New Look, Same Blog

Lily And Ellie got a slight change in it's design. The previous seemed too hard to read some things. However, the current logo is now too big. We hope you enjoy the new look, and please spread word of the blog!

New Pet Reveal and Naming Contest!

Yes, it's time, for the big reveal!

In the box...

Out of the box! It's the Our Generation Poseable German Shepherd! It was the only one left on the shelves and I knew we had to add him to the family!

He loves to wear the bandanna from the Barn Dance & BBQ Set!

What do you think we should name him?

Click here to enter your votes!

Enter your votes in the poll linked above! We'll reveal the winning name when Lily and Ellie get to see him and do a photo shoot. 

Lily Reviews: Barn Dance & BBQ Set

Here's our review of the Our Generation Barn Dance & BBQ Set. Its been out a while I think so I was surprised to find it! -The Human

First I have a picture of it in it's packaging. It comes with: A BBQ grill; 2 plates; 3 corn on the cob; 2 hotdogs with buns; a basket of chicken; 2 bottles of soda; tongs; A horseshoe game; harmonica;  poster; and a bandanna.

Next we have everything out of the package. The grill is super easy to put together - you just have to put the legs on it.

Here's the hot dog buns on the plates, all prepared while the...

...Hot dogs and corn are on the BBQ!

You can easily slide the hot dogs in and out of the buns. They can even be with (on the left) or without mustard (on the right)!

Here's a look at the bottle of soda. Do you think it's Coca-Cola or Pepsi?

I'm not entirely pleased with the basket of chicken. I don't like how the chicken isn't removable, and feel like the paper used will rip easily.

I decided to do a size comparison of the plates. The Our Generation  plate (left) is much smaller than the American Girl plate (right)

A look at the inside of the BBQ. It's clearly a charcoal grill.

This is the "fun stuff" that comes with it: The poster, bandanna, horseshoe game and harmonica!

A  closeup of  the poster. It says Annual Country & Western BBQ at the OG Stables, then lists the time, date, price, and other stuff. Plus it's two-sided: One side English and the other French.

This is the horseshoe game. You basically throw the horseshoes and try to get then on the pole, like a challenging ring toss.

A close up of the horseshoe. All three have the star pattern and OG symbol.

A close up of the harmonica. It's a cute instrument piece to have.

And finally, the bandanna!

My final ratings: (1★ = bad 5★ = good)

Difficulty (Putting together) - ★★★★★ not hard to assemble.

Quality - ★★★★ - It's great, but I'm sure the paper on the chicken will be ripped in the next few months...

Fun play -wise - ★★★★★ It'll be lots of fun to host a BBQ. 

Coming Soon...

Coming Soon on the Blog....

Lily Reviews the Barn Dance & BBQ Set and Reveals our stable and horses!

Ellie shows off her cute new DIY shirt & reviews the Doll Art Studio Craft Kit.

A new addition to our animal friends... who could it be?

And soon -
Dolliday DIYs St. Patrick's Day Edition

Lily Reviews: Charm Boots Craft Kit

Lily here again for another Lily Reviews.
We recently got the American Girl Charm Boots Craft Kit for Christmas. Well, here's our review...

Ratings - 1 to 5 stars. 1 is bad, 5 is good.
Difficulty: ★
The kit required a lot of getting the needle through the charn without, oh no, losing the thread out of the needle. It also required the ability to tie a square knotknot. And making tassels.

Quality: ★
The elastic on the boots barely stretches enough to get the button through. We had to use some of our own thread because we ran out because the knots didn't stay and we had to redo them.
Also, the needle threader broke.

Fun play - wise: ★★★
As soon as the charms are added they are really cute boots.


Would we recommend it?
Well, unless you want a LOT of work, then no. I'm certain the Charm Flats aren't any different.

Signing off!

A Fun Short Valentine's Day Photostory.

So, we're a little late making this, but here we go.... -The Human

Ellie and Lily were sound asleep, as always.

But then, likely knowing what day it was, Cheri the poodle hopped up onto Ellie, waking her up.

"Oh Cheri, You silly dog!" Ellie said quietly. She didn't want to wake Lily up. "Oh, right! It's Valentine's Day!" 

 She went over to where she'd set her brand-new red polka dot dress out to wear today.

She put on the dress, white tights, then draped a lace scarf over her shoulders. She put her hair up into a messy bun and added a red bow headband.

Then she hurried off to get Lily's present.

Right as soon as Ellie was gone, Lily woke up.

She put on a simple pink t-shirt and jeans and grabbed Ellie's gifts from beside the desk. She placed them on the chair and stood, waiting for Ellie to arrive.

Ellie returned with Lily's gift, shocked to see what she'd gotten in return. "Oh, but Lily, that's a lot. My gift to you is so... simple" 

 " It's big and bold and unpredicted, just like you! " Lily said in return.

Hope you all had a happy Valentine's Day!

Now, if you're wondering what we got, here it is.
Ellie from Lily: A container of conversation heart candy, a denim bag, 2 necklaces, a bracelet, and a Princess Jasmine poster.

Lily from Ellie: Some heart shaped cookies from the bakery.

Remember everyone: It's the thought that counts, not the present, no matter how big or small, over-the-top or simple.

Credits:
Happy Valentine's Day Hearts - American Girl Doll Celebrations Craft Kit
Heart Plate - American Girl Doll Parties Craft Kit
Heart Cookies - ag4life shared a similar craft here.  We made our ours differently and used plain adhesive hearts instead of  candy heart style ones. We also didn't add the puffy paint frosting.
Heart Gift Bag - From 100 Directions
SweetHeart Pillows - McDonald's from 2015; I set these on their beds, hiding the clip portion behind itself.
Lily's T-shirt - American Girl Doll at Work Craft Kit
Ellie's Dress & Headband - A handmade no-sew dress inspired by this tutorial by MyFroggyStuff. We made it a bit larger to fit the 18 inch dolls (We'll make a tutorial post if we can get at least 1 or 2 comments below!)
Necklaces & Bracelet - Handmade. The star one is beads & charm on string - the heart one is on ribbon. I tied knots in the ribbon to keep the beads where I wanted them.
Princess Jasmine Poster - A small "trading card" from a McDonald's toy in 2008.
Denim Bag - A handmade one made of a denim coin purse with a ribbon sewn on.
Mini Conversation Hearts - Inspired by this version by American Girl Ideas. We used a heart shaped hole punch and cut one sheet of craft foam, then wrote on them with a red or pink ink pen. (The ink was runny so I kept them in a small round plastic container [Not sure what it's from originally] and wrapped plastic around  it.)

Stay tuned for a review of our Explore With Lea Craft Kit and a review of the Art Studio Craft Kit soon!

It's Almost Valentine's Day....

Lily and Ellie are both sound asleep, happily waiting for VALENTINE'S DAY!

What did Lily get Ellie?

What did Ellie get Lily?

Find out tomorrow, February 14th! 

Credit to Jen Goode at 100 Directions for the gift bag and Valentine's banner! Find the printables here.

Room Tour!

We're finally pleased to announce the room tour post! (Sorry if the pictures are bad, don't have a good camera yet!)

First, here's the bunk bed. It's a DIY Foam Board project inspired by American Girl Ideas 's Gabriela Loft Bed (Link here)

This above is Lily's space. 

Some of these listed aren't visible, but they're there.

~The Cinderella poster was a picture found on Google, resized for the dolls. 

~The "Dream Big" & "Live Your Life" posters are from American Girl Ideas (Link here). 

~The two smaller posters are from an old American Girl Doll School Craft Kit.

~The blankets and pillows are handmade. So were the blue floral pajamas.

~The Lion, Elephant and Koala TY BeanieBoos Plushies are McDonald's toys from 2017

~The Karate Bear, Frog & Swims, uit Bear are Build-A-Bear Toys from McDonald's From back in 2006

~The Mickey Mouse Doll is an old Madame Alexander toy from McDonald's from 2004.

~The big Olaf is a TY beanie baby.

This is Ellie's space. Total lighting issue here!

~The "Dream!" and " Owl" posters are from American Girl, likely one of the old craft kits.

~The mini pink poster is from the old American Girl Doll School Kit. 

~The letter E I made out of cardboard and decorated with a silver and a pink Sharpie and some sticky-back gemstones.

~The Lilo & Stitch and Little Mermaid posters are from Google, resized.

~The "Live, Love, Laugh" poster is from American Girl Ideas (see link above)

~The pretty pink pajamas and zebra blanket are handmade. Polka Dot Pillow & blanket came with a doll travel case.

~The stuffed animals are a McDonald's 2004 Madame Alexander Blue Fairy; a McDonald's 2017 Pink Monkey TY BeanieBoos; a McDonald's Build-a-Bear Peace Sign Bear; a McDonald's 2006 Cheerleader Bear; a McDonald's 2016 Secret Life of Pets Gidget & Max; A TY Beanie Babies Minnie Mouse; and my favorite: a mini Stitch from Disney World. (Back in 2016, I think.)

Above: Ellie's Lilo & Stitch poster.

Below: Ellie's the Little Mermaid poster.

Now we have, beside the bed,  a little bedside table / bookshelf made out of a cardboard box. The closure is two metal brads and a rubber band. There's also paperclip hooks here on this side of the bed to hang their bags.

~Bags are from a magazine called LTD Commodities, the Minnie Mouse bag, which is handmade, the coral/orange messenger bag is from a Lea craft box.

~The Beauty and the Beast poster is from Google, resized.

~The Emoji Posters (Shown below better) is from American Girl Ideas (Link here)

~The calendar (Shown below better) is a mini calendar that came with a full sized calendar. It is dog themed.

~The blue thingy is a backpack clip keychain thingy we use as a dog leash.

~The hamster cage is from Wal-Mart My Life As Dolls. 

~The mini Donald Duck is from a Disney Tsum Tsum Mystery Bag 

~The seashells are small seashells I've collected from vacations.

~The hamster box is from the American Girl Doll Pets craft kit.

A look at inside the shelves. 

~Seesaw, Wheel & Hamster Food came with the My Life  As Hamster Cage

~The horse supplies are from Our Generation.

~The Dog Treats are from American Girl Ideas (Link here)

~The books are from American Girl Doll Celebrations Craft Kit and American Girl Doll Star Craft Kit; Grinch Book from American Girl Ideas (Link here); And a mini Peter Cottontail book that came with a giant chocolate bunny for Easter one year.

~Shoes: Soccer Cleats From Springfield Dolls; Silver Boots from LTD Commodities; Pink Flip Flops from American Girl Explore With Lea Craft Box.

A peek beside the bookshelf. Here, our McDonald's 2018 National Geographic Sea Otter, Ollie, guards our travel duffel bag from the old American Girl Doll Travel Craft Kit. Next to it is a mini box holding folders, magazines, and newspapers from American Girl Craft Kits (Doll School; Doll At Work; Baking with Grace; Explore with Lea)

And last, but not least, the desk! The desk is basically an old desk storage unit. Here's what else is here:

~2 Small Storage Drawers (They currently hold clothes, accessories, and games)

~The Music, Art, and other poster are from American Girl Ideas, the Gabriela Loft Bed (link above)

~The Love sign is from American Girl Doll Celebrations Craft Kit. 

~The heart shaped earring tree is a DIY I made from 2 heart foam pieces and a part of an egg carton for the stand.

~The jewelry holder came with the Our Generation Aura Jewelry Doll (AKA Ellie!) 

~There's also the laptop, mini magazine and  tablet from the American Girl Explore With Lea Craft Kit; A notebook from American Girl Doll School; A desk thing from American Girl Doll Crafts,

~Two mini tape dispensers; some now doll sized pencils; mini pens

~Knickknacks including: 2 horse figurines; Disney Tsum Tsum Mystery Bag Baymax and Bambi; A small Mickey Mouse figurine; a Snow White doll; 2 McDonald's Isabelle Figurines; A mini pink rabbit; A Squirtle figurine, a Porky the Pig Figurine  and a mini bowl (empty cleaned jelly holder) of real polished gemstones & minerals.

Inside the shelves we store:

~ Our DVD Collection from American Girl Ideas (Link here)

~ Some of  our school supplies from Doll School kit

~ A pink & purple backpack from Build a Bear Workshop

~A High School Musical themed lunchbox.

~We also store extra  odds & ends in the bottom drawer.

We hope to get a bigger house in the future...  a doll can dream!