Me and my "Girls" -Doll Making for Operation Christmas Child

 

There is a reason I am known as the #CrazyShoeboxLady. That was proven with my latest project about 8 weeks in the making! It's Shoebox Season for Operation Christmas Child and that means I have been busy packing shoebox gifts. This year I was blessed with doll kits. 24 kits to make 18" "American Girl" style dolls. The kits were relatively simple to put together as they were designed for kids, BUT they needed some love (and some quality control at the factory) in order for them to become a cherished plaything I needed to put some effort into making them special.

As you can see they had a large gap no matter how much "stuffing" they were filled in so they all needed to be hand stitched. This was accomplished over about 6 weeks. In the car on the way to my Nephew's wedding. While watching TV. While catching up with the kids and the hubby at night.  I also needed to check all of their joints (some needed to be sewed and or glued in place as did their neck pieces.)

 As I finished I could then begin to trim  (check out the photo below to see just how "off" it was. ) and style their hair.

When all that finished the real fun began. I got to dress them!  The dolls had a simple outfit but part of the fun of this style of doll is to change their clothing. So I put out a call on Facebook and many friends came to the rescue. I had donations of 18" doll clothes coming to my door for about 2 weeks. One friend donated "themed" outfits, handmade shorts and dresses, and another "everyday clothing" and then I picked up underwear and shoes (Amazon has almost everything.)  

It was fun to see my collection of "girls" grow. I will admit we had a few laughs together watching sitcoms and even a movie or two together. My son came home from college one weekend saying "Ahhh mom....never mind" (he knows me well.) 

All in all it took about 2 months to complete all of the dolls and and it was total labor of love! Each doll is traveling with a tote bag filled with two changes of clothes, and a couple of accessories. Plus I traded one of them to a fellow shoebox friend for 23 doll quilts (she wanted to send one and I couldn't blame her they are adorable. ) So each doll has their own doll quilt. 

And because I had way to much fun with them. I even created a mini shoebox for each doll and mini items to put into the shoeboxes. It started out with a PDF template I created, then the long tedious process of hand cutting out and scoring the boxes (thanks for to my Score-Pal) that wasn't too bad. To fill their shoeboxes, I created mini t-shirt jump ropes, wash cloths (cut from a dollar store towel) , mini soap (created from air dry clay) and even shrunk a printable set of paper dolls and an Operation Christmas Child letter to put in the box as well. I rounded their boxes out with mini cups (communion cup size), mini clothes pins, tiny rubber bouncy balls, "baby" hair clips (dollar store purchase), hair ties with hair ribbon, those mini paper parasols, a little pen, and my favorite item mini teddy bears or rabbits a friend donated from Amazon.

When I was finished I naturally had to have a photo shoot with all of the girls!

This was truly a labor of love, each stitch a prayer for the child it was going to and  I LOVED every minute of it! I pray the children that receive these boxes have as much fun with their doll as I did!   And before I get asked YES they fit into a shoebox

 

 

 

Operation Christmas Child National Collection Week is

November 16-23,2020

There is still time to pack a shoebox!

To learn how to pack a shoebox visit: How to pack a shoebox

To find your nearest drop off location: Operation Christmas Child Drop-Off Location

 

Swaddle Babies

Operation Christmas Child National Collection Week is November 15-22 and it's never to early to pack shoebox gifts that will get sent to children in need all over the world. 

 

Growing up, I loved my baby dolls and being just like my mommy.  Because of this one of my favorite items to pack into shoebox gifts are dolls. I wanted to design a simple, hugable baby doll for our little shoebox recipients (the 2-4 year olds.) that would fit perfectly into a shoebox. 

These swaddle babies fit the bill. Made of soft flannel and stuffed with  Poly-Fill, I hope these adorable dolls snuggle into a 'young mommy's' (or daddy's) heart. 

Supplies Needed: 

2-16" squares of flannel (can be the same or coordinating)
1-7" (approximately) circle of muslin
Fairfield Poly-fil
Thread to match flannel
Embroidery Floss (variety of colors)

Tools: needle, scissors, dressmaker pencil, ruler, straight pins, sewing machine,

Optional Supplies: 2 feet yarn, ribbon, iron

 Step 1- Begin by pinning right sides of fabric together, and using a 1/4" seam allowance sew around 3 sides. On the forth side sew all but 3 inches. Snip corners and turn to the right side. Give it a quick press if needed to flatten fully.

Step 2- Turn in the opening and sew shut, then continue sewing around the entire edge of your flannel with a 1/4" seam allowance. 

Step 3-Fold the flannel square in half diagonally, offsetting about 1/2 inch at the top (see photo). Pin together. Find the center of the piece from the top (offset) point and pin for reference. 

Step 4- Mark the area for the "body". From the folded side you will be drawing 2, 5 inch long lines, 2 inches from either side of the middle pin. (See photo collage above for reference). Sew along these lines going through all layers of fabric. 

Step 5- Stuff the body cavity with Poly-Fil stuffing, take care not to over stuff so you can sew it shut. Stitch across the top of the body cavity again going through all layers of fabric. Set aside.

Step 6- Take your circle of muslin and using your longest (basting) stitch and a 1/4 " seam allowance,  sew along the perimeter of the circle. Do not back stitch! You want to be able to gather the fabric along the thread.

Step 7-Carefully pull on one of the threads to begin gathering the muslin, till it takes the shape of a small pouch. Stuff tightly with Poly-Fil and tie off the thread. This will become the doll head.

Step 8-Attach your doll head, to the body. Hand stitch in place, being sure to only go through only the top layer of the blanket. 

Step 9 (Optional)- If you want your swaddle baby to have hair. Wrap the length of yarn around your fingers and tie the bunch of loops together at the bottom. Fan out to form the curls. Tuck the tied end under the top of the head of the baby and sew in place.

  

 

Step 10- Securely tack the top layer of blanket to the bottom layer to hide your stitches.

Step 11- Securely tack the rest of the blanket around the baby.

Step 12-Using embroidery thread, add eyes and mouth details. 

Your Swaddle baby is now ready for a special child you love, or to tuck into a shoebox gift!

Special thanks to Fairfield World for providing the PolyFil used in this project! 

 

 

The babies in the "shoebox nursery."

Getting ready to travel with Operation Christmas Child to their new homes.

Operation Christmas Child National Collection Week is November 15-22. To find out how to fill shoebox gifts for children in need all over the world, check out their website.

 

 

Blessings!

The 2018 shoebox season is in the books, but that doesn't mean we don't start thinking of next year!  When we were given a chance to receive a donation from Blitsy, we jumped at the chance. 

(This isn't even a 1/10 of it!) 

A HUGE Thank you to Blitsy! For an amazing donation of Little B craft products for our raffles, giveaways and shoebox items for 2019!!! Be sure to stop by Blitsy and say "Thanks!" Better yet show your support by supporting our sponsors! 

Thankful!

Well over 300 people (200 of which were there at the same time..lol) helped us fill

2410 shoebox gifts!!

Shoebox gifts that will become a tangible expression of God's love for children in need all over the world! We appreciate everyone that came out to help us fill, and sort, box, and "boo-boo bunny" Each and everyone of you is amazing! On behalf of the #CrazyShoeboxLady and her ever so amazing #CrazyShoeboxCrew we say "Thank-you!"