18" Vinyl Doll Much Like American Girl Dolls

"Trinity"
African American skin tone, dark brown eyes and black curly hair

Ever wish you could find an affordable alternative to the more expensive American Girl dolls? 

I sell handmade doll clothing for a variety of dolls, including 18" vinyl dolls like American Girl dolls. 

While I think the AG dolls are really cute, I was rather amazed at how much they cost, especially when you start adding outfits and accessories.. 

I raised 4 children, and I know how tight money can be at times for young families. When you have multiple children, buying the popular, expensive toys, can just be out of the question for many budgets. 

I remember trying to find something just as nice, but at a sweeter price, for my own children!

That's why I decided to add 18" vinyl dolls to my website about 10 years ago. I wanted to offer 18" vinyl dolls that were much more affordable, but would last a long time and be just as cute as the American Girl dolls.

I call them Sweet Pea Girls.

I originally used Springfield dolls, which are sold in craft stores. I shaved off their hair and replaced it with a high quality wig, made a cute outfit for each doll and sold them at a much nicer price than some of the more expensive dolls.. 

I've had a lot of fun designing outfits for these dolls and giving them a fresh new look with wigs of many styles. The Springfield Girls really are adorable dolls, and hold up very well. They appear to be made pretty sturdy, just like the American Girl dolls, and to me, they have a cuter face. However, their hair is just so so. That is the one thing American Girl dolls have over all the competition dolls. But once I gave them a new do, they really took on a whole new life! 

"Tiana"
Dark Biracial skin tone, green eyes, dark brown hair

Eventually I started adding different dolls to the lineup, all with new wigs and outfits. 

Over the years I've used many different brands of dolls. One of my favorite brands are the

'Our Generation", who recently came out with a new variety of BiRacial dolls with different skin tones and eye colors, plus a really cute Asian mold..It seems impossible to find these dolls in stores (at least in my area), but I guess I just happened to check their website at the right time, because I was able to grab quite a few of these unique dolls. However, since then, I have not been able to get any more of them and they are no longer offered online! But how neat that a doll manufacturer finally started offering more than just your typical skin tone/hair color/eye color dolls. 

I think those dolls are just adorable! Howver, like the Springfield Girls, their original hair is just so so and ends up being pretty ratty after being played with. Both styles of dolls also have very thin hair, so you can see their scalp through the hair. 

But once I gave them a new do, what a difference! 

The Our Generation dolls are offered with very unique and cute outfits.. They really are adorable. However, as a seamstress, I can't help but notice that they are made from very cheap materials, aren't that well made and are quickly made on an assembly line..They also don't fit especially well. The shoes are plastic and not attractive. There's nothing wrong with this, but for me, I like a well made doll outfit, one that's going to last for a long time, wear well, and even stay nice long enough to hand down to future generation of doll lovers. 

"Fuyu"
Asian skin tone, dark brown eyes, black hair

Unfortunately, after 10 years or so of offering the girls, I've come to the decision that it's time to close down the Sweet Pea Girl shop.. 

I'm getting closer to retirement, and have come to realize I need to start downsizing little by little. I'm not sure I'll ever totally retire from making dolls and doll clothing, but it is time to just let go of a few things.. 

"Eva"
 Latino skin tone, brown eyes and black hair.

I still have quite a few dolls left from my last batch, ready for instant purchase, so I've decided to go ahead and sell them at a close out price.. 

I originally sold the girls for $75 with a complete outfit and accessories, but have now marked them down to $45 each until they are sold out. They include everything shown with them.

I offer dolls with Light Skin tones with blue eyes, green eyes, brown eyes, Biracial skin tone, Latino skin tone, African American skin tone and Asian skin tone.  They have a variety of hair colors, hair styles and outfits. 

No two dolls are exactly alike! 

At this price, you can buy two dolls for less than one American Girl doll costs!

They are an affordable alternative to the more expensive 18" vinyl dolls like American Girl, or make great friend dolls for the American Girl. They wear the same sized clothing and each come with the complete outfit they are shown in. 

I know I will miss the girls, but know it's time.. 

I hope if you are looking for an 18" viny doll, you might find the perfect one on the 

Sweet Pea Girl website! 

If you have any questions about the girls, feel free to contact me with any and all questions. 

"Amy"
Light Skin, brown eyes, red hair

Tessa
Light Skin, blue eyes, brown hair

"Naomi"
BiRacial skin tone, blue eyes, golden brown hair

"Huan"
Asian skin tone, dark brown eyes, black hair

"Amelia"
Light skin tone, green eyes, dark brown hair

Bitty Baby, Gotz Maxy Muffin and Gotz Pottery Barn Kid Doll Comparison

Have you ever wondered what the difference between Bitty Baby, Gotz Maxy Muffin or Gotz Pottery Barn Baby is? 

I've been making American Girl Bitty Baby doll clothes for quite some time now, along with a number of other doll clothing, and something I've noticed along the way is how similar many dolls actually are. 

For example, Gotz Maxy Muffin and Bitty Baby Twins are pretty much identical, yet made by different doll companies? I suspect they are probably made by the same manufacturer. I don't know that for sure, but they sure seem to come from the same mold. Bitty Baby has a slightly different mouth than Maxy Muffin, but the Bitty Baby Twins come in two face molds, one with the closed mouth like Bitty Baby, and one with the open mouth like Maxy Muffin. They all appear to have the same hands, feet and body style. 

The first doll is a Gotz Pottery Barn Baby Doll, the 2nd is a Gotz Maxy Muffin Doll and the 3rd if Bitty Baby. 

Here's a stock picture of a pair of American Girl Bitty Baby Twin Dolls.. One doll has the closed mouth like Bitty Baby, and the other has an open mouth like the Gotz dolls.. 

All of these dolls sure seem very similar to me, if not identical, other than skin tone, cloth body color and hairdo.

Gotz Pottery Barn Kid is listed as being a 16.5" tall, Bitty Baby is listed as 15" tall and Gotz Maxy Muffin is listed as 16.5" tall. But as you can see from this picture, they're all pretty much the same height. The two dolls with hair look a little taller, only because of their wigs. 

However, I have 3 Gotz Maxy Muffin dolls, and they all vary in size, up to an inch difference. 

Pottery Barn Baby costs $69.00

Gotz Maxy Muffin cost $64.95

American Girl Bitty Baby costs $60

I purchased a Gotz Pottery Barn Baby on ebay, for about $13 to use as a Bitty Baby Twin doll. I glued a wig on him and use him as a doll model along with my Bitty Baby Twin girl doll. The only real difference I can see between the Pottery Doll and the Gotz/American Girl dolls are the shoulder seams. The Pottery Barn dolls have a seam running down the arm at the shoulder but the other dolls don't.. That seam makes clothes fit slightly different, which I don't like. I'm not sure why they added this seam? 

I love this size doll. Their clothes are fun to make and look so cute on their body styles. 

I have purchased all my dolls as used dolls from Ebay sellers for a fraction of their original price. 

They're very well made dolls and even in used condition, they have held up for years, and though I'm not playing with them as a child would, I do change their clothes over and over again, and they really have held up well. 

If your little one is ready for a bigger baby doll, these dolls really will make a great friend for them. 

Bitty Baby is my personal favorite, and I'm 62 years young!!

Bitty Baby Twin doll clothes, shoes and socks.

Despite the difference in listed sizes, I use the same pattern pieces for all three of these dolls, and they all fit the same. 

Bitty Baby Jumpers and Rompers

This is an older Maxy Muffin that is signed on her back by Franz Gotz. She's adorable! I had to replace her hair, as the original was a matted mess that some little beautician practiced hair cutting on. I replaced it with a pig tail wig and think she is just so sweet.

I make a variety of pj's, nightgowns and housecoats for both Bitty Baby and Maxy Muffin.

Gotz Maxy Muffin always looks very cute in her outfits. Her doll clothing page can be found Here.

I offer a lot of Bitty Baby dresses. She just always looks so darn cute in dresses! I also offer a lot of shoes, socks and undies.

http://sweetpeadollclothes.homestead.com/BittyBabyDress.html

Bitty has a fairy outfit, ballet outfits, skating outfits and fancy dresses, all available on the Dress Up page.

http://sweetpeadollclothes.homestead.com/BittyBabyDressUp.html

Wellie Wishers by American Girl, Les Cherie, H4H, Wellie Wisher size comparison

How do the new American Girl Dolls Wellie Wishers compare in size to Corolle Les Cherie dolls and Heart for Heart (H4H) dolls? 

I make doll clothes for all three of these dolls, so thought someone else might want to see a picture of them lined up to compare their sizes. 

The Corolle Les Cheries are obviously quite a bit different in height. I've seen a lot of patterns that state they fit both the H4H dolls and LesCherie dolls. Some outfits will fit both girls, but I've found that the H4H dolls really need a slightly bigger pattern to really fit properly. 

The new American Girl Wellie Wishers and H4H can wear the same patterns, as they are very close in size. 

In my eyes, the Wellie Wishers do have more of a natural childs body, in that the legs and arms have more substance to them, the torso looks more like a young girls body, where the H4H dolls have more of a young teenagers slim body with the start of a figure. 

Since these have a suggested age group of 5-7 years old, the Wellie Wishers body style seems the most appropriate.. 

However, I do love the H4H dolls.. I've read on a few blogs that they've been discontinued, but on the Playmates Toys Website, they state a new website is under construction for the H4H dolls and will be available in October 2016. I hope this means they haven't been discontinued as they really are very pretty dolls.

I've also love the Corolle Les Cherie dolls.. Just love that serious little expression on their faces and they also look very cute in their outfits. 

You might be wondering about their foot sizes.. 

The first foot in this picture is LesCheries foot, the 2nd is H4H and the 3rd is Wellie Wishers. 

As you can see, they all have different foot styles, although they're all pretty much the same length. 

They can wear many of the same shoes, although, Wellie Wishers do have a chubbier foot. They would not be able to wear the shoes that came with my H4H doll, as an example, but I have found doll shoes that fit all three nicely (available on Sweet Pea Doll Clothes)

I started out making just a few outfits for my new Wellie Wisher, but couldn't stop! They really are adorable little dolls that look very cute in their clothing. 

Their Sweet Pea doll clothing page is located HERE.

I hope they're a big success.. They seem like a great option for girls who are too young for a larger American Girl Doll or other 18" vinyl dolls, like Sweet Pea Girls. 

But I do think they're maybe a bit overpriced (in my humble opinion).. They cost $60 right now, but American Girl is offering free shipping on them till the end of July. 

Their eyes do not open/close and while their hair is okay, I can see where young girls might really have a hard time keeping it looking nice. 

The outfits they come in are cute and the boots are also very cute. My Wellie Wisher is "Willa", and while I think her outfit really is adorable, being a seamstress, I look at it like your typical cheaply made outfit. It isn't lined, the fabric is a cheaper quality and of course, I think my doll clothes are made much better. lol... (they really are)..

Willa has pigtails and I've seen other blogs where people have mentioned that the hair in back is short, so her hair has to stay in the pigtail style. I took her hair out of the pigtails to see if this is true, and found that I was able to style her hair in a number of ways.. 

I combed her hair out....

 I braided it...

I put it in a messy bun..

And I left it in pigtails..

So, her hair really can be styled in many ways..

As soon as I get the chance, I'll measure all three dolls and add their measurements. 

Make your own Coconut Butter

yummmmm....coconut Butter

I love coconut butter, or coconut mana, although, I don't use it like many people do... I don't use it as a butter, but rather put a spoonful of it in my breakfast smoothie, my husband puts a spoonful in his oatmeal, and I put a spoonful of it into our daily yogurt...

I love it in yogurt.. You can pour it on the top and leave it to harden, so it's kind of like that hard shell topping people eat on icecream..yummmm.....I also like to put a spoonful in the yogurt and stir it around and let it sit for a minute or two.. It creates a super creamy yogurt with a great coconut taste..

I'd been buying Nutiva coconut mana for a couple of years, but the price just kept going up and up and up.. It's now about $8.92 a jar, which is about $2 more than it was when I first started buying it.. I've also purchased a couple of jars of the Coconut Butters available. I can't tell the difference between Coconut Mana and Coconut Butter, other than the price. It has the same ingredients and it taste identical.

It's simple to make and really saves money, plus I like it better.. My handmade coconut butter, or mana, doesn't separate the way the product I buy does... When I get a new jar from my online supplier, I have to warm it and then stir it, and stir it, and stir it some more... It takes quite a bit to get it really stirred up, and to be honest, it's a messy job..

I'm not sure if it's because this type of product is made in huge quantities and by time it's shipped out, it's sat long enough that it separates naturally, or what, but my homemade product doesn't do this.. Maybe because we start using it right after I make it and continue to use it daily until it's gone.. At any rate, I like that the homemade stuff doesn't require constant restirring..

All you need is a food processor and a bag of unsweetened coconut. I use Bob's Red Mill brand that I buy from Amazon in packs of four.. I've used both flaked and shredded and either one works.. I prefer the shredded, only because it turns into mana, or butter, faster. 

I'm not a big food processor person, but I bought one just for this project. 

I purchased an inexpensive Hamilton Beach Food Processor in September of 2013 for $27. It's still working great and has more than paid for itself in the savings alone. 

All you do is pour a bag into the food processor and turn it on.. 

It turns from this, 

To this in 10 minutes or less.

Just keep processing until it's smooth, like creamed butter. 

You may need to stop half way through and clean off the sides with a Spatula, but I've found with the shredded coconut, I don't even have to do that. 

I saved quite a few of the jars from the Mana product I used to use, so I just scoop the fresh Mana into one, twist on the cap and it's good to go.  No need to refrigerate (in fact, don't refrigerate, it'll become super hard).. A jar last us 2-3 weeks and I've never had a jar go bad.. 

I get my coconut at a subscription price from Amazon. Right now it's priced at $10.22 for four bags, so a jar of this is costing me about $2.55 and 10 minutes of my time.  The price of Coconut Mana and Coconut Butter sold online varies from $7.50 - $19.00 a jar right now, plus shipping, so that's quite a savings. Plus making your own means it's fresh, I know what's in it and I don't have to deal with the seperation process... 

I've been making my own for over almost 2 years now.

It's just so easy!!

There are a lot of benefits to Coconut.. Just do a search and you'll have all kinds of info up. 

I recently discovered the Wellness Mama blog. 

She has a list of 101 uses for Coconut Oil that's really interesting. 

She also has a wealth of information about healthy living in general... 

I'm impressed!