April 2016

• CHAG PESACH SAMEACH: Lee & Pearl wish you a joyous Passover with our Silver Candlestick Tutorial and NEW FREE Matzot Iron-on Printable; and

• GET READY FOR SUMMER with our Swimsuit Fabric and Trim Kits and Swimsuit Patterns for 18 Inch Dolls.

At sundown today, Jews around the world — and the friends they have welcomed into their homes — observe the festival of Passover, a celebration of freedom from bondage.

This year, the Passover celebrations are extra special as they land on a Friday, which is also the Jewish sabbath. So let us join American Girl® Lindsey Bergman® in laying out the Seder plates and lighting the Friday night candles and wishing each other both Chag Pesach Sameach and Shabbat Shalom!

And join us below for the silver candlestick tutorial and NEW FREE matzo iron-on tutorial and printable!

Lee & Pearl™ craftmeister "Lee" made these beautiful faux-silver Sabbath candlesticks for her Rebecca Rubin® doll last year out of jewelry findings she found at her local Michael's craft store.

We featured them in a popular tutorial, which you can visit here.

This year, "Pearl" made her own pair, and is happy to report that the same findings are still available at Michaels. If you like Lee's design and would like to make your own using the same beads, here are the findings we used:

• The base of each candlestick is a Bead Gallery® Large Silver Metallic Rococo Slider, Item No. 10367598;


• The large bead just above the base is a Bead Gallery® Silver Plated Tube 10 x 14mm, Item No. 10322377;


• Next up are two bead caps: the Bead Gallery® Silver Plated Bumpy Bead Cap 3 x 10mm, Item No. 10322385 and the Bead Gallery® Silver Plated Small Bead Cap, Item No. 10367678;


• Then there's a smaller silver bead, the Bead Gallery® Silver Plated Large Tube, Item No. 10265366;


• Finally, you'll need a teardrop crystal bead in any color you choose, a strip of sturdy beading wire, E6000 glue, and — of course — a pair of birthday candles.

(Be sure to apply the E6000 outdoors, in a well-ventilated area, or while wearing a properly-rated mask.)

Now let's talk MATZO!

An important part of the Passover ritual, matzo is an unleavened flat bread that represents the haste with which the Jews left Egypt and slavery: we packed up so quickly, we didn't even have time to let our bread rise!

If you've never had matzo, you should try it. It's not exactly tasty — but it's strangely addictive. Once you've opened a package, good luck eating just one wafer. Or just two. Or just six — !

Your dolls will LOVE our easy "matzo" printable, which includes plenty of perfectly-scaled individual matzos for fake snacking. All the fun of matzo without those pesky calories!

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD OUR FREE MATZO IRON-ON PRINTABLE

Doesn't that look tasty?

Go ahead and download the printable from the link above and we'll tell you how to use it to make amazingly realistic matzos. Hint: we aren't using paper!

Here are the supplies you'll need:

• One piece of thin craft felt. We're using inexpensive Creatology™ felt from Michaels in "Copper Canyon," a caramel brown color;


• One page of DARK T-Shirt Heat Transfer Paper that works with your printer.

Print the matzo printable on the heat transfer paper and apply it to one side of the felt following the manufacturer's directions. Cut out each matzo — and you're done!

If you'd rather use paper to make two-sided matzos, print the printable page on white cardstock. Cut out the matzos, keeping the top six and bottom six separate as they are mirror images of each other and can be used as the fronts and backs. Use rubber cement or tacky glue to glue the fronts and backs together and trim the edges so they match perfectly.

These matzos will look great and will have two realistic-looking sides — but they won't have the depth and perfectly irregular texture of the iron-on felt matzos.

C'mon, the felt matzos are marvelous. Lindsey approves of the felt matzos!

 

It's warming up quickly, but you've still got time to get your doll ready for Summer — and we've still got Swimsuit Fabric & Trim Kits in our Etsy store!

But don't wait too long. These kits are available in limited quantities only. Once they sell out, they're gone for good!

CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE BIG TOP BEACH PARTY KIT IN OUR ETSY STORE

CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE SEA TURTLES IN PARADISE KIT IN OUR ETSY STORE

CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE ICE PRINCESS SKATE AND SWIM KIT IN OUR ETSY STORE

See you next month...