When I visited the Sophia’s Heritage booth at ToyFair this year I was completely overwhelmed by the variety of clothes, furniture pieces and accessories they have for 18″ dolls. One of the pieces that caught my eye was this adorable white bunk bed with bright colored flowers. Recently Sophia’s sent me that bunk bed to review – the bunk is $65 and can be purchased at My Doll’s Life and other retailers who carry the Sophia’s Heritage collection.

First, let me introduce our models – we have American Girl Sonali in the Coconut PJs, McKayla a Favorite Friends doll from Madame Alexander wearing the strawberry pjs and Carly, an 18″ soft body doll by Sophia’s ($68) wearing the cloud pjs. McKayla and Carly’s pajamas are from Carpatina.

The Sophia’s white bunk bed ships flat and requires assembly. You just need a Phillips head screwdriver to put the whole thing together – all necessary hardware is included. The instructions were very clear and it took me about 10 minutes to put the bunk bed together on my own. Once assembled, the bunk bed is nice and sturdy by doll bed standards.

In addition to the bed, the set includes the ladder and comes with light pink bedding. You can buy additional bedding in a variety of coordinating styles from My Dolls Life to give the set a different look.

Sonali says “Goodnight” to her friends Carly and McKayla get ready to go to sleep. The bunk bed sleeps two dolls very comfortably and would work for 15″ baby dolls as well as 18″ dolls.

Price: $65

Where to buy: My Doll’s Life and other Sophia’s Heritage retailers

Final thoughts: Overall, this bunk bed set is reasonably priced, easy to assemble, sturdy and stylish!

So I just happened to be at Hobby Lobby picking up some craft foam and fabric when I spotted this adorable resin chair for 50% off – making it $9.

It is the PERFECT size for 10″ Madame Alexander Cisette (more on her later this week).

And doesn’t Monster High Operetta Doll just look too cute for words relaxing in the chair?

The resin chair would be perfect for dolls 10-13″ and makes for a great display piece. I didn’t look to see if they had any bigger ones, but I am definitely going to look next time as the American Girl dolls and the Ellowynes are just a little jealous.

This is a note and some photos we got from Susan – the winner of the American Doll Houses Barn Scene giveaway from earlier this spring.

Ellie (8), Caroline (3) and I want to thank you again for the wonderful giveaway you ran.  We love the two room dollhouse and still can’t believe we won!  Of course once we opened it we decided we needed to make a few more crafts before we could send good photos, though Ellie and her friends started playing with it right away.

One of the first things they played was washing horses at the stable.  We don’t have the right size horse yet, so Samantha is washing a foal sized stuffed animal.  I think Ellie will be saving for an Our Generation horse next.

The second and third photos show Jenny (My AG 43) and Felicity having dinner.  I think it must be leftover night because Jenny is having Doll Diaries lasagna and garlic bread while Felicity has a taco.  I like showing Jenny’s face because she’s the one Santa thought looked most like Ellie, but the Liberty Jane square chairs I made only show up in the photo where the dolls are too busy chatting to look at the camera.  You can decide what looks best.

Finally, Felicity changed into her nightgown to have a slumber party with Josie (a Madame Alexander doll).  Can you spot all of the Doll Diaries crafts in the picture?  We’ve been busy Doll Diaries readers since Ellie received her first doll this past Christmas.  The site has really inspired our creativity and given us lots of projects to work on together.   I really love sewing and crafting and Ellie and her friends love making things for their dolls.  We check it every day for new ideas and hope the photos will give new ideas to other readers, too.

Thanks again!  As you can see, we’re having a lot of fun.  – Sue, Ellie & Caroline

Awww, thank you Sue, Ellie & Caroline! Your dolls are so lucky to have a great new house and your craft projects look great! And thank you American Doll Houses for sponsoring the giveaway.

The Our Generation Kitchen that you can get at Target is just adorable. Natalie used her pet sitting and Easter money to buy this set earlier this week (it was $60 at Target) and has been playing with it non-stop. She is on Spring Break this week which means more time for dolls, friends and special outings.

Anyhow, I went up to her room last night to see what was going on and this is what I saw. Calista in her jammies enjoying a fruit smoothie (from the AG Breakfast in Bed set) in the kitchen. Natalie is working on a video tour/review of the set that I hope to get posted for you by this weekend.

The quality of the Our Generation sets is not quite what you would get from American Girl or The Queen’s Treasures, but they have different sets – like the laundry room, dressmaking set, bathtub/spa set – that come with a gazillion little accessories which just make them fun, and the prices are so much more affordable! For example, the Our Generation tent set is less than $20 compared to $75 for the American Girl version. The OG bathtub is on sale for $17 right now and the AG bathtub set is $58.

We’re off to the amusement park today, so have a great one and I’ll check in on comments as I can.

One of the things I really enjoy about running Doll Diaries is being able to share different products from a variety of companies with you. The Queen’s Treasures sent me the Wooden Doll Storage Trunk with a built in Vanity to review and like every other piece of their doll furniture I have reviewed, this piece is top-notch!

First, let’s introduce our model today. This is Galina, an 18″ articulated (she can bend her wrists, elbows and knees), slim body doll from the Kidz ‘n Cats line by Sonja Hartmann and being sold in the US by Madame Alexander. She is wearing the Private School dress by Carpatina and Chrissa’s shoes. Galina is standing next to The Queen’s Treasures Wooden Storage Trunk for dolls in it’s closed position. The trunk is very sturdy as are the handles and the closures.

This particular trunk is special in the sense that not only does is provide great storage, it has play value, too. When you open the trunk there are two hanging rods, 4 wooden hangers, two drawers, a removable vanity top, a vanity stool and a mirror. You can remove the vanity desktop to make room to store two dolls (up to 20″ tall) side by side or leave it there and slide the vanity seat in underneath. Galina was so excited to see her clothes already hanging in the trunk and her ballet gear in there too.

Here you can get a better view of the vanity table and the storage compartments inside the trunk. The trunk is a nice shade of deep brown and is definitely furniture quality which means it can actually be used as a display piece as well, depending on your space. The only change I would make, and it really applies to about every doll trunk I have seen, is that I wish there was a little toggle or something to keep the drawers from sliding out when you place the trunk on its side.

Galina is now ready to brush her hair or put on some lip gloss before she gets ready for ballet class.

The Wooden Storage Trunk with the Vanity is about $100 at The Queen’s Treasures but watch their Facebook page because they do offer discount codes and there is always an exclusive 15% off coupon for Doll Diaries readers with the code DD15%OFF. This piece is an investment and would be good for a special birthday or holiday, but if cared for it will last for years to come and be an heirloom piece worthy of handing down through the years.

One of the most popular play scenarios for girls and their dolls is playing school – it is fun to set up and can be as simple or as elaborate as you want it to be.  A school desk for dolls makes the perfect addition to play school and it is a great display piece too – especially the 1930′s style wooden desk for dolls from one of our favorite places, The Queen’s Treasures.

Our retired American Girl Nellie politely let me know that she has not been a model for us lately and that she would love to try out the desk The Queen’s Treasures sent us to review.

Once Nellie took her seat she did what every student likes to do on the first day of school – she opened her desk to see what was inside. The Queen’s Treasures 1930′s style desk comes with a pencil, apple, chalk board, Math book, History book, and English book when you order it, but they were out of the accessories when the desk was sent to us. No worries, though, we have plenty of doll sized school supplies floating around for Nellie to use.

Here is another view of how the top of the desk opens to reveal plenty of storage space for your doll’s books and even some snacks or her lunch.

The entire desk is wooden – the seat and desk are a dark stained wood and the base is also wood painted silver. It is a very sturdy piece that will hold up to years of playing school but is also the perfect prop for an American Girl doll display. And even though it is a 1930′s style, Molly and Emily are not the only dolls who can use it – it is such a classic style that all the dolls look like they are studying hard when they are sitting at the desk.

Nellie gives the desk from The Queen’s Treasures her approval and it much happier now that she has had some time in front of the camera, too!

One of the new companies I was introduced to at the Toy Fair in February was the Laurent Doll company. Laurent Doll carries heirloom quality hardwood furniture and cotton bedding for 18″ dolls. While Laurent Doll is a new company with just a few key pieces that they offer right now, what they do offer is classic, well-made and a good value.

This is their new Day Bed for 2012. It is not yet on their website and this is actually a photo of the prototype – the finished product will be white.

I love their doll dresser – what a great way to store doll basics like socks, underwear, t-shirts, shoes and other accessories. Plus it gives you a horizontal surface for a doll alarm clock or lamp, a place for your doll to put her book or glass of water for the night. The doll dresser is another new piece for 2012.

Another nice piece that Laurent Doll has coming out this year is their doll storage tower. Finding creative storage pieces for dolls that server multiple purposes is a challenge. I love some of the Laurent solutions like the dresser, this tower and their Doll Chest is perfect for keeping track of doll accessories too.

Laurent’s Triple, Detachable Bunk Bed was selected as the top Doll Product at the Toy Show by ASTRA-the American Specialty Toy Retailers Association.

If you are looking for high-quality furniture for your dolls – add Laurent Doll to your list of resources to check.  I look forward to seeing more products from Laurent Doll as they continue to grow.

One thing every single one of you needs to understand is that YOU are BE-YOU-TIFUL!

Calista says so! And so do I. Calista is Natalie’s MyAG #39 that she got for Christmas. When I saw that Mini Me Dolly Divas had another outfit listed with this BE-YOU-TIFUL shirt I just couldn’t pass it up. I purchased it from her Etsy store and the outfit includes the pink sleeveless tee, the cami with BE-YOU-TIFUL embroidered on it, a white skirt with hearts all over it, two ribbons and a hair barrette. I ordered the outfit on Saturday morning and it arrived today – Monday – in my mail box. Unbelievable! I was so excited.

Even though it was snowing this morning, the sun was out this afternoon and Calista decided she needed to get out the Gardening equipment that The Queen’s Treasures sent us to review (and the picnic table is from Chrissa’s collection). Like everything else we have reviewed from The Queens Treasures, this gardening set is too cute for words. The set comes with a yellow wooden wheelbarrow, 2 terracotta looking flower pots, a pink metal watering can, a shovel (not pictured – I forgot to bring it upstairs) and a super cute wooden birdhouse.

Calista needed to take a break after planting her flowers (which are the pinwheels from Chrissa’s set “planted” with a little sparkly green ribbon grass). This gives you a better view of the yellow wheelbarrow.

And the message for the day again… BE-YOU-TIFUL! You are special!

Thanks again to The Queen’s Treasures for sending the Gardening Set for us to review and for the amazingly fast shipping and beautiful outfit from Dacia at Mini Me Dolly Divas.

One of the reasons Felicity was one of the most popular historical characters in the American Girl line was her furniture which is considered to be Queen Anne styled furniture (an extension of the William and Mary style). Queen Anne furniture is very popular still in many traditional American homes (especially on the East Coast) which makes the doll size version even that more appealing.

When Felicity’s collection was retired I was upset with myself that I had not gotten her table and chairs. I had wanted to keep my Felicity on display in my office instead of leaving her in Natalie’s room, but it just didn’t seem right without her table. Luckily for me, The Queen’s Treasures has created furniture pieces for 18″ dolls in the Queen Anne style which are absolutely stunning. They sent me the Queen Anne Style China Hutch, Drop Leaf Table, Chairs and the Pink Rose Mini China to review and all I can say is WOW! Absolutely everything I have seen from The Queen’s Treasures is fantastic. They are an exceptional value because not only are they well made, they are well priced. And read to the end of this post and I will tell you how to get some of their items even more afford-ably.

Our new Ellowyne that we named Blair joined her best friend Elle in trying out the table and china first. They were helping me get things set up so that Felicity could enjoy a cup of tea in her new dining room. You can see the chairs and china are a bit too big for the 16″ Ellowyne dolls, but that’s okay, they don’t mind. The Queen’s Treasures furniture is designed to fit 18″ dolls and the scale is perfect. The mahogany stained drop leaf table measures 14 x 8.5 inches fully extended and is 9 inches tall. The Queen Anne style chairs measure 13 inches high with a seat measurement of 6.5 inches x 6.5 inches.

Here is a close up of the mini china in the Pink Rose pattern. You can buy the china as a set or buy the pieces you want individually. I also have Felicity’s original tea set which I need to get out of safe keeping next so I can show you side by side comparisons. Whether you already have Felicity’s set or not, these are great add on pieces so your dolls can have a more formal meal.

Elle and Blair couldn’t keep it a secret much longer – Felicity heard all the noise and had to come see the new China Hutch for herself.  She was very impressed at the amount of storage it has – like the pull out drawer will be good for holding table linens, silverware and additional accessories. Felicity is wearing her Holiday Gala gown and before you ask, no, I have not had the courage to send her off to the doll hospital yet…

And now Felicity would like to just enjoy a good book and a cup of tea. Did you notice something? Yes, the dishes are different. Felicity is enjoying her tea from the Antique Rose Tea Set also from The Queen’s Treasures. I will actually do a separate review on the tea set in coming days.

The Queen’s Treasures Queen Anne Style China Hutch, Table, Chairs and Mini China are beautiful enough to be used as display pieces in your home, but they are made well enough for doll play as well. These pieces are sure to be heirlooms and would be the perfect addition to your Felicity, Samantha or Rebecca collection – but for that matter, the pieces are such classics that just about any of your dolls can appreciate them.

Now for the tip! Visit The Queen’s Treasures and sign up for their email newsletter. Why? Because they send out exclusive coupon codes like the LOYAL30 one that is good right now that you can use to save big on your favorite doll clothes, accessories and furniture.

If you are ever near Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, you absolutely have to make at stop at The Queen’s Treasures and while I have not visited the store yet, I have put it on my list of things I must accomplish this year. Last year we first learned of The Queen’s Treasures and we reviewed quite a few of their products and hosted giveaways so our readers could have the chance to experience the quality of The Queen’s Treasures, too. At Toy Fair this week, I had the chance to meet Joann and her husband, get more insight on their plans for the upcoming year and see more of their products up close.

One of the first displays that caught my eye when I stepped in to their booth at Toy Fair was this too cute for words Gardening set for 18″ dolls. Josefina looks adorable in the Rancho Fiesta Gown and she is ready to plant, water and tend to her garden with the cart and its accessories.

Doesn’t Kit look adorable in her yellow dress that is so appropriate for her era? That is one of the things I really like about The Queen’s Treasures – they are still very focused on the historical accuracy and extending the play of the historical characters we all know so well from American Girl and other historical series books. The vintage 1930s styled wooden desk lid opens and you can get the matching accessories to put in the desk.

In the fall we reviewed The Queen’s Treasures doll trunk that had a built in Murphy bed and I absolutely thought is was the best thing I had seen yet for dolls, until I saw this new doll trunk that opens up to reveal hanging rods for clothes, two drawers for shoes and accessories and a removable Vanity table with a chair and  built in mirror. If I had to have only one piece of doll furniture, I think this would be it. If you remove the vanity table, you can store two dolls and their clothes in the trunk and head out to Grandma’s for the night. Joann sent me this piece to review, so stand by for more photos of it along with a more detailed review.

One of the things I regret not getting from American Girl before they retired Felicity and Elizabeth was the cherry wood dining table and chairs. It was just so elegant. Thanks to The Queen’s Treasure, not only can I get the dining table and chairs for my Colonial girls, I can get a china hutch and beautiful tea sets too. These pieces also go well with another retired character – Samantha and Nellie. If you are looking for more elegant, high quality, heirloom like pieces for your dolls, The Queen’s Treasures is definitely the place to look first.

Isn’t this wedding or communion dress for the dolls just divine? It is just another example of the classic styling the pieces from The Queen’s Treasures have.

When I was talking with Joann about what kind of pieces she has in development, she indicated that her focus is really going to continue to be on pieces that extend the play and heirloom quality of the historical time periods – for example some of her new pieces are perfect for Cecile and Marie Grace’s collection. I saw the prototype photos and while there is still some tweaking to be done, there are some really nice items in the works.

Be sure to follow The Queen’s Treasures on Facebook as they often run giveaways and offer special discounts for their Facebook fans. Thanks again to Joann for taking time to talk with me and for all the incredibly sweet things you had to say!! I will come visit you this year – promise.