Goodbye?

Juggling two blogs has been way too complicated. But don’t worry–I’m not completely leaving the community!

What I’m saying is, I won’t be using this blog anymore. I’m still gonna leave it up on the web, so you can still look back at old posts. But you HAVE to go follow my other blog, Flourishing by Restful Falls. Because I’ll post doll blogs over there (along with FBRF‘s posts)!

And FBRF followed all the doll blogs DollDIYs followed so I can still read all the awesome blog posts I couldn’t live without :).

I’ll be posting about the AG store in Boston over there in a week or two. So if you wanna see that you better go follow my other blog!

Thanks for all your support over here, on DollDIYs.

See you over at Flourishing by Restful Falls! Really–go follow it, now.

♥Hayley

 

 

My thoughts – Truly Me

“Woah, Hayley’s still alive?”

Actually, yes, I am!

Today I’m going to be telling you my opinion on the new Truly Me releases. (I really hope I can keep my rambling to a minimum.)

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Recess Ready Outfit  ( $30 )

So cute! But what’s up with the boots? I would love to buy this, except for the price and the boots; I just don’t think it would be worth it.

Mod Monster Costume  ( $34 )

No, No, No, No, No.  Why would your doll need a halloween costume? (But there’s no pink! That’s the only good thing about this, in my opinion.)

Basketball Outfit ( $34 )

It looks really well-made, and I’m very happy to see it’s not pink… But I won’t be purchasing this set, since I don’t play basketball.

Sparkle Sweater Outfit ( $30 )

All the items I think would be cute apart, well except for the shoes, but definently NOT together. Again, something I will not be purchasing.

Sparkle Socks and Leggings ( $12 )

I have a million pairs of socks that I NEVER put on my dolls so why would I want this? Definitely not for $12!

Tweed Driver’s Cap ( $10 )

Just a little cute… But I think it’s a little too crazy.

Fun Fedora  ( $10 )

No pink! That’s the only thing that really makes me like it :D.

Silver Sparkle Beanie  ( $10 )

This is pretty cute. And I think it would be even cuter on a doll. But I don’t need a doll hat, so it won’t be going on my list.

Rhinestone Baseball Cap  ( $10 )

Let’s think about this—would it actually stay on the doll’s head?

Striped Hoodie  ( $14 )

Pretty cute, but–again–not going on my list.

Shearling Boots  ( $16 )

Ok, these would be cute if they didn’t have a big bow and weren’t purple—just not my style :).

Sparkle Sneakers  ( $14 )

These are really cute–if you like these kind of sneakers.

Hairstyle Tools  ( $20 )

Wowwww. That’s all I can say, wow–$20? Do any of you remember when $90 would buy a whole doll?

Stylin’ Bangs  ( $20 )

It’s a pretty good idea, but no. It would be super hard to put in your doll’s hair, and it wouldn’t be cute. (Plus, that picture is just creepy. And who needs one of every color of hair?)

Double Braid Headband  ( $20 )

I feel like it would be really hard to use… Well, I know I won’t be buying this. :p (Sorry I keep saying that.)

Terrier Puppy  ( $28 )

Ok…. in the Truly Me release did they just add a toy to the pets and up the price by $8?

Why couldn’t they keep Coconut? I will never really understand why people would buy AG pets; I mean why not just use a stuffed animal?

Flip-Top Desk  ( $58 )

If Loren hadn’t said anything, I wouldn’t have noticed, but the chair’s attached to the desk… And I feel like it’s a lot more cheesier than the old one. But it is cute :).

Hot Lunch Set ( $25 )

The straw comes OUT of the milk container!

Did AG get new designers that can actually make a realistic toy? I mean it’s so much more detailed than usual AG—it could come from OG! XD

But I don’t really like the brownie—they should have made that a cookie. But that’s okay; I like making my own doll cookies. Maybe I’ll post a blog about that soon.

Sport Storage Bench  ( $48 )

This is pretty cute, but they could have put just a couple more things in there, like a soccer ball, basketball, and a baseball.

But $48 is really high; I will not be buying this, even if it is a little cute.

Science Fair Set  ( $32 )

The telescope is so cute! But that’s really all I would use. Since it costs $32, I won’t even consider this one.

Slow Cooker Dinner Set  ( $58 )

Love, Love, Love!

The crock pot, the fried chicken, the butter dish, the BBQ sauce, the muffins, the forks, the prongs, and the fruit in the grapefruit rind are all so cute! (Did I mention I like this?)

But the only way I will be getting this is my birthday or Christmas. It’s so expensive. I definitely will be trying to re-create this one!

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That’s all I’ve got for you guys today! I’m so excited to see these things in person at the AG store NEXT weekend (and I will be posting pictures of that)!

I would like to say thanks to American Girl for giving me more DIY ideas that I’ll be working on as soon as I get my doll house all set out. (Yup–the doll house is done and in my room! So I need to post this blog and get back to designing my set-up!)

Thanks for reading, and make sure to tell me what you think of the new Truly Me items. Better yet, please share your DIYs that are inspired by these new items! And look for part two (Beforever).

♥Hayley

P.S. make sure to follow me over at my other blog to see my un-doll related posts!

 

 

Flourishing by Restful Falls

Hey guys!

Guess what? I set up another WordPress blog; it’s a non-doll related blog about my life. Since I love writing I wanted to set it up so I can write whatever I want, whenever I want (not just all about DollDIYs). I am really excited, and I hope you all will be too!

On my new blog I’m gonna post art inspirations and photography,

random writing, homeschooling (what it’s like),

book reviews, inspirational posts (like the ones I do on this blog), DIYs (for you, the human) and cool stuff about my backyard and the creatures who live there!

When I write about dolls, it will still be right here, don’t worry.

If you want to get to know me more and read my writing, check out my new blog, Flourishing by Restful Falls

I hope you hop over there and follow me on both blogs. And make sure to tell me what you think.

♥Hayley

Watching I Love Lucy

I stepped out the sliding back door with Hayley right on my heals, with her camera in hand.

I had barely stepped out onto the snow-covered deck when Hayley asked me where I wanted to pose for the first picture.

I glanced around the white backyard. I pointed to a wet rock to the side of our property, “Right there!”

When we reached the rock, which I had some complications with, because apparently they don’t make doll snowshoes! (Do you know how hard it is for an 18″ doll to walk through two feet of snow? And I wasn’t even dressed properly!)

Hayley held my arm to help me stay balanced while she snapped the picture. I asked to see it. But, she was already running the opposite direction.

When I caught up with her, I saw what she was excited about. There was a little bit of grass exposed on the path where her dad had snowplowed for the dogs.

She made me pose while she took I don’t even know how many picture and finally said she had enough. (And to tell you the truth, I’m not crazy about the picture she finally decided on.)

Hayley looked over to her right and practically screamed with joy when she spotted the slate path, which none of us have seen since fall. Splotches of gray slate, the color of an overcast April sky, showing among the mossy green grass were like pieces of fabric sewn into a quilt and hidden under the snow.

As Hayley turned on her camera to take another picture I thought back to summer, when I watched Hayley and her sisters skip to the pool on that very path in their bathing suits.

I scanned around the backyard and tried to remember what everything looked like in the beautiful and warm summer… I gave up very quickly since it was impossible (mostly because all I saw was a foot of white snow).

I was as joyful as Hayley to see grass and to smell the fresh air that tasted like spring. But, I didn’t show my joy like Hayley of course (that would be embarrassing)!

All I wanted to do was lay in the dry, not-so green grass and let the warm sun blaze onto my face. I closed my eyes and imagined how lovely it would be to take off my shoes and feel the grass in my toes. I almost had the picture in my head when I heard Hayley’s camera snap another shot.

So, yet again, I looked at her camera and smirked. “If only she could hurry up!” I thought to myself. But I just kept smiling.

Hayley told me she just wanted to take a couple more pictures. I wondered how many more she would REALLY take!

After only ONE more picture, which I found really impressive, she allowed me to go inside and watch I love Lucy in my Pj’s!

After I picked out an I love Lucy to watch (and got my PJ’s on) I got cozy underneath my blanket as Hayley left to go do her schoolwork, I sure am glad I didn’t have to do math today!

I curled up and watched Lucy and Ethel try to steal a concrete block with a famous actor’s name on it. How silly! And that was my adventure in the snow with Hayley! And I’m positive I will have many more. Talk to you guys later!

 

Protesting Winter With Watermelons

It was -10 degrees. The image of 3 feet of white snow outside my window danced across my eyes, trying to deceive me with its sparkle. But I was too smart to fall into its trap.

The bitter chill made me shiver excitedly for spring and bundle up in my soft flannel blanket. Mom, insanely, expected me to get up and do schoolwork. My sister and I protested and instead read Magician’s Nephew without taking our warm toes out of our aligned beds.

As Kayla and I read aloud about Uncle Andrew’s horrid plans to abandon Polly in the unknown world, I decided my warm world of flannel and fleece was too wonderful to leave. But I also planned that this Narnia-like day was a perfect one for finally posting a cheery, warm blog I wrote last fall.

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Guess what I have? A doll-sized watermelon! My sister’s garden stored mini watermelon, which she decided to pick before the ground froze.

Here is farmer Emily in the corn patch; I thought the picture was cute. 🙂

And the watermelon was the perfect size for an American Girl doll.

I cut one. It was the light green color of immaturity all the way through. It tasted like the green part of a watermelon piece that you try not to eat. My grandma was visiting and thought I was weird, exclaiming “You’re gonna eat that, girl?” I love my nana, she’s great. 🙂

I hope this reminded you of how glorious summer is. Soon, this snow will be gone and we’ll be able to relax on the sand by the lake. (Maybe then I’ll post my blog of Emily in her first New England snow.) 🙂

Talk to ya’ll soon,