My girls!

So I have began a project. I think girls need dolls. When I was little I love playing with my dolls! Back in 2020 I was given kits to make 18 inch dolls and the community rallied to help make/purchase for them clothing and another friend made them quilts. These dolls were sent in Operation Christmas Child shoebox gifts. Becoming a tangible expression of God's love to children all over the world.

I loved sending them and even heard back from the mother of one of the recipients. The doll became a member of their family!    

 

                                     

Last year I realized that so many of these style dolls are "slightly" used and then cast aside and I began wondering if I could learn to restore them to their former glory The goal being "new condition". I wanted to send them in Operation Christmas Child shoebox gifts and to make it through customs as a "gift" they needed to be new condition. 

So arming myself with the all of the knowledge the internet could provide through websites, blogs, and You Tube videos, I set out to learn to restore 18 inch style dolls. I also was able to pick up some new dolls at incredible an incredible clearance sale (but they too needed a bit of tlc.)

So here's a photo celebrating my efforts so far this year! Can you tell who is new, who was just given a bit of TLC and who was "made new?" There are some of each in the photo below!!

I only have 40 or so more to go!! Then I'll develop a back story for each girl and get her ready to travel into a shoebox and become a tangible expression of God's love to her new mom!

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

 

Puff Dollies

What do you do when someone donates 300 "potpourri dolls" to use for shoeboxes gifts? You remake them into "puff dollies."

These ancient kits came with everything you needed to create a potpourri doll (except the potpourri.) There was preprinted fabric circle skirts, the adorable doll head, and cute little arms. 

All that was needed were a few simple stitches and some stuffing instead of potpourri!

So a huge thanks to our volunteers that assembled nearly 300 of these dolls for our shoeboxes! I know there are some little girls out there that will LOVE THEM! 

Doodled Handkerchief Doll-April Mystery Box Challenge

Challenge Accepted!

My friends over at I Love to Create asked if I was up to the April Mystery Box challenge and you bet  accepted no questions asked! I love playing with their products and couldn't wait to see what I had to create with! 

Photo courtesy of Margie Higuchi

This fabulous assortment of products came in my mail box and I couldn't wait to play with it! (In fact so much I didn't snap a quick "before" photo! Thanks Margie for coming to my rescue!) I was excited to play with the Tulip Fabric Markers and inside our package was a plain cotton handkerchief. 

When I was younger, I remembered having a hankie (or a cloth napkin if we were at a restaurant,) turned into a doll to keep my sister and I amused when there was a long wait. The dolls were put together with very little effort, and kept us amused for quite some time, first with the "creating process" and then using our imaginations to play with our babies.  I thought it would be fun to recreate a doodled version of my childhood memory.

 To add some color and fun to the plain white of the cotton cloth, I started with some doodling around the hem of the hankie, before I tied her into doll shape. 

After doodling, I created her head by stuffing it with a few inches of cotton batting and tying it off with ribbon. I knotted the top hem around her "neck" to create her arms/shoulders, then drew on a simple face. 

I love how she turned out and how little time it took. From beginning doodle to finishing touch she took less than 20 minutes! I can't wait to make more! This sweet baby is going to find it's way into a shoebox gift for Operation Christmas Child and I'm sure she will be joined by more than a few sisters and brothers as well!

Thanks I Love to Create! I had so much fun recreating a childhood memory!!!

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