New Hearing Aids Again // Photo Shoot

Yes.... This post will end in another photo shoot of Cadence, but it was so fun to do, guys. I took 42 pictures but I'm only posting 9 ;)

But first!

I had to make Cadence some new hearing aids because her old ones broke (and I also lost one....). Besides, it was about time for her to get new, since kids have to get new hearing aids frequently because they grow out of them.

Last time I used clay to make the ear mold and behind the ear portion. This time, however, I recalled how AmericanGirlIdeas often uses hot glue in a variety of creative ways. Hot glue doesn't stick to parchment paper, so it is possible to create a shape and then remove it.

I used two plastic covered paper clips.

I also used a tool (I don't remember the name of it) to bend the paperclip, a hot glue gun, and a heart shaped cookie cutter which happened to have nearly the same curvature as the ear.

First, I bent the paperclip to the correct size.

I used Phoebe to model the hearing aids since her hair stays away from her face better than Cadence's.

I then squirted a bit of sparkly gold hot glue onto parchment paper.

Before the hot glue was completely dry, not sticky but still pliable, I removed it from the parchment and pressed it into her ear. Once it's completely hardened, I took it out. Then I used the metal tip of the hot glue gun to soften and smooth the rough edges.

I stuck the metal into the ear mold.

For the behind the ear section, I put the hearing aid on the parchment paper and hot glued around it. Just like before, I molded it to the ear, adding more hot glue and smoothing it when needed.

Finished products!

On to the photo shoot so you can see what the hearing aids look like on Cadence. They don't fit her exactly as they fit Phoebe, but it's pretty close.

I like that the new ones are more fun and colorful.

I hope you enjoyed this post!

Making a Doll Fireplace

With cold winter days approaching, I was inspired to create an American Girl Doll sized fireplace! I had been thinking about doing it for some time, and am super happy I finally got around to it.

I took progress pictures of how I constructed that may help you if you decide to make a fireplace for your dolls. I apologize for any poor quality photos, I usually do crafts at night time :)

 



For the basic structure of the fireplace, I used a Christmas lights box that measures 8 1/2" by almost 9 1/2". I turned it sideways, so the longer side of the box would be the bottom of the fireplace.

 



I then cut out a section of the front for the opening where the "fire" would be. The completed opening measured about 5" by 6 1/2".

 

For the inside of the fireplace, I printed out a brick pattern on some paper. The brick is a little small for American Girl Doll scale, but that's okay to me. A link to the brick template can be found in the description box of the video by Deena and Beena here. I printed four of these sheets, but only needed to use three.

 

I used scissors to cut the paper so that it would fit on the inside of the box, then used a glue stick to attach the paper to the cardboard of the box. Here it is so far!

 

 

The black part is craft foam cut to the right size. I attached it with a glue stick. One could also use black construction paper, but I didn't have any on hand.

 

 

I used my X-acto knife to cut pieces of craft foam board to cover the design of the Christmas lights box. I covered the front and both sides.

 

 

I wanted to add a little decoration to the front of the fireplace, but I didn't want it to be overwhelming. I took some white Sculpey and rolled it out so it was flat and even. I have a small box made of stone with horses and interesting designs carved into it (picture above). I took this box and decided to use the triangle design. I impressed the box into the clay. When I removed the box, the clay showed the same triangle design indented into it. The first couple times I attempted this, the clay stuck to the box, making a rough looking design. I fixed this by putting a small piece of plastic wrap over the clay. After that, I was able to remove the box, peel away the plastic wrap, and I had a nice design.

 

 

I cut the clay designs to the shape I needed before baking for fifteen minutes.

 

 

For the wood of the fire, I found some small branches of a lilac tree. I cut them to smaller pieces, in order to fit into the fireplace. To make them look burnt, I used soft charcoal and hard charcoal, which is typically used for drawings, to color the sticks darker. I smoothed it out with my fingers and a tortillion. If you would like to read more about charcoal drawing/tortillions/charcoal, see my previous post here. 

 

 

I cut the foam board for the mantelpiece a slight bit larger than the actual size, so it would over hang a bit.

 

Final pictures!!

 

 

It's got a basic look and design, but I plan on decorating it with stockings and Christmas trinkets.

 



 

I glued the clay design to the foam board with some Tacky Glue. I had never used Tacky Glue before. The clay seems to be held quite well into place.

 

 

 

For size comparison I have Maggie in her winter pajamas!

 

 

I think Maggie is wondering if Santa will be able to get through it :)

 

Hope you enjoyed!

Gladiator Sandals (and Photoshoot!)

Recently, Pixie Faire Freebie Friday pattern was the Gladiator Sandals.  I downloaded the pattern to save until I wanted to use it.  I was looking at this photoshoot on American Girl Place, and I noticed the doll was wearing super cute shoes!  Suddenly I thought "I have a pattern for shoes almost just like those!" and quickly printed the pattern.

And so I made these black sandals!  I made them black because I wanted them to be versatile, and my dolls don't have any all black casual shoes.  They were fairly easy to make (cutting out the pieces to longer than assembling them).

Although the pattern calls for two straps to go through each slit on the center piece, the 2mm craft foam I used was too thick for more than one strap. 

The only problem is the strap around the ankle is a little short and I have to stretch the craft foam.  I eliminated this problem by making the Velcro strips shorter and making the ankle strap a teeny bit longer on my next pair!  Shortly after finishing the black pair, I made one in royal blue.  This time I made the slight adjustments that I realized needed to be made the first go around.  They turned out great except the heel piece on the left shoe is a little odd.  I think it's because I used a different sole pattern that had a slightly larger heel, but that's okay. 

My dolls will definitely be wearing these shoes a lot the rest of the summer, and I am eager to make them in even more colors!

Here is the rest of the photoshoot :)