Doll Stands

Now that we have shelves to display my daughter’s dolls when she is not playing with them, I realized we need more doll stands. She has four or five of the nice dark wooden based doll stands from American Girl (that I picked up when they went on sale), but it seems that American Girl has replaced them with a new stand that has a white square base. Since I am not willing to pay $16 per doll stand, I went looking for better options.

On eBay you can find everything. I found people selling lots of 2 and 3 of the old dark base stands and then there are tons of stands that are not American Girl (custom search for American Girl doll stands). I have also seen them at AC Moore and Michael’s for much less too. And I just found them online at Create for Less for less than $3 a piece – in a dark finish and white – you can’t beat that.

I may get the dark based ones for the shelf with her historical dolls and the white based ones for the shelf that holds Chrissa and the other Limited Edition/Today dolls.

New Spring Items At American Girl

American Girl has added some new items to the site this week. Some of the new outfits include a surf/swim outfit, a zebra striped safari dress (zebra stripes are very popular for this age group right now!), a raincoat and boots set, Easter/Spring dress, a new ice skating dress and more.

So, what are your thoughts? Which outfits/new items do you like? Which ones will be a pass?

Personally, I think the new raincoat and boots set is just the cutest thing ever!

Will There Be Two New American Girl Historicals in 2010?

One thing I am certain of when it comes to the American Girl doll collecting community is that once there is rumor of a new doll, they become very impatient for new information. We just want to know all the details as soon as possible.

For 2010 what we know so far, is that we are highly likely to get 2 new historical characters, Denise and Sarah. What we don’t know is if they are both historical dolls complete with the 6-book series and their own line OR if one of them is a friend doll who is going against the normal pattern and getting 6 stories instead of one. What do you think?

We don’t have much more info than that right now. We don’t know what era they are from or any book plots yet.

And in retirement news, if everything follows the pattern set to this point, Molly is the most logical choice for retirement this year. This has not been confirmed – it is just speculation.

As always, if you find any more details, let me know. Most of the info in this post has been gleaned from a variety of sources including reader comments, emails and information found readily on the internet.

Dr. Phil and American Girl on Girl Power

Dr. Phil’s December 25th show was all about Girl Power. He partnered with American Girl, Patty Criswell and a whole bunch of tween girls to address many of the issues facing tween girls now and through the ages.

Throughout the show, there were video clips of the American Girl Place store, the dolls and books. At the end of the show, Dr. Phil gave all the girls in the audience Chrissa dolls. The video here is part 1 of 5 from the show. All 5 parts have been uploaded to YouTube if you are interested in seeing all of them.

Whether you are a fan of Dr. Phil or not, the show really did touch on the issues tween girls and their parents do deal with on a regular basis. And it is nice to see American Girl getting involved on a larger scale.

The Dolls Take The Wheel

So, we are snowed in which is fine as far as my kids are concerned. My daughter has been playing with her dolls just about all day.

She just came “driving” through my office with Chrissa and her latest addition to the dolly family – Ashley the Madame Alexander Favorite Friends doll in the Build-a-Bear’s little red sports car! (We ordered the Madame Alexander Favorite Friends doll from Emily Rose on the 15th and she arrived Friday – now that was fast!!)

Ashley, her Madame Alexander doll is too cute! She absolutely loves her and has toted her around all weekend. Here is another picture of Ashley and Chrissa.

The Madame Alexander Favorite Friends dolls are supposedly 18″ dolls, but as you can see, Ashley is bigger than Chrissa. The face molds are cute but very different than the American Girl ones. The Favorite Friends dolls have soft bodies but they are different than the American Girl bodies – the harder vinyl portion goes down to about her armpits. They have very brushable hair and the American Girl doll clothes do fit (depending on the outfit).

 

Scoop – American Girl Lanie Book Cover Revealed

Thanks to some amazing sleuthing and generous sharing from a Doll Diaries reader – here is the photo of the Lanie book cover. And UPDATED with the cover art for the second book, Lanie’s Real Adventures.

According to the book cover, Lanie is NOTHING like we expected her to look – but it was fun speculating. On the cover she is holding a flower pot and gardening supplies which does match the initial book info we got.

Now, to see how she looks in doll form!! Again, if you have any more scoop, email it to share@dolldiaries.com.

The American Girl of the Year (GOTY) 2010 Will Be Lanie

UPDATE:

Here is what the cover of the book looks like:

As the release date for the American Girl of the Year – GOTY 2010 gets closer and closer, we are starting to get more clues as to who she is and what her stories will be all about. I think we can confirm that the name of the American Girl GOTY 2010 will be Lanie based on the screen capture of Chapters.ca website that was just sent to me by Hannah’s mom:

Thanks to the fabulous Doll Diaries readers who help find all the best doll scoop!!

UPDATE – we have more info on the book storylines:

American Girl Place New York Photo Tour

A few years ago we visited New York City and one of our destinations was the American Girl Place on 5th Avenue. The store was absolutely magical as far as my daughters were concerned. One of Doll Diaries readers, known for her Bonggamom site, recently visited the American Girl Place in New York and has shared her photos both on her site (see Bonggamom’s AGPNY post) and on Flickr.

I love all the Rebecca displays – it is just such a neat collection. She also took some great pictures of the new Make a Tee activity that I saw at the Chicago store. You pick a simple t-shirt for your doll, select the color and then pick from a bunch of iron-on transfers to have applied. The activity is $10 – which is a bargin compared to just about everything else at American Girl Place. It is a nice little souvenir that the girls will enjoy doing.

Go check out her pictures and remember, if you visit an American Girl Place or even one of the Boutique & Bistro shops, we’d love to read the trip report or see the photos. Just email us at share@dolldiaries.com.

Doll Diaries Dolloween Parade Starts This Week

In the past years we have had a Doll Diaries Dolloween Parade showcasing dolls of all kinds dressed up and ready for a Halloween costume party. This year I am hoping to have it set up so you can upload your own Dolloween photos directly and don’t have to wait for me to get them posted. (I am a busy gal, you know!)

So start getting your dolls ready for the parade. Any doll (American Girl, Barbie, Tonner, Madame Alexander, etc) or bear (Webkinz, Build a Bear, Gund, etc) that is decked out for Halloween is invited to participate!

Stay tuned for details – I hope to have the page set up by mid-week.

And there may will be prizes for the best photos! I have a few goodies in my secret American Girl stash that I will be giving away (will announce prizes when I announce the start of photo submission) and if there are any doll related vendors that want to donate a prize to our contest, we’d love to showcase your product!

Is Kirsten Being Archived Next

UPDATED! It’s official – Kirsten IS being archived!! If you visit the Kirsten page on the American Girl website you see her archive announcement:

While I have not been able to substantiate this rumor completely, supposedly some people have already received letters from American Girl stating that Kirsten will be archived soon. Funny, this is about the time we found out last year that Samantha was being archived.

Now I have my own theory. I think American Girl is archiving some of the original historical characters now so that come time for the 25th anniversary of American Girl, they can re-release special 25th Anniversary editions of the dolls.

I’m sure we will get more details over the next few weeks. If you had started Kirsten’s collection, you may want to work on finishing it up now or look to get the missing items from your Kirsten collection on eBay later.

If you have received a letter from American Girl or have seen real evidence that American Girl is retiring Kirsten – at least for now – please send it in! You know the email: share@dolldiaries.com.

Here is the letter that was sent out:

“Dear Kirsten fan,

We’re writing with important news about one of the original American Girl Dolls- Kirsten Larson® . We wanted you, one of her biggest fans, to be among the first to know that soon, Kirsten’s complete collection will be moving into the American Girl Archives. Like you, countless American Girl fans have found a friend in this brave pioneer girl since her introduction in 1986. Bringing Kirsten’s world to life- from starting at a new school in a strange land to celebrating her family’s time-honored traditions on St. Lucia’s Day- has been a journey we’ve enjoyed sharing with you.

As we bid Kirsten® a fond farewell, we do so knowing her departure will make it possible to introduce new characters and time periods for our customers to enjoy.

Watch for more information in our catalogues and at americangirl.com. In the meantime, don’t miss the opportunity to purchase items from Kirsten’s collection before it’s too late. Thank you again for your continued support.

Sincerely,

American Girl

PS: Though Kirsten will soon be moving into the American Girl Archives, her stories will live on! You’ll continue to find Kirsten books at americangirl.com, at American Girl stores, and at booksellers nationwide.”

Next Page »