the back side of the feathers too.

I have to say that I love ACE!  For a small town without a craft and hobby store, I have found more things to use for our American Girl dolls than I can remember.  I found the sparkly elastic for the necklaces there as well as these awesome compact art sets!  I found three different sets for just $2.50 each.

You can also find them on Amazon ranging from $2-7.  I think the best one was the mini-sketch set which came with 6 doll sized drawing pencils, a white eraser and a mini sketch pad with a horse drawing on the  cover, perfect for Saige!  I found these little plastic cases for $0.33 each, but a small thumb tac container would be about the same size.

 The mini paint sets came with a real paintbrush which I snipped a little shorter with my dog's nail trimmers so it would fit in the Altoid tin we used for the art case.  Instead of paints I picked up the Royal&Langnickel mini colored pencil set for my daughter Gracie who already has my American Girl Doll Samantha's paint set from when I was a girl.

To create the art case I traced the Altoid tin onto scrapbook paper, and the girls decoupaged the paper to the tin, adding stickers if they wanted.  To create the handle we painted a square craft stick with acrylic paint (this stick is slightly larger around than a toothpick-but a toothpick would work too), slid a small white bead on, and hot glued the handle to the tin.

For a grand total of just 6$ per girl we had some pretty nice art sets for doll play!  This morning I took a few pictures of our dolls modeling their new necklaces while playing with their Our Generation foal and horse set, and a few while the dolls organized their new supplies in the art studio!

Additionally, we created a cute tile framed mirror using tacky glue and a plastic mirror.

And we made a mirrored make-up tray using a plastic mirror, toothpicks and white beads to make the handle. Then, using decorative beads and a small pieces of toothpick painted black we made mini bottles of nail polish for the dolls which we set on the tray!

A few months back, I began creating backdrops out of foam core (pictured above)for added play fun.  These foam boards are light and easy to move as well as store away when not in use.  After seeing Zoey's ballet studio, Gracie and I created an art studio- which will be perfect for Saige someday!