Anyway, I just love the book series they are doing with the little girls and their dolls. You can purchase a book with a doll dress to go along with the story. For instance, we are currently reading, Alone, Yet Not Alone, by Tracy Craven. We plan on doing a study along with it about the Colonial Frontier. Here is what it is about.
The Leininger family settled deep within America’s new frontier in the Blue Mountains of Pennsylvania. A sudden Indian raid changed their lives forever. This story retells the heroic and daring escape of Barbara Leininger, and the touching reunion with her sister, Regina, after nine years. It also gives us an endearing portrayal of the love between family members and the strength of childhood memories. Father and Mother Leininger’s commitment to “hide” God’s Word in the hearts of their children yielded the fruit of an enduring faith in their Savior. Barbara and Regina held firmly to the belief that they were never alone, even in their darkest hour. This book is a hardback book with 200 pages in it.
Kristen and I are enjoying this book so much. But what makes it even more enjoyable is that we purchased the dress that goes with the story for Kristen's doll. They have several books that you can purchase historical costumes for the doll to go along with the stories. You can dress them up to brave the voyage to New England as Priscilla Mullins, help Lewis and Clark find the Northwest passage as Sacagawea, serve tea at the White House as Dolley Madison, stroll the deck of the Titanic as Nan Harper, or climb the Alps as Maria von Trapp. True "little girl" dolls are rare in our age of fashion models and rushed childhood. When a girl plays with a doll, she is preparing to be a mommy someday. Her first role model is her own mother, and her first opportunity at role-playing is with her dolls.
Here is the cradle John bought for Kristen a few years ago from Vision Forum. It was made for the 18" dolls that they sell for $89 each. Of course we cannot spend that kind of money on a doll so she has used it for her bears and other little baby dolls she has. The quilt is something I wanted to do with Kristen. Again, this came from Vision Forum in a kit to help train girls to be busy at home. It was a fun project to do and I learned so much from this little kit myself!
Okay, here it the really exciting part for me to share. I have always wanted to do something like this with Kristen since I do need to read with her more and she needs more visual stimulization to remember what she is reading. But when I have looked for an inexpensive 18"doll, my hopes were dashed. Dolls were $40, $50, even up to $100 each! And the cheap ones were just that . . . . cheap! SO, I did some research on dolls and found that Target has the American Girl look alike doll with their brand Our Generation Doll. They are adorable and very affordable! They range in the $20-$30 price range. Yesterday, we went to Fort Walton Beach to the Target there to buy one for Kristen since her daddy already purchased a book and dress for her. Well, when we got there they only had one doll and it wasn't the one Kristen wanted. She wanted a doll with brown hair. So we went on with our day and our errands and thought we may just go home and order the one she liked off of Target.com. Once we got home, I again was looking up dolls and came across a doll collection called Springfield Collection. People had them on Ebay for like $30 and they were really cute and looked a lot like the American Girl doll and the Target doll that we liked. So, I thought about buying it on Ebay but then decided to do a search on the brand. And that is when I got excited!!! The Springfield Collection is sold at craft stores like Hobby Lobby, and Michaels for only $15! They come naked - but we already had a dress. So after John got home last night, Kristen and I took off for the nearest Michaels which is in Destin, and sure enough, they had the dolls there and carry six different dolls. Plus they carry inexpensive doll clothes so we were able to pick up tights, and shoes for a total of $4. Oh and the best part is, they had a flyer in the store with a coupon on it for 40% off one item so we got the doll for $9 and some change!
Kristen is very happy with her new doll and the clothes fit her beautifully! I was concerned maybe the clothes wouldn't fit right but they fit perfectly. To see the other dolls at Michaels, you can go to their website at www.michaels.com and enter Springfield Collection in the search box. Thanks for reading and hope this helps anyone else who is looking for a nice 18" doll but doesn't want to pay $100 for one. There is nothing wrong with being cheap . . . .as my cousin would say, she doesn't look at it as being cheap but being smart! I agree!
2 comments:
We love Vision Forum, Brandi. It was so neat to see all the fun you are having with dolls, and books--great Mother and daughter bonding going on:) And good job Kristen for crocheting that purse.
Thanks so much Brandi for sharing this. I haven't heard of Vision Forum. Want to do more "American Girl" type stuff with E but not spend that kind of money...you are AWESOME! :) Thanks so much...you know me, like you, I am ALL about a bargain! :)
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