Christmas Photo Shoot Day

When Felicity woke up she knew it was a special day for my girls!

It was the day of our Christmas photo shoot!

Samantha and Addy were up early putting together some tasty treats to enjoy on their merry day. 

"I guess we better start getting dressed for the photos!"

 Kirsten was getting out her head wreath and telling Tatlo and MissyMeowMeow about St.Lucia Day.

 

 

 

Rebecca loves a good reason to dress up!

"Being in front of a camera is my favorite thing! What can I say-- the camera loves me!"

 

"Pardon me! I'm still dressing!"

 

 

"Don't look yet! I'm not ready yet!"

 

"I'm ready to go! Just putting away my everyday dress."

 

 

"Me too! Except which necklace should I wear?"

Molly called out for Kaya to get her opinion, but...

 

 

...Kaya was in her room asleep. Looks like she was working on a letter to Santa!

"Wake up sleepy head, it's time for the photo shoot!!"

 

 

First I wanted a shot of just my three original girls.

I've celebrated many Christmases with these girls. Each one was a gift from Santa when I was very young.

 

 

Once we had Kaya woken up I got all my girls together for a simple group shot.

Their Christmas dresses are so beautiful!

 

 

A very Christmasie photo with all the girls AND and the pets too!... A lot of love here.

Of course Nudge was being a pest and wouldn't sit still.

"No No! Leave the tree alone Nudge!"

 

 

 

And now we have a gorgeous header for our blog. 

Even though Christmas was almost two months ago we want to have this as our header photo for a while because we love Christmas and all that it represents.

In fact my New Year's Resolution was to keep the spirit of Christmas alive all throughout the year. It's such a wonderful, joyful time of the year and I don't want to lose that magic!

 

MERRY CHRISTMAS!! hehehe :)

A Christmas Carol: Saige's First Year

 

Every year I see a local performance of A Christmas Carol with my family. It is, for certain, my favorite family tradition! If you would like to see my photos from the past two years at the play click on the following links 2011 and/or 2012.

We had a really good view of the stage! I sat with Clayce and Cora in the row behind Peyton, my mom, and Brynna.

Clayce is a really good sport about being the only boy with all these girly girls ;)

I just love this little guy so much... LOOK at his SWEET and silly FACE!!!

This year Cora finally has a "big girl" AG doll to bring to the show. Her newest friend is Saige; she just got Saige for her birthday.

Some parts of the play are pretty intense and scary, that's when the dolls get extra squeezes!

My oldest and youngest nieces.

It's hard to believe that Peyton is old enough for make up, seems like only yesterday that she was Cora's size sitting on my lap.

Today Felicity got to meet Saige and they really hit it off! Of course they would... they are both red headed horse lovers!!

During intermission we like to discuss our favorite parts of the play over hot chocolate and gingerbread men.

After the play Felicity shares her experience with all my other girls. She never leaves out one detail and is sure to point out how the play slightly changes from year to year.

"Hmmm. You know what would be fun?" she quietly thought aloud, "We should make our own play of A Christmas Carol just for fun!"

Well, as I'm sure you can guess the idea had huge positive responses especially from one Rebecca Rubin, the aspiring actress, as she leaped into the air and began spewing theatrical ideas! She rambled on and on as the other girls smiled, giggled, and embraced Rebecca's dramatic flair and creativity. 

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So, will the girls put together a play for us?

:) We shall see...

Fairy Costumes for my Niece

Felicity loves being outdoors so in the winter she gets a little bored being stuck inside all day.

 

Hey Felicity, wanna help me make a craft?

That got her up and excited! She was quick to join me in the studio. Felicity loves to help me make stuff and today we are making two sets of doll Fairy costumes for my littlest niece, Cora.

This past summer I had a Fairy Party for my older nieces and they got fairy wings and tutus as party favors. (You can see photos from that party by clicking here.) However, Cora wasn't at that party so Felicity and I are making the same kind of wings and tutus for Cora's 6th birthday.


Felicity got to be my model which was perfect because Cora got Saige for her birthday and Felicity and Saige look similar so I could easily imagine Saige in these costumes.


 

Cora loves yellow and purple and she loves the movie Tangled, so Rapunzel was my inspiration for this first set.

 

 

The tutus are super easy to make. I used elastic cord for the waist and tied tulle and ribbon on it. I also added some flowers which I hot glued on.

 



 

The wings are a little bit more involved. I used 4 pipe cleaners and bent them to the wing shape I liked and twisted the ends together so all four pipe cleaners formed two connected pairs. Then I  hot glued a flat piece of  tulle to the pipe cleaner "frames" and trimmed the extra tulle off. When they were dry and sturdy I used puff paint to decorate them with pretty swirls and glitter. Since my other nieces are older their wings had saftey pins to attach the wings to the doll's clothing, but Cora is only six so I went for a safer version with ribbons that tie around arms/shoulders.

 

 

 

 

Cora, like me, is a big time Christmas freak! So I wanted to also make a Christmas set for her as well. 

 

I like this set so much I almost kept them for myself haha :)

 

I really liked the way the wings turned out.

 

 

I hot glued five rosettes in the middle with green satin ribbon cut into leaf shapes; it kind of resembled holly.

 

After everything was dry, set, and just right we bundled them up and packaged them in a cute Hello Kitty gift bag :)

We can't wait to see Saige in these fabulous Fairy costumes :)

 

What are you doing to prevent the cold winter blues? Are you getting cabin fever yet? Try making some doll crafts with your doll friends like Felicity and I did :)

 

P.S. I'm really behind on my posts... I have a bunch to do from Christmas time so stay tuned!

A Moment of Mourning Molly

Kirsten and Molly offered to help me decorate the rest of my apartment while the other girls worked on their little home.

"Look at this little patriotic snowman! Isn't he charming Molly?" giggled Kirsten as she handed the ornament to Molly.

"Yeah he's pretty cute, I guess," sighed Molly. 

"Molly, I hope you don't mind me asking, but I noticed you're not yourself today. Are you okay?" 

Molly looked down at her feet as tears welled up in her soft grey eyes then she burst out "I'm getting sad thinking about the end of the year coming because they are going to archive the Mollys and Emilys at American Girl. And I'm the only original American Girl left! Next year no little girls are going to be able to get a Molly or Emily for Christmas. I'm just so upset about it!"

"Oh Molly, I understand. I went through the same feelings when the Kirstens were archived, as did Samantha and Felicity. There there Molly." Kirsten continued to console Molly until her sobbing slowed. 

"It's going to be ok Molly, just think of all the girls Molly and Emily have brought joy to over all these years. You have been very loved! And although it's hard, try to remember that things have to change sometimes. This will allow American Girl to create new friends for girls; won't that be exciting!? It's ok to be sad now but don't let it ruin the best time of the year." 

Kirsten gently brushed Molly's tears from her wet cheeks and turned her towards the tree "Look at this jolly little tree. We need to finish this task at hand for Lissy."

"You're right Kirsten. I do love Christmas time and the tree is beginning to look very cheery," Molly sniffed. "Kirsten do you think they will ever bring back any of the archived dolls?"

"I do hope so, Molly. What a happy reunion that would be!" Kirsten replied warmly.

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All the ornaments were hung on the merry little tree. By that time Molly was cheering up and trying to change her perspective.

"Kirsten, Thank you for helping me feel better. You are a good friend," said Molly.

Kirsten took Molly's hand as they sat beside the freshly decorated tree, "Molly, I am happy to help anytime and I know Samantha and Felicity would be more than whiling to talk to you more about how you're feeling, and they will completely understand."

"Well, one thing that does make me feel jolly is that Lissy and Grammy got to bring home a Molly and Emily before it was too late!" added Molly.

"And we are glad for that too," agreed Kirsten.

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How are you feeling about Molly and Emily getting archived?

I know my mom and I are really sad but VERY thankful we were able to have our own.

We will never forget the special day Molly and Emily came to live with us. If you'd like to see my post about that special day then click HERE.

Decorating for Christmas

Most People didn't start decorating for Christmas until this past weekend but in our house we love Christmas so much that we start the day after Halloween.

 

That's right as soon as Halloween ends the fall decor gets packed up and out comes CHRISTMAS!!!

 

Here comes Kaya with a fresh cut tree from the woods

 

 

"Help! It's heavy!"

"PUSSSSHHHHH!"

"It would have been easier to pull the sled if there was snow, but I guess it's a little early for that type of weather," joked Rebecca.

 

 

Felicity unfolds the tree skirt underneath as Samantha and Rebecca begin unloading one of the decoration boxes.

 

The angel goes on first... easy does it Samantha!

 

 

"No! No! Nudge, give me that ornament!" Samantha scolded the rascally kitten.

 

Rebecca loves setting up her Hanukkah decorations amongst the Christmas decor.

"Let's play dreidel later!"

 

Kaya and Addy worked on the bedroom and kitchen decorations 

 

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas! 

 

"Hey come help me in my room!" called out Felicity. 

 

"Awe look at the sweet little lion and lamb! Here is a perfect place for them on the shelve next to Santa," Addy said as she helped Felicity in her room.

 

"Looks great, Thanks Addy!" 

 

As things were getting finished up Kaya, Addy, and Felicity started putting out some festive treats to munch on. YUM!!

 

"Rebecca we need some Christmas music!" requested Samantha.

"Of course! I have the perfect record! Oh hello Nudge, you must be excited it's Christmas time too!"

 

Finally everything was perfect and it was time to sit back and enjoy their beautifully decorated home. 

When do you start decorating for Christmas?