pleasantsamericangirls - Tumblr blog

[pleasantsamericangirls]

everything i need to know i learned from american girl

take a peek into the past for wise and witty advice from the american girls. over the centuries, these girls have faced everything from brothers to bullies to boiled turnips! their experiences have taught us how to survive and thrive. they’ve also taught us what it means to be a girl in any era: reach high, dream big, and speak out for what you believe in. with classic illustrations and memorable story moments, this book is a treasure for every american girl.

[pleasantsamericangirls]

Molly’s pages from The American Girls Party Book (1998).

[pleasantsamericangirls]

Samantha’s pages from The American Girls Party Book. In case you need some ideas for your doll’s birthday party!

[pleasantsamericangirls]

Questions from the AG trivia contest for all ages: What country does Kira Bailey visit in her books? What other sport besides surfing does Joss Kendrick like? What do the letters AG stand for?

Questions from the AG trivia contest AFTER DARK™: What were the only vegetables that survived in Molly’s family’s victory garden? What specific components of her mother’s altar cloth does Josefina help embroider? Answer Helen’s note to Samantha: what the dickens does “la gorge” mean? Recite all four lines of the first poem that Miss Winston tried to give to Kirsten, then run to the nearest stream and get a bucket of water for your teammates.

[pleasantsamericangirls]

A Day in the Life of Marie-Grace Gardner

Welcome to Marie-Grace’s world! She’s here today to give you a peek into a day of her life in New Orleans with her family and friends. She’ll take you with her as she gets dressed, attends a singing lesson, spends time with her friend Cécile, and helps with chores around her small home, all while being accompanied by her dog, Argos!

This glimpse into Marie-Grace’s day is the newest episode in a series of ongoing posts showing how my character dolls go about a typical day. Check out my tag to see past episodes!

It’s a pleasant autumn Saturday in New Orleans, in early November. Marie-Grace has just returned from visiting her Rousseau family relatives in Belle Chênière. She had fun there, but was glad to come back home and enjoy city life again. Let’s wake her up and see what she’s doing today.

Keep reading

[pleasantsamericangirls]

Wakko’s America but every time he names a state an American Girl Doll lives in we speed up by 5% per doll

i want to die this took so loooong

Note: Kaya’s story takes place in a vague area, and the Nimiipuu lived in what is now Idaho, Oregon and Washington. Celilo Falls was mentioned a bit in her books, which is the border between Oregon and Washington; for simplicity’s sake, she was placed in Washington.

[pleasantsamericangirls]

Remember when we saw a leak of THESE:

Back in December? Alongside some stuff for Kira and the Truly Me traveler/mix and match collections? And I wondered how exactly American Girl would come up with a reason to release mini Truly Me dolls when they don’t usually make mini TMs? 

That just dropped today:

It’s included in the new Day at AG Cafe birthday party set. ($180 or $310 to bundle it with other party goodies).

It’s basically a recreation of what a kid’s birthday party at AG would look like. So it’s got a booth that seats two dolls, plus all the fixings and a sparkly dress, and a tiny treat seat for your doll’s doll! 

In the top photo, though, the mini doll on the left is wearing a dress that I haven’t seen yet for sale, so that’s probably something we’ll be seeing eventually as well.

[pleasantsamericangirls]

Origin of the blog’s new name. I’m obsessed with this outfit and want to make it lifesize for me.

It’s gonna happen

[pleasantsamericangirls]

Isn't she precious?

[pleasantsamericangirls]

spring!!! i made this outfit today

[pleasantsamericangirls]

Annika and Gia at the barre.

Floor work.

[pleasantsamericangirls]

rebecca rubin, 1914 aesthetic

[pleasantsamericangirls]

maryellen larkin, 1954 aesthetic

[pleasantsamericangirls]

I made a dormitory in my utility room for my mini-dolls. I'm having the most fun ever. Did I even have this much fun as a kid? I don't know.

The blue and white multi-layer thing is three 5x7" boxes that I painted and glued to an old checker board that I also painted. The blue and white rug is a fabric sample, originally from some kind of furniture store. All thrifted. I had that white shelf they're sitting on already. I think the boxes were $5 each - the lamp components, rug, and checkerboard all less than a dollar - so something like $20 for that structure? (obv. not counting the dolls and their books).

For Nanea's play space, I took a thrifted doll-sized shelf that previously had cups and dishes glued on, some of which had come off. Tore the rest of the glued stuff off and painted it. Made the tins etc with labels printed from internet searches of spam and macadamia nuts. This shelf was $5, and all her accessories took time and materials I had on hand. i still need to get her a cash register and did already print some tiny dollars.

I made Kit some overalls by printing out the free Molly's pajama bottom pattern at 33% scale and improvising from there. (the pants originally came out too low waisted though). For her shirt, I printed a Phoebe and Egg doll shirt pattern at 33%. It's not world's best and it definitely is harder to work at this scale, but she said she wanted to start playing instead of waiting for a redo.

I painted Ana's eyes brown and trimmed her hair a little to make her look a little different from Rebecca. I need to sew her a dress. And i want to get or make her some gardening tools since that's her interest in the mystery book.

Melody asked if she could get a microphone and I said I wasn't sure but am working on it.

I've really glommed onto the mini dolls as a way to explore story lines when i don't have $$ or room for all the full sized dolls.

Do y'all think AG will re-release the Cécille and Marie-Grace mini dolls with AG's anniversary celebration?

[pleasantsamericangirls]

Okay I keep seeing people say this so listen: 

Makena is NOT the same name as McKenna.

I understand the confusion due to similar spelling, but both names really are entirely different!

McKenna is an English feminine name, ultimately from the Gaelic (Irish/Scottish) name Cináed meaning “born of fire.” [went from Cináed to Cionaodh to Mac Cionaodha to McKenna] It is pronounced Mick-KEHN-uh.

Makena is a unisex Kikuyu (Kenyan/Tanzanian) name, meaning “happy one.” It is pronounced Muh-KEE-nuh.

Is it kinda weird that they have a very similar spelling which could be a bit confusing for the younger audience? Yes, especially since they also just trademarked the name “Gwynn” while Gwen is an existing doll. However, Makena and McKenna are from two entirely different sources- meanwhile, Gwynn/Gwen are both from the Welsh “Gwyn”, and we have several characters whose names are derived from “Mary” (Marie-Grace, Molly, Maryellen, and to a lesser degree Josefina, whose full name is María Josefina) and “Helen” (Nellie, Maryellen again, Lanie). 

This isn’t the first time they’ve had similar doll names and it won’t be the last, but this one is actually two different names and not variations of the same one! One is Gaelic and one is Kikuyu, which are very different cultures! 

[pleasantsamericangirls]

For anyone in the AG fandom that has children/knows children that like AG and historical dress, there are some really nice (and maybe rare) Dress Like Your Doll items in the Girl Again online store! And they look like they are in good condition as well!

Thanks for the heads up! There are so many of them! 

https://girlagain.com/shop/

[pleasantsamericangirls]

Confirmed Upcoming American Girl Dolls

Makena Williams - contemporary black fashion designer 

Evette Peeters - contemporary biracial conservationist 

Maritza Ochoa - contemporary hispanic soccer captain 

Corinne and Gwynn Tan - contemporary, presumably of asian descent (surname is chinese, vietnamese and thai). details unknown, likely related

Ning - not entirely confirmed, but seems to be a historical asian doll, as AG very pointedly did not deny her existence upon being asked in comments