Woldorf Dolls

While my wonderful husband was making my kids the kitchen tower, I decided my kids needed some high quality dolls. I love the Woldorf dolls, but not the price tag attached to them. So, I decided to buy the materials and make them myself. Yes, I'm insane.

These are the materials for one doll. When I say I made the doll, I really do mean it.

Half of the stuffing goes into the head. The weighting of the dolls is one of the reasons these dolls are different than the type you can buy at the store.

Here I've blocked off and marked where the facial structure will be once I'm finished.

Every head needs skin. It makes it look less freakish don't you think?

Cutting and sewing up the body would have been much easier if I owned a sewing machine. If you want to try this yourself, please use a sewing machine. It may not seem like much, but it would have been a huge help.

Everything flipped right side out

The body is stuffed - remember half of the original stuffing is in the head. This makes the body cuddly and the face have definition.

Attaching the arms to the shoulders/head

Body assembled, facial features added, working on the boy's hair. I should note that the boy doll's hair was much more difficult than the girl doll hair. I should also say that I only gave myself 3 months to complete two dolls. I finished the day before we gave them to the kids.

This is the girl doll. I'm sure you notice that I ran out of time to make clothes for the dolls. Luckily the grandparents were great at finding clothes for the dolls and they now have an entire wardrobe.

Giveaway - Winner Danielle P.

This is the 3rd of 4 giveaways thanks to Activision. The theme this time is Moshi Monsters!
This prize has 3 different pieces. The first is the Moshlings Theme Park game for Nintendo3DS (Rated E). The game even comes with 7 days of free membership. I'm also including a gift card for an additional 3 membership days. Last is the Moshi Monster Magazine which includes huge posters, puzzles, and a free bonus code.


Game Description: Your MONSTERIFIC adventure awaits! The Moshlings have lost their way around Amusement Isle and they need your help to round up their monster-mates and light up the magical Moshlings Theme Park.

• Find 60 Lost Moshlings: Play mini-games to unlock hints and tips to help you in your search!
• Experience Monsterific Rides: Hit splat-tastic high scores as you guide your Monster to glory aboard the wildest coasters, karts, slides and rides!
• Fun For All Ages: Play easy-to-learn games with Moshi “nurture” modes for the youngest gamer or exploration puzzles and arcade challenges for the more advanced!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Christmas Projects

We continued our traditions of gingerbread houses and homemade ornaments. This year we found a set of 5 gingerbread houses, which worked perfectly for our family.

We assembled the houses and let the kids each pick one to decorate.

I did have to help with the icing. They didn't quite understand how to control it and not let it squirt out the back of the bag. Ignore what I'm wearing, I'm aware it's hideous. 

While normal kids would eat some of the candy, my kids don't like candy so they were more than happy to use it to decorate the houses.

The front two houses are the ones the kids decorated. The adults clearly got in on the fun as well. 

Another year of making ornaments. This year they both chose a gingerbread cookie cutter. This is a simple project. The kids tear construction paper into small pieces, which is great for fine motor development. Then you put it in a blender or food processor with hot water until it is soupy. I had prepared a plate with a clean towel and a stack of paper towels to place the cookie cutter on. The kids simply take the soupy mixture and push it into the molds.

Once the mold is full, I help them push it in a little more firmly. I then gently push the ornament out and bake them at 200 degrees until they are fully dry. Then I write on their name and the year. They love these and I like it because they can do almost the entire thing by themselves.

Wordless Wednesday