manymanydolls

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Gunne Sax Girls ✨

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I don’t have space to set up a dollhouse in this apartment, but I do have quite a tall bedframe with lots of space underneath 😂 so I decided to set up a little doll room underneath that I can switch out on occasion. First up is Cati’s room! Complete with a piano for her Mamá to play while Cati practices violin 🎻

She’s all dressed for bed and has her hair tied back in double braids with a nice bow 🎀

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Meet Anh Mai Truong!

Anh Mai Truong was born on July 30th. She is a modern-day girl and incidentally comes from 1975. She lives in Monterey, California, with her older sister Ngoc, her parents Dao and Lem, and her paternal cousin Trinh. She likes swimming on her school’s swim team, kayaking, and playing board games. When she grows up, Anh Mai wants to be a marine biologist with a focus on sharks.

Anh Mai’s family has just moved from Vietnam to the United States. Anh Mai is getting on well with the changes that come with moving internationally, but when she begins school in America, she feels like a fish out of water. Her teacher wants to rename her Anna May because he claims her name is too difficult, and other students make fun of her for having an accent. But Anh Mai is not content to let things slide, and she stands up strongly for herself and her family whenever anyone implies she doesn’t belong. In addition to this, news arrives in the Truong household that Anh Mai’s uncle has passed away, leaving behind Anh Mai’s two-year-old cousin Trinh in Vietnam with no family to care for her. Trinh is adopted by the Truong family, and suddenly Anh Mai is sharing her room with a toddler. Anh Mai isn’t thrilled at first, but learns a lesson about adapting to change and comes to love Trinh like a little sister.

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Kirsten, NO! Not a pet! NOT A PET!!!

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Camp Through The Ages

It’s a beautiful summer day, and three of the girlies are going off to summer camp!

Rebecca is first, heading off to Camp Nokomis. In the 1910s, summer camp was a way for kids to escape crowded cities, where it was hoped that being out in nature would protect them from the diseases circulating back home (such as polio) while also building character.

Molly is second, on her way to Camp Gowonagin. Summer camps of the 1940s were similar to camps of the 1910s in that they provided time away from cities and focused on developing healthy bodies. Wartime summer camps often featured military-themed games and routines inspired by the lifestyle of soldiers.

Ruby is third, going to Pine Lake Camp. In the modern day, summer camps are an outlet for children to learn responsibility and self-reliability while appreciating the beauty of nature. There are many different types of summer camps, with some being more traditional outdoors-focused camps and others being music or STEM themed.

No matter what kind of summer camp it is, the girls are sure to have a blast! Don’t forget the bug spray and the sunscreen :)

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Look, I understand mattel saying "maybe a doll-sized gas mask will freak kids out" but with how much nanea brings it up I am a little disappointed it's not in any of her collections

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One of the great things about your grandparents owning a Chinese restaurant is all the free food you get!

Oh yeah baby, it’s dumpling time. I found the steamer basket at Goodwill and made the dumplings out of clay.

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Emily is all set to help Mrs. Gilford out with the victory garden in her new playsuit! It’s based on a playsuit sold by Sears in the 1940s. The pattern came with printables for seed packets, so Emily has plenty of seeds to sow!

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Meet Miri Dayan!

Miriam Ilana Dayan was born on December 1st. She is a modern-day girl and incidentally comes from 1974. She lives in Babylon, New York, with her younger sister Hani, her older sister Tamar, and her parents Judith and Sam. She likes record collecting, reading comic books, and playing Dungeons & Dragons with her sisters. When she grows up, Miri wants to be the owner of a record store.

Miri and her family are incredibly close with each other, so when her reporter mother Judith gets a foreign correspondent job that takes her all across the world for a year, Miri is shaken by the sudden distance in her family. Gone are the days of family dinners and her mother’s immediate help with all the troubles that go along with being a growing girl. Her father Sam tries to fill both roles of dad and mom, but it’s a lot to juggle with three daughters. Miri has a hard time coping with her mother’s absences, but finds new ways to stay close with her despite their physical distance. Her sisters Tamar and Hani pull together with Miri to keep the family feeling intact while their mother is away, and one spring day as Passover begins, the family receives quite a surprise- Judith comes home from an assignment in Egypt two weeks early, and the family is happily reunited once more.

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Good morning, everyone! Today Marguerite has something very special to show you…

It’s her rock box! Marguerite has quite the collection of minerals, gems, and crystals. If you look closely, you’ll see amethyst, citrine, jasper, quartz, lapis lazuli, jade, garnet, and more!

Marguerite’s favorite piece is this chunk of mookaite, a type of jasper found in Western Australia. Her Aussie friend Adelaide gave it to her. Allegedly, mookaite is associated with protection. Marguerite thinks any rock is associated with protection if you can throw it hard enough.

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I did it! I graduated college!

In honor of my finally finishing school, I decided to see where my modern characters are when they’re done with college. I’m so proud of them!

Katherine got a degree in oceanography and is applying to jobs at NOAA. In the meantime, she volunteers at the Seattle Aquarium.

Ruby went to school for forest resource management, and she’s secured a summer position in Grand Teton National Park. Bon voyage, Ruby!

Jennifer just graduated from her premed program and will apply to medical school soon. Good luck!

Daisy got a degree in animal behavior. She just got a job working at the Oregon Zoo in the Vollum Aviary!

Marguerite’s geology program was fascinating! She now joins her mother at work on geological surveys. After all, carpooling saves gas!

Rosemary studied international relations and is interning for the CIA. She’d tell you what exactly she does, but she signed an NDA.

Nancy got a degree in music while playing with her band Bebe Le Strange all throughout college. She’s secured them a weekly gig at a venue in Chicago!

Amanda studied volcanology and is applying to jobs with USGS, and she plays drums for Bebe Le Strange in the meantime.

Evelin decided to get her degree in electrical engineering while also running track for her college. She’s gonna make it to the Olympics someday!

Annalise won a full-ride scholarship to art school and got her degree in painting and drawing! She’s now applying to illustration jobs at video game companies.

Natasha just finished her degree in biology and will start radiology programs in med school! In the meantime, she’s a receptionist at her local physical therapy clinic.

Here is the dress-up game I used to make my grown-up gals. They grow up so fast :’)

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The severed bitty baby leg lamp is killing me

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It’s a lovely day outside, so Josefina is making bread with the chickens for company. She’s made enough to last her rancho a week. She made you some too- take it!

Almost everything here is something I made myself. Josefina’s horno is made of papier-maché, spackle, paint, and chalk pastel. It’s not perfect, but it gets the job done. The bread is made of painted clay. Her new skirt is made from fat quarters and bleached muslin I had lying around. The chicken is felt scraps.

Josefina is still a little intimidated by the goats, but she and the chicken are best friends.

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American Girls! ★

I drew 10 of the original historical American Girls in my style! This was a fun little fan art series in between my other illustrations 🤭

In order: Felicity and Josefina, Kirsten and Kaya, Molly and Kit, Addy and Samantha, Julie and Rebecca.

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Camping with Raphaela

During our road trip vacation, Raphaela and I camped along the way every night. It's more fun than staying in a hotel, more affordable, and very safe. After I set up camp for myself, I set up Raphaela's campsite within mine, one that's sized just for her.

The chair she is sitting in in the above picture is something I found at a thrift store, so I don't really know anything about it. Her camp stove was made by me. The tent is American Girl brand, and her picnic table is Our Generation brand. I found it at a thrift store and spray painted it white.

Here's a closer look at her tent. It's a 2014 Truly Me item, called the Sunset Sleepover Tent. I originally bought it for my WellieWishers, but my bigger girls like it too, and it's easy to travel with.

The windows roll up for ventilation.

Inside she has the flannel sleeping bag and pillow my mom made for her, a backpack with hiking supplies, some warm clothes, and a lantern (not visible here) for when she wants to stay up late reading in her tent.

She can even cook on her stove! I made the pancakes from painted clay, and the pan and spatula came from a dollar store dishes set. The little mug was a small plastic container that I painted to look like vintage spatterware. I can put firewood into the bottom of the stove, but I never actually light it. This would not survive even a small fire.

To make the stove, I used three thick pieces of Styrofoam, and covered them with this raised texture plastic paper I found it at Dollar Tree. For the grill bars, I painted some wooden dowels black, and stuck them through the paper and styrofoam. The hooks are heavy wire painted black. They are removable and can hold the pans for when it's time to cook dinner. The pans also came from the dollar store toy cooking set, and I painted those too.

I based this entire stove on the American Girl brand piece they released a few years ago for Maryellen's collection, but mine cost me hardly anything at all, whereas the AG piece was $50.

Here's a closer look at the chair. It's made of wood, and feels really sturdy.

Two of the pancakes have syrup on them, which I made by drizzling hot glue onto the pancakes and then painting it with transparent paint, which can be made by mixing food coloring with white glue. Her plate is a mason jar lid I painted.

The picnic table was such a lucky find. It's plastic but has held up well over the past couple of years I've had it. It was originally bright pink. I like the white much better.

Raphaela herself is a Kidz N Cats doll, a defunct brand of articulated 18 inch dolls. I highly recommend the dolls, if you can find them for a reasonable price.

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Kit and Rebecca are modeling some new dresses I made just for them! Kit’s is a red-orange feed sack print made from an old dress, and Rebecca’s is emerald green and black raw silk. I thrifted all of the materials!