A Teenager's Dollhouse

These past few weeks, my sister Molly and I have been working on something very special.

Molly came to me asking if she could ride Smokey.

I was thrilled! 

Of course, being the youngest, Momma is very overprotective over Molly. So, Momma wasn't very thrilled.

But, she agreed as long as Molly had the right training, so she would be prepared for anything. Today though, a three weeks of training finally paid off! 

Yes, Molly was riding today! 

As I was waiting for Molly, I put on the saddle, and tightened it. 

I also made sure the stirrups were the right height for Molly. 

"Hey, Saige!"

"Hi! Are you ready?"

"Let me just fasten my helmet on.....yep! I'm ready!"

"Great come on!" 

So Molly came over and started to hop on like she practiced doing on a chair. 

I was proud of Molly already...

she did exactly what I told her to do! 

Molly was on! 

"This is awesome!"

"Hold on, I need to put on the reins!"

Smokey was also being really good. I gave Molly the tack and we were ready to go! 

I grabbed the lead rope, and off we went around the backyard! 

"Yee-haw! This is so cool!" 

Molly was really enjoying it, and so was I! 

It's really great to share something you love with someone- it turns out they might love it too! 

"Look at me, I'm a cowgirl!"

"Wooo- hooo!" 

"Molly, calm down. You're going to scare Smokey!" 

"Okay, okay. I'm calm!"

Then, I took off the lead rope!

"You sure you're ready for this, Molly?"

"Saige, I was born ready!"

"If you say so. I'll be right here. Hold on!" 

"Oh my goodness! I'm doing it! I'm actually doing it!" 

"I'm riding a horse all by myself!"

Molly rode around for about thirty minutes, before it was lunch time and she had to go. 

"Do I really have to get off, Momma? I'm having so much fun!"

"Yes dear, it's lunch time."

"Aww okay. Do you think I could do it after lunch?"

"Smokey needs his rest, maybe next weekend."

"Okay Momma. Thanks Saige! I had a really good time!"

"You're welcome Molly. I'm glad you enjoyed it. Smokey will see you next weekend!"

So, Molly dismounted, and I decided to ride for a little bit. 

I took him into his newly made barn. 

But first I hugged him. I'm so lucky to have Smokey. Not very many girls my age get to have a horse! 

Have you ever shared something you love with somebody?

Saige

I really struggle making clothing for my smaller dolls. The seam have to be so tiny- it's very difficult. 

But wait- what if I don't have to sew it?

What if I made...a non-sew doll dress?

Here's what you'll need (pictured above)

-fabric

-fabric scissors

-brad (not pictured

Step 1:

Lay your doll down on the fabric. This picture is a lie- I actually laid Dell down on her side, then marked where the end was, and did this six times all next to each other. So basically, it was like six Dell's placed on their side next to one another. 

Step 2:

Cut out the long strip of fabric you just marked. 

Step 3:

Wrap it around your doll.

Step 4:

Using your brad, secure the back. (you could also secure the front if you used fancy brads like we did ;) ) 

Step 5: You're done!

SERIOUSLY. THAT IS IT. NOTHING ELSE. YOU ARE FINISHED. 

There are also many styling opportunities here. If you like something, just secure it with another brad. 

You could do a one shoulder..a waistband...

do a matching headband even! 

This dress was so easy! I can't wait to make more for the rest of the gang.....

Everyone seems to be on the Frozen craze this week as the movie was just released on DVD. So, let's join the Frozen craze train and do a Frozen review! 

Today, I'm reviewing the Frozen mini doll set. 

This is sold out on the Disney website (so happy I got it when I did!) and it was sold for $24.95. 

One thing I'd like to say is that Disney isn't making an effort to restock any of their Frozen items- which is odd, because if they're restocked they'll just sell out again. 

The only Frozen items that are currently in the online Disney store are clothing. The only doll/toy is the Disney Infinity Anna. Personally, I find it weird that Disney is selling Frozen bathing suits. 

Bathing suits for a movie based in snow. 

Ummm... okay. 

ANYWAYS. This set comes with four mini dolls- Hans, Elsa, Anna, and Kristoff. Here are some box pictures: 

Wow, I took a lot of box pictures. 

Fist things first: remove the clear plastic shield. This was fairly easy, and the easiest part in the de-boxing process. 

You had to cut some stuff and pull the dolls out. It was harder to pull out the guys, but the girls had more strings tying them back. 

Here's everyone out of the box. 

Let's start with Anna. 

The doll herself is really cute. I couldn't get a close-up on her face, because my camera will not focus on things so tiny. (It was difficult to get these pictures). But she has green eyes, freckles, rosy red cheeks, cheeky smile. Typical Anna stuff. 

She has a very elaborate bun in place, which I do not plan on taking out anytime soon. Although I can't help but wonder how much hair is up their....hmm. She has bright red hair with the pale blonde streaks. This mini doll looks like more of her hair has the streaks then "big" Anna. 

She's wearing a simpler dress then the one she wore at the beginning of Frozen. I think that is the dress Disney was trying to copy on this doll, but I'm not 100% sure. 

You can easily remove the dress, it has velcro down the back.

Once the dress is removed, you find that Anna is tightly wrapped in tissue paper to prevent staining. 

You also get a better look at her crooked feet and simple black flats. 

Kept on with elastics, of course. 

On the back of Anna's neck, it does say "Copyright Disney"

Here's Anna without the tissue paper. As you can see, she is wearing a strip of fabric that represents a choker collar necklace. I wonder how they got that on...there is not velcro or anything on it, so if you cut if off, you won't be able to get it on again. 

And, the back of Anna. 

Quality wise, this dress fails. It gets and F- for sloppy seams, loose thread, and not looking to durable (especially the straps) 

The shoes left some black marks, and the elastics left marks too. 

Elsa's turn! 

Like Anna, she is also wearing a very elaborate bun. 

From the side, you can see that one of those plastic tab thingys is in her head. I'm scared to cut it. 

Elsa also has tissue paper covering her. 

Elsa seems to have the same face shape as Anna (they have the same body) and she seems to have Anna's smile too. 

Same shoes too. 

Same ugly markings. 

Elsa's dress definitely mimics the one she wore in the beginning. 

Right here, you can see how pale Elsa is compared to Anna. 

Hans! 

Gosh, the way this character looks does remind me of Mr. Darcy ever so much....

I really love his sideburns. 

Hans's outfit is all one piece. I had a really tough time taking this off, and an even tougher time putting it back on. 

But, the details are really cute on this outfit. 

His boots are nice. 

His head looks wayyyy too big for his body. 

We saved the best for last...Kristoff! 

His similarities to big Kristoff is amazing.

#twinsies

The outfit. 

He is just so darling! His freckles are kind of sloppy though, 

His hat's painted on. 

Thankfully, Kristoff's outfit is two separate pieces. 

His pants are un-hemmed, but even so, I still have to say that this is the best quality out of all the outfits. (Elsa is a close second)

I do want to share how much the boots look like big Kristoff's. 

Being my two favorite out of the group, Elsa and Krisoff with show you the points of articulation. They are "newd" for the outfits limit their posing being as thick as they are. (This is especially true for the boys) 

They're heads can go 360 degrees around.

And they have bendy knees like Barbies. 

They can do some other stuff, too. 

Here they are (dressed) with a similar size line-up. 

There's mini Elizabeth (AG), the Frozen guys, then the Frozen figures.

As you can see, these are fabulous dolls for the 18 inch size.

Abgaile sure seems to like them! 

In the end, the question is this: For 25 dollars, would you rather one mini AG, or four Frozen dolls? 

There are, of course, the pro's and cons.

Pro's for buying the Frozen:

-you get four instead of one

-awesome to have if you loved Frozen, but didn't want to buy all four classic dolls. you get all of them for the price of one classic doll.

-decently movie accurate 

Cons for the Frozen dolls:

-not the most high quality outfits

-bodies are too small for heads (in Hans and Kristoff's case that is...but the outfits make it look better)

-not a lot of clothes swapping options. (would the girls fit in La-Dee-Da? worth a try.)

-not that much hair play potential. 

Pros for buying mini AG:

-really high quality

-historically accurate (or modern-ly(?) accurate if it's a GOTY)

-cool book that comes with it

Cons for buying mini AG:

-expensive

-if you're not into the 18" dolls, the book is pretty much pointless. 

So in the end, it really does come down to the price and how much you are getting for your money. I personally, would prefer getting this set instead of one mini AG. They are perfect companions for the girls if you can find them. With Frozen being the huge hit that it is, this is some seriously great memorabilia of the movie. These dolls are cute, and I'm glad to see Anna and Elsa in some different clothes for once. 

Overall, the clothing is really bad quality. I've seen worse, and I suppose that because these dolls are so small it's difficult to make clothes for that size. (I struggle to make clothes for H4H! Try these!) They have nicely painted faces, and I prefer their eyes much more then I do the mini AG ones. They also show more expression then the mini AG's. 

So yes, I do prefer these dolls to the mini AG's. And, I hope to see Disney make mini Cinderella's, and Mulan's.

Here are a few questions for you to think about before I sign off:

Who do you prefer: These Mini Frozen dolls or the Mini American Girl's?

Who do you prefer: Anna or Elsa?

Do you have the Frozen movie on DVD yet? 

Chloe