Saige Copeland

 (This my own thoughts and opinons of Saige's collection. Photos courtesy of the American Girl website.)
Okay, so since everyone's talking about Saige, I thought "Hey, why not tell other people what I think about Saige's stuff?" So, enjoy!

I was able to go to the American Girl doll store in Dallas with my mom, a few days after Saige was debuted, so I got to really get a good look at the quality of her items. I really love Saige's story, mostly because I love the arts and horseback riding. I walked in thinking I would buy her, and walked out with Marie-Grace instead. The reason? Well, I thought that while she was very pretty, she had the same problem as Mckenna(whom I disliked). They both greatly resembled existing MAGs (My American Girl). I would have liked to see something more original. That may have been why I chose Marie-Grace, who has a unique face mold and hair/eye combination. I do think she is lovely though and I could defintely see a younger girl playing hair salon with those locks. Her ring is great, but I would personally leave it off most of the time with a younger girl. Her dress is simple, but cute, and the boots have so much mix n' match potential! :)

                                 
I feel like Saige's accessories were a bit skimped on. Mckenna had a bag, trail mix, a water bottle, a necklace, a letter, a book report, a journal, and an id. Saige got a bag(which is adorable), a necklace(I like a lot more than Mckenna's), a bracelet and earrings, which are all well made. I think that while Mckenna had quantity, Saige has a little more quality.
                                               
I like the shorts in her pj set, but I for some reason I am not in love with the top.
                                             
I really like the jeans and button-down shirt, but the boots don't look like they go with the outft. Maybe it's just me being nit-picky. I apperciate the detailed helmet and that it is only $20 with the other hat. I do not like how AG is marketing this felt hat as a "cowgirl" hat. It can't tecnically be called that becuase it does not have the pinched top or more curled brim. It is really just a felt, flat-bottomed hat.
                                         
Picasso is probably one of the coolest horse names I ever heard, and I think his cream appaloosa coloring is very nice. I honestly hate AG horses in general, but I save that rant for a later post where I'll compare their horses to Our Generation ones. I did like how his head and front leg move. I don't think this set qualifies as a "parade saddle set" as the saddle and saddle pad would probably be used more everyday. That may give it more play value. Also at parades, horses normally have their manes and tails braided or have extensions clipped in, not a cheap printed scarf around thir tails. I didn't get a look at the horse treats and clicker, however from my experiances with Mattel AG, I assume that the clicker has some good details and the horse treats are a box that says horse treats on it.

I don't know if anybody realized this (but guessing from the reviews on the AG wesite that complained about the difficult to pronounce name, I'd say no.), but Rembrandt is the name of a famous artist. I didn't even notice this until my mom pointed it out to me. I think the dog is cute, but shares the same facial problems as the other plush animals AG makes. The faces are cute in the catalouges, but are smushed at the store. I also would have liked if Saige had a more unique pet, since most of the dolls have dogs. Maybe a lizard? Or how about a poseable, plush barn cat? 

Can I have this in my size please? I decided not to get this or her paint set only because I would've broke, but I really like the dark jeggings and the grey tank top. I like how the tone-on-tone print keeps it from being too boring. I thought the fringed leather sandals were cool, but was a little disappointed when I saw them in person. I wish they were more gathered and ruffled instead of being two cut pieces of leather on top of each other. I bet Saige's meet boots would look great with this. The sweater really completes the outfit with all of its Southwestern prints and bold colors.

I think this set has very high quality items. The paintings are stunning! It has a lot of small details that make it really cool. I am working out how to make my own version of this, but I'm not the best artist when it comes to drawing and painting!

I am not head over heels for this dress at all,(It's just not my style) but I like the combination of the gold and pink and the little cactus flower necklace is darling! It almost reminds me of a sunset. Ooooh! I wish AG would do a sunset dress with an ombre print that goes from bright coral, to rosy and dusty pink, to plum and fading into a pale yellow. Sorry, off in dressmaker's dreamland here! :)

And who could forget Saige's biggest attraction? The hot air ballon. I think the little accessories are nice, but the ballon itself seems useless to me. Every now and then AG has a big ticket item, like Molly's stage, and Kit's treehouse. They usually have a lot of play value and detail. The hot air ballon has lots of realistic detail, but what can you do with it? It's huge, takes up space, and I can't think of any stories that could stem from it. That is just me though.

 

So that's my opinion of Saige's collection! I may purchase her sweater set, or her painting set, or her accessories, or even the doll later in the year. I hope that you enjoyed seeing my opinions, and now know a little more about the real quality of Saige.

Hope you have a good week!

 

 

The Doll Craft Queen

 

 

 

Doll Diaries Giveaway

Hey there! Just thought I'd let you know that Doll Diaries is doing a givaway of two City Girls and City Girl sets! I normally talk about AG and similar dolls here, but I actually have a large collection of Barbies and 4 Liv dolls. I hope I win the givaway so one of the City Girls can live on my bookshelf with my Livs! So go check it out; maybe you'll win!


The Doll Craft Queen

Hobby Lobby Finds!

So I was at Hobby Lobby yesterday getting some fabric for the modern girls' beanbag chairs, Nancy's wallpaper and supplies for a doll crock pot(seen on karenmomofthreescraft.blogspot.com), and I came across some really cute things for my dolls! The first thing I saw was an awesome, full-length, doll-sized mirror. I seriously considered buying this, but it was $45 and I couldn't tell if it was on sale. Then I saw the coolest little telephone booth! It was for holding necklaces I think. I was going to put a phone in it myself, but I realized that was too small for my AG dolls to go inside it. But my other two finds are perfect for my dolls and less than $5!

I love the colors on this adorable teapot! It cost me only $4, and although there weren't any cups or other accessories to go with it, I think this is a really good find. I don't have as many teapots in town as I would like. :)

Lacy is enjoying being able to serve tea to her cousin, Marie-Grace. (the cups are borrowed from the Parkington's house)

 

I found these mini dominoes by the clay of all things! It was only $3.50 for a pack of 12.

They are actually beads for a bracelet. You can see the pre-drilled holes in this picture.

Looks like Beth and Sophie are taking a dominoes break!


Make sure you always check your local Hobby Lobby for cute doll finds like these. A lot of them are probably on sale too!


The Doll Craft Queen

Gift Card Crafts

Who doesn't love getting gift cards for Christmas? It may seem like a lame gift, but they are actually pretty useful! I ran into a problem with my Itunes giftcards though; I didn't know what to do with the plastic card after redeeming all the cash! Now I could have just tossed it in the trash like a normal person,(like that's ever going to happen!)or I could turn it into doll-sized giftcards and art! 

To make doll giftcards, I used the giftcards with the monetary amount in the right corner. 

Measure a 1 and 1/8'' by 7/8'' rectangle on some cardstock and cut it out.(computer paper or notebook paper works fine) This is your pattern.

Place it on the corner of the card with the monetary amount. Trace around it with a pen. Any color will work, I just happened to have red with me.

Cut it out,and round your corners to match the factory one. Do your best to make them even, but don't worry if you have to make your card smaller than you planned. It is better to have a smaller card with nice edges than to have a larger card with sloppy, uneven edges.

Here is a finished card; beacuse it does say any brand name on it, it can be for anything you like! You could even put a picture of food or clothing on it to give a generic indication of what it is for.

Your dolls can also hold their giftcards!

Now it's time for doll art! I'm using the leftover pieces from the doll giftcards.

Arange them however you like. I decided to fill that hole with a picture of my dolls.

Next, I hot-glued them together This is a picture from the back so you can see how I overlapped them.

To make the picture frame part, I cut a piece of cardstock bigger than my giftcard template.

Using Tacky Glue, glue the paper to the back of the hole, but do not glue down the top edge.

After it dried, I resized several photos of my dolls on Microsoft Word, printed them, and cut them out as one. Then I slid it through the top, open edge of the paper.

You can also use giftcards that have no monetary amount displayed on the front, and directly apply them to your doll's wall.

I'm adding these two cards around my first piece of doll art to fill the walls more.

Use tape loops to attach your art to your doll's wall. This way, if you want to redecorate, or just change your mind, it's easy to remove and doesn't damage walls.

Here is my art in the modern girls' living room, near the t.v. cabinet.



Have fun experimenting with different giftcards and making your own unique doll wall art to fill your doll's walls!



The Doll Craft Queen
ps. I am working on a post schedule. Expect new posts once or twice a week!

About Pleasantville

Pleasantville began with my first American girl doll Amy. She was originally named Molly, but after several name changes, I settled on Amy. Later I decided it was short for Amethyst. Back then it was just her and an Our Generation doll named Courtney. I don't know where Courtney is, i think she was chewed up by my rabbit or my dogs. All my stories revolved around Courtney, Amy and their horse, Honey(I do have Honey still). Later, Susan arrived, then Felicity, and when Sophie came into the picture, I discovered Ourdolls.net. It quickly became my favorite doll website because I liked how they had an actual town with businesses and families. I was getting tired of seeing everybody always just have their dolls live together. I shifted some of the doll's personalties to fit into my version of their town. Later I added more dolls and began introducing dolls I already had, but hardly ever played with. The modern girls are mostly made up by me, but the historicals were inspired by Ourdolls and therefore are extermely similar. The hair salon, run by Cristal, is something taken directly from Ourdolls. I just love that character, and even though I don't have some kitties to play the Purr family yet, you may just be seeing them in the future. The town name is actually just a coincedence. Years ago, when it was just Susan and Amy, I was trying to name the city/town the girls lived in. I came across an AG library card that said the area was Pleasantville. So that became the unofficial name. After I found Ourdolls and began building my town, I made it official. I will try to credit the Gothard sisters as much as possible, but if I miss something, please quietly let me know and don't make a big deal about it.
I am hoping to put up pages for the dollhouses and the town businesses, but for now, here is a quick overview of the town, which is located in an unused guest bedroom with an attached bathroom.(please excuse the slightly blurry pictures)

 Coming up the steps to town, we can see the Larson's food market and a small closet that the Montoyas are temporaily living in.

From here we can see the Montoyas in the closet as well as the closed hair salon and the open bank.

Here is the view from one end of the room. We can see the modern girl's house on the front left, the Parkington's property on the back left, and town "square" on the right.

Here is a better look at the town square businesses. (left to right: Merriman's General Store, Sweet Treats better known as The Sweet Shop, and The Lucky Clover)

In the bathroom is where the forest and a few "edge-of-town" homes are found. The Gardner's house is just visible on top of the sink.

A better view of the waterfall and the river.

(Please excuse the cardboard) To the right is the tub. Later I will add a piece of wood to the top and move the Montoyas to it. At the end, is the closet the Merrimans live in.

So that's Pleasantville in a nutshell! I will try to add my first craft in the next few days as well as the houses and businesses pages. Hang in there! I'm still figuring all this out after all! :)

Welcome!

Welcome to my blog! This blog will be about my dolls and the things i craft and sew for them. Pictures and more posts to come, so stay tuned!