hay im still here (new year of 2020)

hi, I'm so sorry I have not posted in forever.
so for Christmas I got a wellie wisher (kindle) I named her Charlie than I bought a willa and named her Cora. After Christmas I got a #75 who I named Jonah Finn, he is Mai's twin brother.

OH Also for Christmas I had my dad build me a better dollhouse than the one I had.


I'm working on making doll stop motionsand putting them on youtube hopefuly i can get some up this year!
as always stay you bye -Zuri

im back!

hi guys! i know i have not posted in a while but i am still here happy thanksgiving and merry christmas!!! i don't have any pictures today but i will tell you we have some new faces theres: buddy, tutu, Tira, Luka, Mai, and Everest! i hope next time ill have pictures.

Got curls?

Remember Hannah, JLY #55, our Value Village find?

She is super cute, and in relatively good condition, except for the ends of her hair.  It was obvious that her previous owner used the wrong type of brush.  Her ends were natty.  Even after brushing and TLC, they still were splitting and hard to manage.
A week or so ago I tried to flat iron her hair, hoping to get a result like I did with our Felicity.  But they were still pretty rough because I didn't trim. 

I had been thinking she would be very cute with curls, but I wasn't 100% sure how I wanted to execute them.  I had read quite a bit online, and finally went with a boil perm.  I didn't like the look of a straw set.  Sometimes the curls behave, sometimes they don't, and if you don't use end papers the ends are weird. 

I remembered I had Curl Formers and thought I would give them a try.  Here's Hannah getting ready. 

I used the clockwise and counterclockwise curlers to frame her face.  Then I got the temperature of the water hot, but not boiling. 
After I got started, I realized that her face was receiving quite a bit of steam, so I covered her eyes to prevent moisture in them which can result in rust.  I held the cloth in place and proceeded to dunk her hair for 10 seconds per section.  After I was done, I placed her onto towels, making sure to keep the water off of the cloth body so that we didn't get water staining.
I was curious afterwards if I could see a difference, so I removed this Curl Former while the hair was still wet and actually still warm!  We have curls, and they were exactly what I wanted!  I let her dry out a little more by draining onto towels for about an hour, then removed the rest and let her finish drying overnight. 
Then the next day I took each dried curl section and split it by hand into 2 or 3 and re twirled the hair by hand (no tools) and got this.
Z and I are very pleased with Hannah's new look.  The curls suit her face and as well as looking cute, softened the ends considerably!


I can't say that we will do more of the dolls hair like this with the Curl Formers.  Curls can be harder to keep looking nice vs. straight hair if the doll is handled and dressed frequently and her hair is not covered for laying down and cuddling.  But we have several dolls with ringlet curls and we have learned how to care for their hair and keep it nice. 
I would like to use much larger "rollers" and set Loreli with waves, but we'll see.  I haven't found the right ones yet!

Meet Theadora, a sweet, spicy Seventy's girl!

I'm not sure when, but I came to the conclusion that I wanted a just like me doll.  Actually first I wanted to get an Addy doll.  It never worked out for me to find one for the right price, and in the right condition. As I spent time with Zuri identifying dollst I started to realize that AGD had a variety of skin tones and hair textures/styles for the mold.  I came to the conclusion, that although I feel strong ties to the story Addy Walker shares, a different doll would be a better representation of me. 
After reviewing the various face molds, and hair offerings for the Truly me dolls offered through the years (a custom is not an option for me), I decided #58 matched me the closest.  I bid on her and won the auction at the end of December.
She didn't arrive until the middle of January!  I was rather upset, nevertheless, when she arrived, it was doll love at first sight!
She did however have a flaw.  She had a "tattoo", of unknown (probably permanent marker) origin.
I first wiped her body down, but there wasn't really any significant surface dirt.  I tried a q-tip of rubbing alcohol, and then fingernail polish remover to see if the mark was on the surface.  Sadly, it wasn't.  Then I paid some attention to her hair.  There were just a few of her curls that were not aligned properly.  I carefully picked then and retwisted all of her curls to smooth out those curls and any frizzies.
For below the surface spots on AGD "skin" I had seen online that the recommendation to us benzol peroxide and place it under saran wrap, then expose it to the sun.  The weather wasn't cooperating the days I tried.  I hardly saw a any change at all.  A forum member on www.Ravelry.com mentioned that LED lights as well as daylight lights also work.  I have a few dollar tree LED lamps in my studio, so I set up Theadora with a spa therapy for her scar.  It took a few days, of changing to fresh moist Oxy, and making sure the light was positioned only over the spot on her arm.  Eventually it mostly bleached/faded away.  (See, actually under the lamp, the reduction of stain was pretty quick!)

She still has a faint stain, but I think it just gives her character.  I may try one day to treat it again, but for now I am pleased with the outcome.
Theadora is such a cute doll.  She has such pretty curls, she sports a little afro!  I had gotten this outfit when I purchased my Ivy, and I know it's Julie's meet outfit, but it is perfect for Theadora.  Julie and Ivy's story is from my birth year.  I can remember as a child wearing this type of style of clothing, from the wooden clog sandals to the shirt over a long sleeve shirt, and bell bottom pants.







Theadora, is like me, she needs glasses to see things that are far away.  And I made her a little ring as well.
She makes the perfect big sister for Buttercup.
Of course Buttercup wants to be just like her big sister Theadora, and wear glasses too!

Let's talk about doll hair

Doreen here, as Zuri mentioned the Nicki (renamed Zoe) that we got for her had some serious frizzy ends.  I was frustrated that the seller didn't disclose how bad the hair was, as well as more details about some marks that she had.  At first I thought maybe we needed to re-wig her, but I decided that even if we did, trying to help her hair with other methods first wouldn't hurt.  I have flat ironed doll hair before with Zuri's Felicity.  It worked wonders to smooth and kill the dead ends (especially with a slight trimming), but all curl was lost!  Nicki was made with such pretty curls that I didn't want to just flatten out her hair. 
I decided this time to try Zuri's ceramic brush.  It's not this one, but this is a close model.  I set the temperature at 170 to start, but that wasn't hot enough.  I raised it to 190, and finally the sweet spot was 210.  It took the friz with multiple passes, without destroying the curl.  I then immediately took a pencil and rolled the small section of warm hair around the pencil and used a bobby pin to hold it into place.  After about an hour we removed the pins and finger placed the curls.  They are adorable, and it revitalized her hair significantly. 
My #58 is finally arriving Saturday if there are no other postal delays.  I think her hair will need some TLC, but hopefully it won't need heat, just re-finger styling.  I will post updates when she finally arrives.

Zoe(: :)

Hi. So Nikki came yesterday she's not in the best condition, but we like her. I might get a rainbow wig for her and make her into a unicorn doll.
SOPD (Sweet Opal Pixie Dot) and SCFJ ( Spunky Crystal Fairy Jem) are doing good.  We put them in a small fence that we can move around the lower pasture sometimes. There is green grass, and they are small horses so they are fine they like grass. I will post pictures soon of horses and doll's.......!!!

Zuri's update, and new dollz!

Hi guys! I'm back. It's been good, hope ya'll have had a great Christmas. I got two new dolls within the time period of December, a Nellie and number 77. Truly Me number 77's name is Theodore he is Tia's brother.  They have two little sisters, my mom's dolls: Truly Me number 55, and a Corolle doll mini named Buttercup.  Anyone can play with dolls!

The first picture is of Tia and Theodore. Peyton and Nellie are in the second.  I also got a yellow lab AG dog the same day that I got Nellie.  It is her puppy, I named her Daisy.  Peyton's pup is Winter.  I bought Nellie from the same consignment shop that we got Loreli from.  I used birthday money to purchase Theodore from the American Girl Doll store.    

 Me and my mom made a unicorn onesie for Tia. We used this video tutorial.  It's tight in places but adorable!

I'm also getting a Nikki soon, but I'm renaming her Zoe because one of my besties has her also and we like to play dolls together.  Mom won her in a auction, but we are waiting for her to come in the mail. 

Till next post, bye!!! :) (:

New Year Update

Hello, Doreen here!  I have posted in Z's voice, and she has posted from my account until I created one for her a few posts ago.  But today, I am posting as myself, Z's mom.

Things are going well since we posted last.  The horses are settled in and we are learning how to care for them, what they need and like.  They are a lot of fun to watch and interact with.  They are also a lot of work (as we were warned)!  The enjoyment outweighs the hard parts though.  So we are still very happy we decided to get them. While we had grass growing, they grazed the yard, but as the season changed, they quickly destroyed the grass inside of our fenced in area.  We now supplement their feed more, but we hope to fence in the lower pasture for them in the spring.  They need a larger area than our back yard provides and all of the rain combined with the lack of grass has created a muddy mess!

On the doll front Z has gotten two new dolls.  I will let her tell about them.  The when, where and how she got them, and their actual names.  But they are Nellie and Truly Me #77.

After she got Nellie, and before #77 I purchased a Ivy, and Cecile from a FB marketplace seller.  I am renaming Cecile, Cecilia. Then a few days later I won an auction for a Truly Me #58 off eBay.  I picked her because I think she actually looks like me.  I will be naming her Theodora and working to sew, knit and crochet some clothes for her and the other girls.  Along with Josephina, I now have 4 AGD.

My Corolle Les Cheries, Cecile and Capuccine are little sisters, and I traded my Camile with Z for her Cathy. Buttercup, our only Corolle Mini Calin doll is also a little sister.  I originally bought her because I was captivated by her cute expression.  To me this little cherub is adorable.

When I got Ivy, she came with her meet outfit, minus the boots.  I purchased an additional Julie outfit from the same seller for Ivy to wear. She's very pretty, and makes a great big sister to Capuccine.  I wanted her because the Julie/Ivy storyline is set around my birth year, and I think she is super cute.  I love her story, the conflicts she feels about who she is expected to be, and her actual identity.  I had some similar feelings growing up, though through very different circumstances.

Cecilia and Cecile are sisters as well.  Cecile was the first doll I really wanted as an adult.  I loved how Corolle did her hair.  It's a lot like real ethnic hair, like mine.  A friend purchased her for me around 7 years ago when I had started buying Les Cheries for Z.  She also bought Cappucine and Camille for me.  It was such a thoughtful thing, because I wanted them, but I wasn't going to buy them for myself.  My friend understood that sometimes moms want to play with dolls too.  My girls have been living with the rest of the LC in Z's room, but I really wanted to display them so I am going to have them with me in my studio for a time.
Buttercup and Theodora sisters of Z's Tia and #77.  I couldn't believe how well the dolls worked together for a family photo.  I am anxious for Theadora to arrive so that I can get her dressed and into the pictures as well.  When I realized that Buttercup was excellent scale to actually be a little one in the family I knew she needed a sling so that her big brother and sisters could carry her.  Cousin Cecile gets the pleasure for now:

And here's Josephina my first AGD, and Cathy, a LC that was not gifted to me, but I love her sweet face, and raven black hair.  I asked Z if for the time being we could trade so that Josephina could have a sister and not be left out:

For now my dolls are on my desk as I do a major overhaul (cleaning and decluttering) of my office space and furniture.  

Home at last!

Tonight we brought Opal and Crystal home!  We were able to transport them together, and it worked just fine to have Opal tethered and Crystal was just "with" her.  More updates will follow soon!

Happy Birthday Crystal!!!

As you may know, we have been anxiously waiting for Opal (SOPD) to have her foal.  Our journey to buy her started this summer and it has been a VERY long wait!  There were some ups and downs, and we almost thought for a while that maybe things weren't going to work out, but the we eventually came to terms with the seller.  Once we figured it all out however, we didn't know exactly when Opal would have her foal.  We thought it might be soon, but we weren't sure, so we decided with the seller to wait just a little while longer to try to help her be comfortable for birthing.  That's when the waiting seemed to drag on and on.
In fact, we thought that she would have had the foal at the end of August, she was showing so many signs, but through September, and into October, she just kept looking more and more like any day would be the day.
TODAY WAS THE DAY!!!
Opal was checked on earlier today around lunch time and there was no foal, but by 5 when the seller came home from work, there she was!

Opal seems to be doing very well.  She was calm and composed and attentive to her foal.  The foal is a filly!  We wanted to name her similarly to her mom.  We liked how we picked the names for Opal.  We picked the first name for her temperament (she is docile sweet and very different from how we were told miniature horses could be), her second name for her appearance (lots of variation of color and textures, the more you look, the more you see), her third name for her size (she's small like a pixie), and her fourth for what we knew about her breed (we were told she had some Appaloosa in her pedigree).  

We followed that pattern for the baby!  Her full name is Spunky Crystal Fairy Jem.  We only spent about an hour with her, so the elements of her temperament remain to be seen.  As a new life, she was very independent and full of her own spirit, full of spunk.  For Crystal, she has different colors and her coat seems to almost sparkle and shine. And we feel that miniature horses are Jems.  They are wonderful companions and can be hearty and fun.   We picked from a list of names we all liked, but we also feel the name fits!

Crystal seems to be very sturdy and strong for her first few hours of life.  She nursed, and then after we had been there a while started to fall asleep.  Being born is a lot of work!

She has roan coloring like her mom with some spots by her rear.

She is a lot lighter though, maybe she will darken with time, maybe not.

She has lovely eyes, with black all of the way around them, like she's wearing eye liner!  And she has the cutest chin whiskers.

And her coat is super soft, with curls and whorls all over it. I've never seen a baby horse, let alone one just a few hours old, I didn't know what to expect. She's super adorable. Her little mane and tail are kind of laughable, they were soft and curly not like typical stiff horse mane and tail hair. And the hair was short, not long like you think of a horse mane and tail.  I wanted to keep petting her.  

Opal has a lot of whorls as well. The ones on her flanks stand out and are are pretty visible.   You can see one in the middle of Crystal's forehead, as though there should be a unicorn horn starting to grow there.  

She has a nice temperament like her sweet mother.  She wasn't skittish or anxious at all. If anything, she was curious.   Her little curly tail was swishing around the whole time. She was happy to stay by Opal, but also to explore a bit and even follow me around a little too.   

We are planning to FINALLY bring Opal and Crystal home this Sunday evening.  I can't wait!

Meet Lorilei

Today we found Truly Me #43 at the same consignment store that we found Strawberry and Kryptonite at. We had more store credit from consignments, and she was deeply discounted so we got her without spending anything.  We spent some time fixing her.  As well as her (pre)trimmed bangs, she had a few other issues.  After a little work she is ready to join the gang.  She has very vibrant pretty eyes and we gave her a nose piercing.

 Here she is with her sister Hannah at the beach.  She is riding Jess' scooter my mom found at Value Village, and they each have their own Beanie Boo.  

Here's Hannah up close.  I love her freckles.  

Felicity got a little update to her appearance.  It's not much, but we realized why she looked so pale, her lips and her cheeks were the same color as the rest of her skin, apparently her coloring had worn off.  Mom mixed a little paint and carefully painted her lips.  Then she took some pink on the cheek and blotted it in as blush.  Now she looks like she's full of life.  Lorilei and Felicity look so much alike to us.  Their hair color is different, but the value is so similar.

We took pictures of the others, and we may post those pictures over the next few days. 

Oh and my mom found this desk at the consignment shop and we used our consignors credit as well, it was labeled as an American Girl Doll desk, but it has no markings to indicate that it is AG.  It's sturdy wood and rather heavy for doll furniture.  Does anybody recognize this?

The drawers both work and are nicely sized to actually hold a fair amount of things.  I haven't decided if this will be my teacher desk for the school, or one of the study desks that my girls use.  

my weekly news begins

To begin I think I will do an up date on my life ever week plus other stuff. So this week we got Hannah, we went and saw SOPD, and i might go to Urban Air today.

SOPD update, meet Hannah, Cinnamon, and a group picture!

I just finished up a week at Camp Caraway!  I have never been before, I usually go to The Rock, but a couple of things didn't work out for me to go there this year, and other things worked out for me to go to Caraway.  I went with leaders and kids that I know from my church and Awana.  I had a lot of fun!  I was worried before camp because my parents weren't going to be there, and I was worried that it wouldn't measure up to The Rock, but I realized that it was different.  I had a lot more fun, learned and tried new things, and it was a blast!  I passed the swim test this year at camp!  It felt so good, I have worked hard at my swimming this year.  I did paintball sling shot, pottery, dancing, and a lot of other activities. I hit the bulls eye in air rifles.  I got to be bunk mates with Morgan and across bunks from Lila, two of my friends from church. At Caraway, they let you choose which activities you do. I had some time with my dorm, and other times where I was with different campers while I did my activities.  I wrote Bunk Notes to my family.  They also sent them to me.  One of my chaperones told my mom that I was so busy having fun that I didn't get homesick once!

SOPD update::
Now that my week at Camp Caraway is over and my parents are back from the mission trip to TN with my brothers,we planned to get Opal tomorrow!!! My mom texted the owner to set up a time.  The owner said that thought she see's expanded milk glands!!! If this is the case, Opal may have her foal in the next week or so!  The owner wants to have her vet come and take a look, so instead of picking up Opal, tomorrow will visit her.  I would love to get her now, we are pretty much ready, but the current owner is concerned that transporting her, and a new environment would be difficult for her and the baby, so we wait.  Waiting is hard.

Meet Hannah::

When my parents picked me up today we went to eat at Showmars with my friend Morgan and her family.  I spent the night with Morgan last night.  I loved spending time with Morgan, she and I have so much in common, and we had so much fun!  But I missed my family, so it was good to be back with them too.
After lunch my dad had to run an errand, so we stopped at the thrift stores close to the errands and my mom found an American Girl doll for less than $5!!!!
I decided that her name needed to be Hannah.  She had a little surface grime on her vinyl, as most thrift store dolls do, but after a wipe down with antibacterial wipes, and then a Mr. Clean Eraser, and some hair brushing, she looks very nice.  Her legs and arms are tight, her body is perfect, her neck strings are in tact, her wig is secure.  So overall she is in really great condition.
She is Truly Me #55, but her hair is no longer curly, just slightly wavy.  She came with her pink underwear and this meet dress, no shoes.  Her freckles are super cute.  I counted 42. I love her hazel eyes, and her dark hair is a pretty mixture of dark browns.  Mom and I are still deciding if we are going to try to curl it, or use a flat iron on it.  It has gone a bit frizzy at the ends.
Oh, and as you can see my mom dyed my hair.  I get lots of compliments, I think it makes me look a little older.  It has faded a bit from all of the sun and swimming, but I still love it!

Meet Cinnamon::
Right before camp my mom found a MLA chestnut foal at our local Christian Ministries store.  I was wanting a Chestnut, but didn't have room unless I expanded the stables for the full sized horse. She surprised me with the foal, and I named her Cinnamon.  Now I have all of the colors of MLA horses (Black, Chestnut, Palomino, and Appaloosa) other than the dark brown.   I reorganized the stables and in the original stall (box) for Vanilla, Cinnamon, Cream, Strawberry and Blaze all stay across the front gate.  It's cozy, but they enjoy each other's company.

Group Picture::
I asked mom if she would help me to get a picture of all of the dolls and their pets (not the big horses)

From left to right; Cinnamon, Hannah, Belle, Melody, Coconut, Peyton, Strawberry, Jacob, Sketch, Coco, Kanani, Cream, Nanea, Blaze, Mele, Tia, Diamond Tiara, Felicity, Josephina, Kryptonite and Pupito.
I want to start to take a picture each year, to show how the "family" grows.  (I think mom and I have decided to keep Josephina and Felicity since they haven't sold.)

A little sewing with friends

My friend Lily's mom (my Explorer's leader) noticed that the AHG catalog now has 18" doll uniforms.  I have wanted doll uniforms for my girls, and mom and I had talked about it, but we had not actually done anything, but purchase a small amount of blue and red fabric at one point.  Lily's mom bought all of the fabric as well as miniature flags to use as patches.  The moms talked about it with each other and set a day for us to sew.   I have had more experience than Lily, so I could have managed this on my own, but it was more fun to sew with a friend. 
Lily and I sewed one doll khaki skirt.  My mom sewed and embroidered both vests, and Lily's mom sewed us each a pair of khaki pants.   Nanea and Lily's doll, who she named Addy, model the uniforms. 

I know they will have a ton of camping adventures with all of their camping gear.  Now they can also do the more formal side of AHG.  

SOPD, long post, but it's totally worth it!

A month ago before my parents went to Haiti my mom found a miniature horse for sale online.  We talked to dad, and it was not easy to convince him but eventually between his love for me, and his love for horses, he caved!
We called on that horse, and actually a few other miniature horses, and nothing seemed to be working out.  Dad said, "wait until after Haiti," and we could look again.  I was very disappointed.  But then later the next day at a homeschool race, I found out that a friend's sister had a miniature horse that she wanted to sell.  Mom made some phone calls and we made arrangements to go and meet the horse.  On June 10th mom drove me to Albemarle to meet the horse.  I could barely wait for the thirty minute ride, I was so excited.
When we arrived I saw her, and I knew it was love at first sight!

Even though she was still shedding her reddish winter coat and needed a groom, she was beautiful to me.  I also loved that she was super sweet.  She didn't have the temperament I had been warned that many mini horses have of biting and kicking.  She is very gentle, but still has a little spunk, kind of like me!  I had brought my helmet, and I still weigh well under 90 pounds so the owner tacked her and I got to go for a ride!



I rode her around the field, and even a little on some trails behind their field.  She was easy to ride, even out of practice, so there were a few times that she was more interested in stopping to try to eat some grass.  Riding her is so much fun, and she's such a petite little thing, I loved how it felt like we were connected.
It was neat that our friends happened to have a saddle that fit her and fit me!

Our friends had named her Bitsy, because she was so small.  We liked that name, but I have renamed her.  Introducing Sweet Opal Pixie Dot Ray.  

Mom also fell in love with her right away too.  Right away we started to figure out exactly what we would need to be able to have a horse. Even though nothing would happen until after my parents got back from their mission trip, it wasn't going to be easy to "make" and save the money that we needed to start out with a horse, plus the horse money, but mom had some ideas of things that we could sell, and also that we would need to stop spending money on things that we don't need, or that were wasteful.
We actually decided to try to sell Felicity and Josephina.  They are still listed for sale, so if you are interested, email my mom through blogger or leave a comment.

Yesterday dad went with mom and I to visit Opal for the second time.  I'm planning to call her Opal by the way.  She has finished shedding her winter coat and we spent some time brushing and using the curry comb on her as well.

  You can see her coloring a little better.  She's half Appaloosa.  I always wanted an Appaloosa horse!  Looking at her she is mostly blue roan, with black and white hairs.  But her Appaloosa patterning is very apparent around her head and hind quarters.  Her reddish brown mane flips part way down to the other side, and under her forelock is a large star and strip of white!  You can see the white and reddish brown on her tale as well.  I absolutely love her coloring, she has black, white, red and tan hairs all at once!  That's why I named her Opal.  All of those colors together give her a shimmery appearance and her coat has lots of variance just like a real opal!
In less than two weeks we will pick Opal up and bring her home!  I am having a hard time waiting again.  In the mean time, dad is preparing our back yard and a stable for her.  Mom and I went shopping today and bought some things that we will need.  We still need to get a few more items and then there are some items that I want.
The saddle that I was riding won't come with her, but her harness, bit and bridle will.  Mom and I think that I am going to get a bareback saddle.  I have already picked it out and if everything works, we will order it soon.
So, the seller said that last spring Opal was around a stud, and she may have bred! This wouldn't be her first time being a mother. It's hard to know for sure without a vet testing her, but her shape has changed some from when she first went to their home. She has gotten rounder. Time will tell, we aren't planning to have her vet checked yet, but it's possible she's pregnant! If she is, the stud was a full Appaloosa miniature horse, and she would foal in the spring.  If that happens, the chances are high that the foal will look similar, or have more spots!  I will post more as I have updates!

Meet Strawberry and Kryptonite

Today my mom and I found an American Girl calf (Caroline's collection) and goat (Josephina's collection).  I named the calf Strawberry and the goat Kryptonite.  They now live at the stables with the other farm animals.  They belong to Jacob, but Tia helps to take care of them.  Here, Kanani is bringing them out to introduce them to the other animals.  

My mom saw them at a consignment shop where we already had credit, so they didn't take away from the money I'm saving.  We were there dropping off some consignment items and when we browsed through the store they were hiding behind a Paradise Horses black and white paint horse with Western and English saddles.  At first I was very interested in the horse but I decided I have enough doll horses for now, and would rather have a real horse...

Galaxy comes home!

Galaxy is well enough to come home.  It was rough at first.  She needed some serious work to make her a healthy horse, but with a little TLC she's whole again! 

Now that Galaxy is here, the three horse stable is "full".  Lyric is a part of Melody's imagination, so it makes perfect sense that he lives over the stable...

The hay storage is up there too because we all know that when left unattended that horses can eat until they make themselves sick, and we don't want that.  Goaty found her way all the way up to the hay though, she's such a funny little climber!

Galaxy update

I posted yesterday that Galaxy spent some time in the Animal Hospital.  She had some injuries and needed TLC and care.  She got it today, and is doing much better!  She should be ready for some photos tomorrow.  Kanani has been by her side taking care of her.

Summer activities have begun and 18" doll UNICORN!!!!!

Two weeks ago I went to Cornerstone Kids Summer Day camp for the first time.  It was so fun!  I went because World Changers was also hosted at my church, and my entire family was working on missions.  I'm not 6th grade yet, so I couldn't participate. 
The first day that I went was actually Tuesday.  We had a splash day with water slides, sprinklers, and water play.  I played lemonade stand with some friends. 
The second day we had kitchen science.  I made a spider out of pretzels and cookies.  I ate the entire spider!  Yum!  We played a tag "spider" game.  We also made chalk/finger paint and bouncy balls.  I colored my ball red.
The third day I went to camp was spirit day.  I wore my camp shirt, and in Camp Plus we made bracelets with loom bands and played with LEGOs. 
Every day I had time to play outside, and inside with friends.  One of my best friends, Morgan, was also at camp and it was a lot of fun to see her every day.
After camp I went to my grand parents for the next week while my parents were doing mission work in Haiti. 

But before camp on the last day was the coolest surprise!  Mom took me to Goodwill and I found some 18" doll horses!  A black one that I named Galaxy and a white one I named Lyric!  We also got a green and purple jeep, which I am planning to resell to raise money for something special I want to buy!
Galaxy was in rough shape, she's a My Life As horse, and was clearly loved and played with.  She came with a red halter and leg warmers.  No reigns or saddle.  My mom worked for a long time detangling the mane and tail.  She's been groomed, but needs a little more time at the Animal Hospital before she can come to live at the stables.  She is being adopted by Kanani. 

Lyric the white one is different from all of my other horses.  He is not poseable, or covered with soft velvet.  He is an Our Generation 20" Camarillo horse.  He was absolutely perfect to be transformed into a unicorn. 

We used foil, Sculpy oven dry clay, paint, glitter and hot glue, and this is what we came up with.   

Now that we made his horn and groomed him, he's magnificent!  His full name is Lyrical Laif.  He's Meldoy's special friend.  He comes to her when she's creatively dreaming and they go to have adventures in her imagination. She has a special call for him too!  It's hard for me to describe it, it sounds like a hummingbird.  

He came with an English saddle, but no reigns.  We took the saddle off because WHO RIDES A UNICORN WITH A SADDLE???

We will be making some reigns for Melody to guide him with.  

Now that my mom is back, our summer is getting back to normal.  Along with the jeep, I am selling my Pleasant Company Felicity and Pleasant Company Josephina to add to my special purchase funds.  I will miss them, but I didn't play with them as much as I do the others.  

Stay tuned for more adventures with me and the American Girl Dolls!

More horse crafts

I made a bareback saddle with rings to attach my saddle bags.  My mom helped me to make a training rope halter.