ONE YEAR of Mini Mad!

Mini Mad is ONE YEAR OLD as of yesterday! Time flies when you’re having fun collecting and crafting!

I first started this blog as a place to write about the small, cute things I’ve collected over the years, and what makes me love them. And then somewhere along the way, Mini Mad became more about my American Girl collection and crafts. I think that’s because there’s still a part of me that goes “Wow, I can’t believe I finally have these dolls!”

I first became aware of American Girl’s doll line back in 1996 (I distinctly remember the yellow jacket of the First Day Outfit haha). Even as a kid, I was impressed by the attention to detail and how realistic everything looked. The tiny computer and math book for modern girls blew my mind! Remembering that feeling of “Wouldn’t it be neat to have that?” makes actually having the dolls, clothes and accessories now even better.

Caroline, the first American Girl doll I bought in person from American Girl Place

On this happy occasion, I thought it might be fun to do a sort of mini year in review! So, without further ado, here are some facts and favorites from this past year.

The American Girl Dolls of Mini Mad

Right now, I have Isabelle, Caroline, Marie-Grace, Kanani, Arista (custom #53) and Sienna (custom Grace). I also have the mini versions of Samantha, Ruthie, Nellie, Felicity, and Saige.

Favorite Sewing Project

I really love how the Disneyland T-Shirt came out. It’s probably the one thing I’ve made that everyone has worn at some point. It’s also a project that came out almost exactly the way I’d hoped it would. The sleeves are a little longer than the actual shirt it’s based off of, but close enough!

Second place would probably go to the Paris-themed aprons I made for my mom’s dolls and mine. Even though both are slightly different, I really love how both turned out.

Biggest Challenge

Hands down, removing Grace’s wig was the most difficult project of the year. I got Grace in person at American Girl Place, and I had spent a long time looking through a bunch of them for the best face and wig. When I started taking off her wig, I noticed that it was a little tougher than removing #53’s wig, but it wasn’t until I got to the center and the glue refused to budge that I began to wonder if removing Grace’s wig had been a huge mistake. Despite how thrashed my hands were at the end of the process, I’m really glad I stuck with it (I’m sure Sienna is, too).

Biggest Accomplishment

Or should I say “accomplishments”…

It wasn’t long ago that the idea of actually making a custom doll seemed impossible. Doll-sized wigs? Spoons? Glue? It all once seemed way too high level for me. But the more I saw other people’s custom dolls, and the more I read up on the customization process, the more confidence I gained, until I finally decided to try my hand at it. Arista’s a pretty close mini me, and although I didn’t intend it, Sienna has my husband’s coloring. Sometimes I feel like these two are my favorites, just because of all the work that went into creating them.

Future Plans

I definitely want to sew more clothes for my dolls. I’d really like to try making the Frillseeker dress again – now that I know how I messed up last time. Eventually, I want to get good enough to attempt some of the Disney Princess doll dress patterns I snatched during a sale at Joann’s.

I’d also like to try crafting some clay foods. My mom and I have been watching a lot of MyFroggyStuff’s tutorials and she makes even the most complicated projects look manageable. Her new waffle tutorial looks like a good beginner project (and it looks tasty…).

I also need to figure out a better way to store all of my stuff! I’m sure that’ll be an ongoing project…

It’s been a great first year of Mini Mad! I’m excited to share more projects and finds with all of you this year! Thanks for reading! 🙂