11.28.2010

hand-made doll for a four year old

Since watching the magical slideshow of Kiki and Coco in Paris this summer I have been obsessed with making a doll for my three-now-four year old's birthday.


Now we too can have idyllic adventures, charming doll in hand as she does adorable things like jump on the couch, get her haircut, and (I'm most excited about this one -) sleep.


I must concede that it might not totally be the same, seeing that we are not in Paris but rather suburban California, nor am I a professional photographer with a fabulous eye for adorableness (although I do have a very adorable 4 year old subject. :) )


Also, I need to convince the child that this doll is better than the hand-me-down Barbie (with a chewed-off hand thank you very much family dog) she currently favors.
I guess you just can't force love.


Good luck, Daisy.

(To see where Coco's gorgeous doll was made - shown in the link at the beginning of the post - look at Jess Brown's beautiful blog. Unbelievable.)

20 comments:

melissa said...

Why is it that kids are always drawn to plastic and anything "made in China" rather than the charm of homemade? Maybe you could hide the Barbie to give the four-year old a chance to develop an affection for her new doll, which is adorable!

hummingbirdliving said...

This post made me laugh. My two year old's favourite doll has also had one of it's hands gnawed off by our usually sweet family dog. It's still her favourite.
This doll though is stunning, surely barbie can't last long under such fierce competition.

Anonymous said...

Love the doll, and I agree, convincing them is the hardest. We have beautiful waldorf style dolls for both girls and they prefer the plastic target dolls.

love the wallpaper too! is that what it is behind your bed?

house on hill road said...

oh, i bet they'll be fast friends in no time.

Jess said...

That little movie is the sweetest.
Now I am having second thoughts about the (thrifted) American Girl doll that was planned for our 7th birthday coming up.
Maybe she needs another homemade one instead.

Minnado said...

Your post made me laugh - my three and half year old has three second hand barbies that she calls "beautiful princess doll" in a awed voice. I am doggedly sewing her a clothkits doll for christmas...what do you reckon the outcome will be?

Bethany said...

If it makes you feel better, I still have my handmade doll from when I was little, but my Barbies are long gone!!! I loved my doll (and still do) but grew out of the plastic doll thing very quickly. Your doll is adorable!!!

Chantal said...

Oh my word! I had exactly the same thought & made this for my little girl who turned 4 a few weeks ago - http://www.flickr.com/photos/paulandtally/5108724806/in/set-72157611321891338/
She does kind of like it but won't give it a name & has decided she's going to ask santa for a barbie!!

joy said...

oh how sweet is that! i love your affection for all things handmade. ;)

Joslyn said...

your doll is stunning, stunning, stunning.

and yes, no matter how many beautiful handmade things i buy my girlies they still want the plastic.

there must be an addictive chemical in barbies, yes?

Cosmopolitan Kids said...

I love the handmade doll and the slide show. I think I may have to try my hand at making my very own homemade doll for my daughter.

Christine

erika said...

I love it, she is so pretty. I have been making a lot of dolls lately and lot of doll costumes it's so much fun ;-)

Sapo Verde said...

Handmade = pure love. :) Fantastic doll.

Robyn said...

She is so beautiful! I'm trying to study how you did her sweet hair do. Did you sew two pieces together and sew it on by hand after she was stuffed? And her eyes! Oh her eyes...I have five girls ranging from 2 months to twelve years and I can tell you that not only do they treasure their handmade long after they outgrow Barbie, but they still want me to make more. Now Jess Brown's blog has me excited about vintage linens and lace scarves. Merci!

Marlo said...

Wow, I should not have watched that slideshow....now I am dying to move back to Paris. Ahhh, someday. Love your doll. She is beautiful.

Lisa said...

Very sweet! I'm trying to decide between making one for my 4 year old or buying the Disney princess one she wants. I keep imagining disaster on Christmas morning if there are no Disney princesses. The funny thing is that I think my other daughters 11 and 13 would love a doll that I made for them.

Lauren said...

The doll is adorable. I love that she got her own photo shoot. It reminds me of when I used to make mom feed my dolls and babysit them when I was at school.

The sad part about that was that I was 8 or 9 (maybe even 10) when I did that.

Liz R. said...

cute hair accessory ;)

Anonymous said...

I love your doll, she is beautiful!
A long long time ago (i was something like 5 y.o.) My mum made me one. I don't know where the doll can be today... but i miss her.

Sonja said...

I am totally obsessing over the wall paper behind your bed!!! Where ever did you find that roll of mind blowing lovely-ness?