Saturday Sites 7/20/13!!!!

Hi wonderful bloggy friends,
Before I start this post I would like to let you all know that I (Hannah) am getting ready to leave for camp tomorrow. This camp is no-electronics-at-all and overnight. It goes until Friday and then I leave that night on a family vacation and then go up with my family to my dad's work conference. I won't be back until Thursdayish. Until I come back I know I have a few posts that are already written, but Iman has some great stuff in store for you!!! I might have on and off Internet/computer access but I am not really sure. Please be patient with us these next two weeks as we will be operating on half of our staff! :) So this week's Saturday Sites post is more of a collection of articles/blogs I stumbled upon this week...

• Char at Doll Diaries' mini Saige arrived!! Check it out here.
• My Dolls and Me; an American Girl Doll Blog is a super cute blog who recently scored a white-bodied Molly!! Check out her blog to find out more!
• A Doll's Life is a really nice and professional blog with super cute photography. This is really a great blog. Go check it out!

Thanks for reading!! As I said before please be patient with us for the next two weeks. It would be greatly appreciated! And don't forget to leave kind and encouraging comments on all of Iman's posts!!
~Hannah (the human)
P.S. Now would be a great time to send in your reader submissions!! Send them in to hannahandiman@gmail.com. Please limit your post to only having 10 photos! Thanks!!!

Another Fashion Friday!

Hey there girls! I'm back with another fashion friday post. I hope you all enjoyed reading my post wednesday as well as the two posts I wrote last week. This post will be a bit shorter then last week's because I am a little short on time :) I will try better next week. Did you love Hannah's post showing how to create beach waves on dolls? I know I thought it was an awesome idea. (Keep up the great DIY doll posts Hannah!! :)

SO.... now it is time for FASHION FRIDAY!!!!!!

This girl looks absolutely stunning in this dress! I love the white swans against the baby blue background. Keep your hair long and wavy or in a high dainty ballerina bun and *DING DING* you've got a winner! :) I would love this dress and it would go in on my fave list immediately! :)

This low messy bun has been a recent go-to for me and I have to say I think it goes perfectly with this cardigan that has buttons on the back (so different, but a cute trend all the same) paired with a pair of jean shorts. This outfit would fit me well better if I substituted the shorts with coral capris. (I love the combination of mint green and coral lately and the shorts are just too short for my comfort)

I used to make similar crowns like this when I was little except I made them out of leaves with my mom! I would like to make one out of flowers like this one though. It would be a different look for me and I think it would suite me well. For me I would wear a floral dress (maybe the one from last weeks post) with this flower crown. I love the colors in this one, the different shades of purple look beautiful.

Oooh what a cute outfit! The flowers on the shirt look pretty but at the same time the shirt is casual. The shorts are too short but, I like the shade they have made them out of. I would wear longer shorts or capris. The shoes look pretty and are similar to the color of the earrings. The earrings are nice and long but I would do better without them. To finish this fabulous outfit there is a small brown hand bag. A girl could carry a small amount of things. In other words, the purse is the perfect size for me.

Personally, this dress is a bit much because I don't go to fancy events that would be perfect for this gown. I think it is a pretty dress and I like how it has short sleeves. The bow is much too large for my liking but, I would probably try this on for fun! :)

This picture reminds me of Cinderella. What do you girls think? The long dainty white gloves and blue gown pretty much convinced me the second I eyed it. I would try it on just for fun....maybe with a pair of glass slippers?! :)

I don't know why but this girl reminds me of Carly Rae Jepsen! :) Anyway... I love how in this picture she is donning a floral dress (one of my many favorite trends remember?) in a field of flowers. This affect practically makes her blend into the background! The white ankle boots are cute with this dress and I love the curly brown hair! I am so *ahem* NOT *ahem* jealous :) I love this outfit and it would give me the feel of blooming and just Spring in general! :)

Ok girls so that was pretty short compared to last week's Fashion Friday post right? Sorry again I need to work on remembering my priorities and becoming even more organized. (like Hannah) Can't wait to see the Saturday Sites.

Fashionably Yours,

Iman

P.S. What do you think of my new signatures? Let me know in the comments!

Hairstyle: Beachy Waves!!

Hi everyone!! I hope you all enjoyed randomness yesterday! The pictures were all soo yummy! First off I want to mention that we created a page where you can learn how to sponsor a giveaway. It is right underneath the big header that says Hanna's Hangout. (I am supposed to be able to change the text and color and such of the bar, but the computer will not recognize the changes. If any of you have had this problem and fixed it, I would love to know!!!) Check it out here.
Anyways, today's post is how to do a beachy waves hairstyle on your doll. Here is what you will need-

• claw clips, bobby pins, or hairbands
• doll hairbrush
• water spritzer bottle (really just water, if you want you can add a few drops of fabric softener to help keep your dolls hair looking nice)

 

Here are all of my supplies. 

 

The first step is to get your doll's hair wet. Remember to keep your doll's eyes dry. You will need the hair to be wet, not damp. If your doll has earrings, take them out. I find that there is always a strand or two that gets snagged on an earring and doesn't get incorporated into the hairstyle.

 

Sorry for the lack of pictures on this step, it is hard to do hair and hold a camera at the same time!! :) 

Next you will want to divide all of the hair into equal chunks, twist, and coil into a bun. I secured mine with claw clips, I find that they work really well for styles like this.

 

It doesn't look good, but this will naturally give the hair volume and wave. Let the coils dry most of the way through. (1-3 hours depending on how strong you want the wave) If you want super curly hair, leave the coils in overnight or for a couple of days.

 

WOW!!! Don't worry, this isn't the result. Take out whatever is holding your coils together. (I took out the claw clips) Carefully and gently separate the hair out of the coils, but don't make them lose their shape. The hair might should still be damp, so put your doll somewhere where her whole head has open air around it. Let your doll's hair dry completely. It shouldn't take long.

 

It is hard to see in some of the pictures, but after the hair completely dried there was a really nice gentle wave/curl. The first picture shows it the best.

 

I put Hanna in a swimsuit and gently finger-styled her hair. (A brush will take the wave right out.)

Doesn't she look like she just got out of the water? Her hair has the slightly wavy/frizzy look that is so popular right now!!

 

This is my favorite picture of Hanna right now. She looks a lot like Saige. (Especially the wind blown hair)

Thanks for reading!! I hope you enjoyed this post!!!

~Hannah (the human)

P.S. Tomorrow is Fashion Friday!!!!

 

Randomness Post!

Mmmmmmm.....Cookies. Ice Cream. Cake Pops. Brownies. I love DESSERT!!!!!

I love the last picture, the dessert looks delicious! Check back tomorrow for Hannah's post having to do with AG!

*RANDOM* Iman

The Polls!!! And a bit on the Royal Baby, Saige's Movie, and other things...

Hi everyone!!! It is time for a change in the polls!!! This question was submitted by TL Irvin of AG Girl!! Her question is... What is your favorite flower??? Look at our sidebar on the right to vote!!! We need more questions for the weeks ahead!! Feel free to give us your question with up to 6 answers! If you have any questions about our polls systems, click here for our big post about that. Thanks!!!!!

Is everyone excited for the Royal Baby's arrival?!? I cannot wait! I found this interactive family tree of the Royal family and thought I would share. Click here to go to CNN and look at this super-cool interactive family tree!!!

This post is about to get long, just a warning!!

I also watched the Saige movie on Saturday night. They had a ton of commercials, which I found to be annoying,  and I also heard comments that some of the commercials were not appropriate for 8+ year old girls. I did see this but I am not in that age group so it didn't come to mind. I am sure that girls even younger than 8 were watching as well, because there are 5 year-olds with AG dolls. This is poor behavior from NBC, and I know from reading the comments on AG's Facebook page that many parents were upset. Another complaint about NBC's job of showing the movie was that for the time I was watching it, the last 3 minutes were cut off by breaking news, the topic of which is also not appropriate for young girls.  My aunt in New Mexico was also watching (I will share her comments later) and for her the breaking news took a large chunk out of the middle of the movie as it was showed at a different time. It should have started at 6:00 with the time difference but it started later for her. Many people think AG should re-air the movie, and I think so too.
My aunt lives in New Mexico and knows the area that they were filming in very well. She has also been to Balloon Fiesta many times. My aunt is a teacher as well so she knows how schools work. Here are some of her comments-

• No teacher would ever introduce a new student as being from South Albuquerque. 
• The outdoor scenery really looks like that, AG did not use a backdrop.
• There is no parade in Balloon Fiesta, later she noticed it was in Old Town Albuquerque, which is no where near Balloon Fiesta.
• The horse riding is all very fake looking.
• She thinks all the singing is due to Glee.
• The meeting with the principal is lame. (I agree, our principal is nothing like that)
• What reporter claps? (at the press conference)
• Saige in the balloon is fake, it is probably set up in the balloon museum.
• Aerial shot of the ground is great, you can see the Bosque bike trail
• Guitar music is great.
• The kids look well off, you would think the parents could raise $5000.
• There is footage of the actual Balloon Fiesta, but they don't show all of it.
• Good shots from Balloon Fiesta, liked the guitar music, nice outdoor scenery shots, everything else was meh. 

Thank you Aunt Deb!!! Your input is highly valued!! My brother also made a comment that when Mimi is in bed wearing her half-moon glasses with her looong white hair she looks like Dumbledore from Harry Potter. 
Thanks for reading this insanely long post. Check back tomorrow for our randomness post!!
~Hannah (the human)

How to Make a Cat Scratching Post!

Hi everyone!! Today is Monday and we will start the week off with a craft!! This is not original (sorry) but rather an adaptation of My Froggy Stuff's videos How to Make a DollCat Scratching Post Condo and How to Make Pet Stuff for Your Dollhouse and LPS. Please watch these videos as it helps to see someone do it and not just pictures!! ;) I am going to be sizing this appropriately for (AG) Licorice! I have two cats (real life) so when I saw the video I noticed it wouldn't be for scale for American Girl pets. Here goes...

You will need:

• Cardboard tubes of different lengths (toilet paper, paper towel)
• Yarn the color you want the rope on your post to be (I used tan to make it realistic)
• Cardboard, stiff paper (I used a paper plate)
• Scissors
• Hot glue works best, but I used glue dots

 

Here are all of my supplies!!!

 

I started with the small tube. I put two glue dots (or you could use hot glue) on each side of the top of the tube...

 Push the end of your yarn into the glue and start wrapping!! The glue keeps it from slipping. 

 

Wrap snugly around the tube, but not so tight that the tube changes shape.

 

Once you get near the end of the tube, add more glue to secure the ends. 

Once the tube is covered, push the yarn into the glue and cut the end. 

Now cut a square of your stiff paper and wrap it with paper. I used purple tissue.

 

I cut a glue dot in four and smooshed them on the end. (or use hot glue dots) 

 

Press it firmly on your base. I have tried a couple of ways to close off the top, but none of them have worked or looked nice. If you make this and figure something out, leave a comment as I would love to hear how you did it!!! :D

 

Final Product!! :)

 

 I made a cat condo thing when I had glue sticks for my hot glue gun (I ran out) and I made it with two wrapped toilet paper tubes, a wrapped paper towel tube, and two bases.

 

 

The top base is wrapped with yarn, and I cut pieces of blue yarn and tied them into a pom pom. I then tied it on a string and then glued it to the bottom of the base. I used a lot of hot glue to make it stable.  I kind of overdid it on some of the spots with yarn, and then it looks a bit sloppy. :( 

One thing I like to do is add dots of hot glue on the bottom of things as grippy dots so the stuff I make doesn't slide on my wood floors.

 

Licorice is inspecting her new cat post. I think she likes it.

 

She looks like a queen on her throne. :)

Thanks for reading!! We will be back tomorrow and next week I will feature as our craft...

My Trundle Bed!!!

Woot woot!!! :) Feel free to leave us a comment!! (or two) We love hearing what you have to say!!!

~Hannah (the human)

P.S. Thank you all so much for the kind birthday wishes, I had a great day and weekend!!!!!!