Yummy Play Dough

I have been searching for a good playdoh recipe for a while now.  I have scoured sites looking for the perfect one.  I ended up finding a great one from one of the teachers in my daughter's mommy and me class, but now that the holidays are upon us...I started looking again. 

I thought that playdoh would be a great gift for lots of "little friends" at school and the neighborhood--plus it's pretty thrifty too.   I stumbled upon a great one over at The Sweet Adventures of Sugarbelle, that costs only a few cents to make.  Gingerbread playdoh!!! Why didn't I think of that?

I've tried adding different smelling oils in the past, but they didn't turn out great.  This one smells good enough to eat and adding dry spices doesn't change the texture of the dough.  I made some for birthday presents, and my kids were begging me to make some for them.  I found some containers at the 99 cent store and voila... instant gift. .  I think these will be a real hit in the neighborhood this year.  If you are looking for a fun and quick project...give it a try!

A Boy for My Boy

My son decided that he wanted a doll of his own.  I think he was a little jealous that I was working out a lot of kinks by making girl dolls.  Well I finally made him one of his own, and I have to say that I think it's the best one.  I really stuffed this one tight and I was able to give him good neck support with the wool.  I've been using old holey jeans to make the jeans for the dolls and whatever scrap fabric I have for t-shirts and dresses.  I'm going to be working on making flannel pajama sets out of old flannel receiving blankets that I got when my son was a baby.  We have probably 25 of those blankets... and never used a single one (except when I made a cloth diaper out of one). 

Well, I think this is my last one for a while.  My husband says we don't need another doll in the house. Ha ha!  I'd still like to perfect some of the techniques, but I guess I'll wait for a very special birthday.

I've Got the Bug!

I have now made 2 Waldorf inspired dolls and I am working on my third.  My son now wants a boy doll, but I have no idea how to do the hair.  I found a really good tutorial of how to put the hair on girls (after I made my second doll), but no really good hair tutorial for boy dolls.  I don't know if I want to sew directly into the head or make a crochet cap and wig.  It uses way more yard when you make a wig cap.  I used one for my first doll and she has A LOT of hair.  Too much I think, but it makes my daughter laugh.

So I have to finish my son's doll, and I think I want to try another girl to get the hair just right.

I've become obsessed, but now I have to cloth them.  So I'm working on creating patterns for clothes, which has now got my mind wondering if I can make clothes for my daughter and dresses for myself.  I really need a craft room, but we don't have the space.  Oh well, one day when I get my dream home.

A Labor of Love

This whole project started, because I had been trying for over 2 years to buy a beautiful doll from Bamboletta.  They are very popular, handmade by a wonderful group of ladies, and pretty darn cute too.  She makes several a week and puts them on her bigcartel shop and within minutes they are gone.  My internet is not fast enough at work or at home.  I've never been able to add one to a cart!

So, I decided to make my own doll for my daughter.  I watched several tutorials from different sources and bought my supplies from Weir and Stitch Cafe.  It took me about a week to make -at night after the kids were asleep.  The hardest part (at least for my hands) was making the head.  Now I see why so many mamas who make dolls enlist their husbands to make the heads!

Well, I'm happy that this labor of love came out looking pretty good.  I'm actually thinking of making another one to see if I can improve on the first.  I made a crocheted cap to hook all the hair on, and boy does she have a lot of hair.  Next time, I'm going to try and sew hair on the head instead and see how that looks.  I still think it's amazing that the ladies at Bamboletta make so many dolls each week by hand, but I'm happy that I finally have a a baby for my little girl.

Doll Clothes

I had been looking for a "baby" for my son when I was pregnant with my daughter to help him with the transition.  I was looking at Bamboletta Dolls but was unable to get one for him - due to the popularity.  That was almost 2 years ago.  I ended up getting this sweet sleeping baby that was handmade by a woman on Ebay.

Cut to 2 years later and now my daughter wants her own baby.  She shares this one with my son, but he is very animate that everyone knows "Joe" is his.  So, now I'm back to trying to get a Bamboletta for my girl.  I've been trying for a while to no avail, but I have started knitting for the new doll.

I found this great pattern on the Bamboletta website.  Someone told me "if you knit it, she will come".  I'm having a lot of fun knitting some great items for the new doll.  Good thing they also fit "Joe".