Move over Paper Dolls, Hello Cloth Dolls!!

Pinterest will never let me down when I'm ready to do a new project. The kids are back in school and I'm a little bored during the day. I have thought about doing paper dolls in the past, but I know my youngest and she's a Captain Destructo and the dolls and clothing wouldn't last long. I came across this Cloth "Paper Doll" Tutorial. I decided to shrink the templates down by 25%. The finished dolls ended up 7.5" tall. I also did away with their thumbs, since the dolls are smaller I figured it would be easier to sew around a flat hand. I started out with two dolls for my daughters but because they were so easy I made some for my young nieces. 

My girls and I have made 8 dolls so far. After completing this first batch, there are a few things I would change. Next time I'll use a darker felt on the darker dolls along with black Velcro instead of white to hide the stitching. Since I reduced the template size I was able to find 2" Velcro at a local craft store that fit perfectly. The Velcro came on a spool and I was able to get what length I needed and only had to purchase the plastic side instead of both sides.

 Each niece will receive a doll that looks like them, plus two pajamas, two skirts, two pants, two dresses, three tops, and one leotard. Because my nieces are all under four years old I decided not to make shoes, I know their mothers will thank me.

This is a great project, especially if you have a tote full of scraps like I do.

Lego Organization

We were struggling with the overflow of Legos, the constant battle of the Lego brick left on the floor that naturally a shoeless foot would always find. I decided during Christmas break my boys and I would tackle this problem. Before their Lego bricks were held in a 41Qt clear tote.

 

In the Christmas aisle we found these AWESOME ornament totes. They work perfectly for separating Legos. Of course it took many hours over two days to get it completed, but it has been well worth it. My boys are able to find parts for a particular creation a lot easier. The downside, we still have the forgotten Lego brick on the floor. 

Sleeping Bags for American Girl Dolls

I'm trying to build up my girls' accessories for their dolls. Yesterday we made two sleeping bags following this tutorial. I had seen several sleeping bags and pillows, but I really like the all in one combo of this pattern. I won't have to worry about them losing their doll's pillow. We used fleece and flannel. My girls wanted to use the flannel as the outer shell and no appliques. 

Fine by me, less work. hehe.