Valentine’s Day doesn’t have to be the only day where you show your dolls some love! Here are some fun projects for reusable Valentine goodies for your dolls.

Reusable Felt Valentine Envelope with Fun Foam and Sticker Card

You will need:

• Red felt
• White fun foam
• Mini stickers from American Girl ( like the American Girl Crafts – Sticker Pad)
• A ruler
• Craft glue, hot glue or needle and thread/sewing machine

Step 1 Measure your “envelope” out of felt making it 7 inches wide by 12 inches long, then cut out your felt.

Step 2-   Fold your felt so that you leave 1/2 inch. Add a line of glue to the inside edge and press closed or sew the sides shut.

Step 3- Measure a rectangle of 2 1/2 inches long by 1 3/4 inch wide, make sure it will fit inside your envelope

Step4 – Add your stickers and write a message on the fun foam.

Place inside your finished envelope and give to your doll!

*You can decorate the front of your doll’s envelope if you like, or leave it plain.

Valentine Treats for Dolls

Next using Fun Foam shapes and Fun Foam Valentine stickers you can create fun treats for your dolls with very little effort!

You will need:

• Fun Foam Stickers in heart shapes in various colors
• Valentine fun foam stickers in various sizes
• Doll size plates

These fun valentine small heart stickers make perfect sugar cookies with no effort at all, simply arrange them on a doll size plate and enjoy.

To create this very easy Valentines Heart Cake simply layer the same size heart fun foam stickers on top of each other.

Step 1- Start with one heart on the bottom, I started with Red on the bottom

Step 2-Remove the backing from a white heart and place it on top of the red heart, carefully remove the sticker backing from one heart at a time. Your bottom heart should still have the backing on.

Step 3-Repeat with another red heart, then white and finish with red.

Step 4- Using smaller foam stickers create the “cake topper”

Place on a doll size plate and serve to your dolly guests.

I hope you have enjoyed these easy Valentine crafts for your dolls! I look forward to sharing more ideas with you next week!

I am so thrilled to share with you today’s craft and show off my doll shirt collection at the same time.

I began collecting the red store shirts from American Girl in 2010, on my first trip to an American Girl Store. I went to Dallas first, started my collection and with the help of friends and some of my blog readers I was able to collect all the currently open stores shirts.

Here is how I made my T-Shirt Wall Art.

You will need:

• a foam core board
• push pins
• ribbon (as long as your foam board)
• a pencil
• a ruler
• American Girl hangers and outfits
• *optional hot glue gun or eraser pieces to secure the push pins

Step 1- Place your hangers with your outfits on the foam core board to see where you want to arrange your items. Make a light pencil mark where you want to put your push pin.

Step 2- Push your pins through your pencil mark. Depending on the thickness of your foam core you will want to either back your push pins on the opposite side of your board with a piece of eraser (I cut one eraser from a new pencil in three) OR using a hot glue gun coat your push pin metal with hot glue and push through your mark, let it dry and it will be secure.

Step 3- Using your ruler measure 7 inches in and 1 inch down along the widest top edge of your foam core board. Make a mark and push your pencil through. This is where your ribbon will go through so you can hang up your artwork.

Step 4- Measure your ribbon as long as the length of your foam core. Thread the end of the ribbon through the hole and tie a double knot. Repeat this step on the other side.

Step 5- Have a grown up help you put a nail in the wall where you want to display your artwork. Re hang your hangers and doll clothes and place your useable art on the wall!

Now I have great useable art for my office, I needed two boards and the best part is I have space for three more shirts! So when the new American Girl Store opens in St. Louis I will be all set!

I hope you liked today’s craft and that it inspires you to use items you already have to decorate your doll play spaces and rooms! Don’t limit yourself to just the t-shirts! With a little imagination you could use this idea to display your favorite doll dresses, hats, Barbie clothes, and the list goes on…

I can not wait to share more craft ideas with you next week.

For today’s doll craft we are having special New Years Pizza Party, but you could use this for a doll birthday party too. You will learn how to create doll sized pizza, boa’s, noise makers, and party hats for your dolls.

You will need:

• images of pizza ( I used an advertisement you can also print or draw your own)
• tape or glue
• scissors
• fun foam or construction paper
• fringe garland ( I got mine at Party City)
• paper
• crayons
• a side plate to trace
• a ruler
• balloons *Optional to decorate a handmade sign

I was inspired to make today’s craft from an advertisement from our favorite pizza place. They offer $1 sliced pizza so we go once a week. I also noticed that the, ad had perfect doll sized pizza.

• Step one- cut out a photo or image of pizza
• Step two- tape or glue it to a piece of fun foam or card stock
• Step three- cut out the pizza from your card stock and repeat so you will have as many pieces of pizza as you would like

The pizza fits well in your dolls hand!

Next let’s create the Boas for the dolls

• Step one- Measure 15-20 inches of garland and cut.
• Step two- Wrap it around your dolls neck like a scarf

We need Party Hats, too!!

• Step 1- trace a side plate onto fun foam or cardstock in any color you would like
• Step 2- cut out the circle
• Step 3- fold the circle in half like a taco
• Step 4- cut the circle in half
• Step 5- roll/fold each shape into a cone hat
• Step 6- tape into place
• Step 7- make a New Years sign out of paper, cut it out and attach to the front of the hat with a tape loop
• Step 8- place on your doll’s head

And we can’t forget to make the “Noise Makers”

• Step 1- measure a corner of a blank piece of paper with a ruler and make a line at 4 inches and cut out
• Step 2- measure 3 inches of the fringe garland and cut a piece
• Step 3- use a piece of tape and secure the fringe to the bottom edge of the triangle you created

• Step 4- roll and fold paper into a cone shape. Secure with a piece of tape
• Step 5- place in your dolls hand to enjoy

I hope you have enjoyed today’s post I look forward to sharing more ideas with you in the New Year. Happy New Year everyone!

This one is specifically for Karen!! One of our readers had so much fun with Karen’s craft last Friday – she made dinner for her dolls and I heard the dolls even had Christmas dinner with the family.

Madison’s dolls and their pets really enjoyed their meal inspired by Karen’s crafts. It looks good to me.

Here is another view of her doll’s table – even the pets are enjoying their dog treats. I love Madison’s creativity and it is so much fun to see how Karen’s craft idea has inspired her.

Another view of the picnic table without a tablecloth. The picnic table was made by high school students in a trades class at the school Madison’s Mom teaches at.

And another great Target find! Madison’s Mom found this set of mini tennis balls at Target for 94 cents and they make great toys for Pepper and Chocolate Chip.

We love seeing reader photos!  If you have photos of your dolls at play, something you have made for your dolls, a review of a product or similar, send it in! You can email them to share@dolldiaries.com.

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Today’s craft is one I am so happy with. I hope you will be too. Make your dolls their own holiday plates and meals using items you already have on hand.

You will need

• Fun foam or card stock for the plates
• Scissors
• Grocery flyers, magazines or photos of food you can cut out
• Markers for decorating the rims of your plates
• A juice glass for tracing
• A pencil

Step 1- trace the bottom of the juice glass onto card stock or fun foam

Step 2- cut out and repeat for as many plates as you need for your dolls

Step 3- decorate the rim of your plates any way you would like.

Step 4- cut out photos of food you can use for your doll plates. You do not have to find small photos you can cut larger photos down to fit on your doll plates

Step 5- arrange the cut out food on your plates. You can glue down your food if you like but I think it is fun to be able to change the food

Step 6-  create a platter for your dolls by cutting out an oval shape “free hand” from fun foam or card stock and decorate the edges as you did the plates

Step 7 – cut out of fun foam or card stock place mats for your dolls. Mine are 2 ½ inches by 3 inches (the size of a business card)

Step 8- Grab your dolls and set up a holiday meal they will not soon forget!

Don’t forget to offer a vegetarian dish!

If Christmas is a holiday you and your family celebrate Merry Christmas from my family to yours! I look forward to sharing more ideas with you next week!

The holidays are perfect for making cute new items for your dolls. You can easily make an easy no sew Christmas stocking for your doll out of items you may have on hand. You do not have to have to make yours red, use what you have to create your doll a beautiful holiday stocking.

To make a doll sized Christmas Stocking you will need:

• felt or craft foam your choice of colors (I choose red, white and a green ribbon)
• scissors
• 4 inches of ribbon
• craft glue or hot glue gun
• paper
• pencil

Step 1- Sketch a stocking shape on to paper (mine measured 2 ½ inches tall by 2 inches wide at the “toe”) and cut it out. This is now your stocking pattern.

Step 2- Fold your felt in half so when you place your pattern on the felt you only need to cut out one time. Cut out your stocking piece.

Step 3- Cut out a piece of white of felt or foam to be the top of your stocking.

Step 4- Separate your stocking pieces then run a line of glue around the inside edge of the stocking and top with the other stocking piece. Press down and let the glue dry.

Step 5- Add a dab of glue on the inside of your stocking.

Step 6- Make a loop shape with your ribbon and place it on the dab of glue inside your stocking. You may wish to add more glue to secure the ribbon in place.

Step 7- Glue the top piece of the stocking  to the front of your dolls stocking. Let dry.

Step 8- Place in your dolls hand for holding or hang in a special place for your doll.

I hope you have enjoyed today’s craft I look forward to sharing more crafts with you soon!

For today’s post I thought it would be fun to share with you how to make doll sized Candy Canes that you can have your dolls hold and enjoy or that can help them decorate their own Christmas trees.

To make doll sized candy canes you will need:

• Red Pipe cleaners
• White Pipe cleaners
• *optional and not shown Green Pipe cleaners
• craft scissors to cut the Pipe Cleaners
• a ruler

Step 1- Measure 4 inches on your pipe cleaners and carefully make cuts. You should be able to cut three 4 inch pieces from one piece. Repeat on both your red and white (and green if you would like) pipe cleaners.

Step 2- Twist to pieces of pipe cleaner together to create stripes

Step 3- Bend a “hook” on one end of your pipe cleaner to create your candy cane

Step 4 – Place in your doll’s hand or on a doll sized tree, and repeat the steps until you run out of pipe cleaners. These can be used year after year and look great on a full sized tree as well!

If you are looking for your own doll sized Christmas tree, I found the one in the photos above from Walmart. It was $1.97. The dress Chrissa is wearing today was made by Sew Crazy Army Wife on Etsy (http://www.etsy.com/shop/sewcrazyarmywife) and to dress up the dress I added a holiday ribbon I saved from last year. You can dress up your own holiday outfits easily by adding a holiday print ribbon to a dress you may already have.

I hope you have enjoyed today’s craft I look forward to sharing more crafts with you soon!

We have had several requests for “how to make your own doll sized Christmas Tree” so here is a simple tutorial for making one.

You will need:

• Green Paper
• Tape
• Wrapping paper tube
• Scissors
• Yellow piece of paper for the star
• Pencil

• Step 1- Trace your hand on some green construction paper.
• Step 2- Cut out as many as you would like to create the branches on your tree. ( I cut out my hand about twenty times)

• Step 3 – Trace your doll’s hand (you will need to cut out at least 4 doll hands)
• Step 4- Cut your wrapping paper tube to at least 24 inches
• Step 5- Start taping your hands to the bottom of the wrapping paper tube about 3 inches from the bottom, continue to tape your hands around the tube all the way to the top of the tube.
• Step 6- Tape your doll sized hand prints at the very top of the tree
• Step 7- Cut a Star shape out of the yellow paper and tape it to the top of the tree.
• Step 8- Stand back and enjoy your tree!

You can add stickers as decorations to the branches or you could color on decorations, and if you would prefer you could use a snowflake on top of the tree.

I hope you have enjoyed today’s craft I look forward to sharing more crafts with you soon!

This has been a pretty traumatic week around here which is why posting has been pretty light. On Monday night I went to pick up my older daughter from gymnastics practice as usual and when I got there her coach told me to come quick, she had just hurt herself. Having been a gymnastics coach for most of my adult life, I knew this wasn’t good. And when I saw her arm propped up on the mats with an ice bag, I knew immediately that we were going to the ER.

We spent most of Monday evening in the ER. I went into the x-ray room with her and x-ray technology nowadays is just too cool! They took the x-ray and put the cartridge in a machine and the image of her bones popped up on the monitor in front of us.  From the first look, I could see the break. The entire pointy part of the inside bone near her elbow had broken off. They wrapped her up in a soft cast and told us to see an orthopedic doctor.

To make a long story short, yesterday was spent running back and forth between doctor’s offices and getting a temporary hard cast put on, getting a physical done, and getting things ready for tomorrow’s surgery. Her doctor said the bone needs to be reattached immediately – especially if she ever wants to do gymnastics or cheerleading again.

Tomorrow she will have the surgery and that means I will not be around all day (although I can approve comments from my phone) and if all goes well she can come home tomorrow evening. She is very nervous (so am I) about the surgery thing but I know this is for the best.

So, in Megan’s honor, I went looking this morning for a tutorial on how to make a cast for your dolls. I found a really cute one on Craft Gossip and thought I would share. I am thinking I may need to make some of these for our dolls, too. To learn how to make a cast for your dolls, visit Anne’s Tutorial: All Bandaged Up on Craft Gossip.

I’ll try to post an update but in the meantime, send positive thoughts Megan’s way.

UPDATE!! Megan’s surgery went great!!  She should be good as new in about a month.  Thank you so much for all the kind words – you all are the best!!

Today is Veterans Day (U.S.) or Remembrance Day (Canada and Europe). Today is a day to remember all those who have served in the military both past and present. It is a day of great importance and it connects us with the past, present and the future. Today’s craft is inspired by Molly McIntire, an American Girl Historical doll who’s story takes place in 1944 when the world was at war for the second time.

Children in Molly’s time we encouraged to help with the war effort. School children were taught knitting and knit squares to be put together for blankets for the soldiers. Children made personal sacrifices as well. They donated their metal toys to be made into equipment for the war, some children collected books, puzzles and magazines to send to patients in veterans hospitals.

Today we will make two doll sized crafts to honor Veteran’s Day or Rememberence Day - Dog Tags and Poppy Pins.

Dog tags are worn by military personnel when they are in the field. They are usually made out of stainless steal or aluminum. For today’s craft we will make them out of cardboard and aluminum foil.

Supplies Needed

• -cardboard
• -aluminum foil
• -a pencil
• - a paper clip
• -a safety pin (to poke a hole for the paper clip)
• -packing tape or clear scotch tape
• -scissors
• - a ribbon or ball type chain  doll sized necklace at least 15 inches long

Steps for making doll-sized dog tags:

1. Cut out two small pieces of rectangular cardboard ½ an inch wide by 1 ½ inches long
2. Cover the cardboard with aluminum foil
3. Use a pencil to write your dolls name on the foil, this gives it an engraved look
4. Cover the entire rectangle tag you have made with clear packing tape or clear scotch tape
5. Use the safety pin to make a hole in each tag
6. Thread through your paper clip, then put the  ribbon or ball chain through the paper clip.
7. Tie off the ribbon and place the dog tags on your doll

And now onto the Rememberence Day craft.

In Canada (and parts of Europe) we celebrate Remembrance Day by showing our respect to our military forces by wearing red poppies on our coats. In school children collect money for our veterans by selling these poppies. I have made a poppy for my dolls out of felt.

To make a poppy for your doll you will need:

• red craft felt
• black craft felt
• scissors
• craft glue
• a straight sewing pin

And to make it:

1. Cut four small hearts out of felt
2. Cut one round circle out of the black felt
3. Glue the red hearts with the points together
4. Glue the black circle into the center. Let dry
5. Carefully put the sewing straight pin through the black center and attach it to your dolls clothing

Take time today to thank someone who has served in the military and be sure to stop by next Friday for more doll craft fun with Karen of Karen Mom of Three!