Tutorials

Make fun-size Halloween candy bags for dolls

In our previous Halloween candy for dolls YouTube tutorials, we demonstrated how to make perfect 18 inch doll replica candy corn and fun-size candy bars. In this fun new addition to our doll confectionary series, we show you how to also make doll-scale replicas of your favorite fun-size bagged candies. Skittles and M&Ms are our favorites — what are yours?

Recreate jewelry inspirations for all your dolls

With the techniques and tools we feature in our Introduction to Jewelry Making for Vinyl Play Dolls eBook, when you see a style that you like, you can recreate it for yourself or your dolls. Follow along as we show you how we turned a Pinterest inspiration image into this turquoise sunburst choker for 18 inch American Girl® dolls!

Make beautiful, seasonal Christmas tree earrings for dolls

Check out our supply list and follow our tutorial directions, then put these gorgeous filigree earrings together using the technical directions from our Introduction to Jewelry Making for Vinyl Play Dolls eBook.

Make your own authentic-looking military dog tags for dolls.

Finish the look — these doll-scale dog tags look great with our Pattern 1010: Army Combat Uniform Pattern or Military Uniform Separates, Caps & Hats Pattern BUNDLE for 18 Inch Dolls.

Turn an inexpensive plastic toy into a country-chic antique grocery scale.

Follow the detailed directions in our October 4, 2018 Newsletter to paint a dollar store plastic toy, turning it into an enamel-look antique, like our grocery scale.

Welcome to the Lee & Pearl Mad Scientist Laboratory.

Brains!!! When we found this hot pink, squishy "brain" squeeze toy in the check-out line bins at our local craft store, we knew that this had to be our next painted project — and the star prop of our Halloween 2017 Mad Scientist Laboratory pictorial.

Merry Christmas from Lee & Pearl.

Download our collection of FREE printable, easy-to-fold cards for 18 inch dolls. We designed our cards using high quality vintage graphics from the Library of Congress collection, with a themed holiday greeting inside each card, matching envelopes — and even wee holiday stamps!

Deck the halls with doll-scale Christmas stockings!

Our Holiday Stocking pattern was inspired by a technique we used to easily and neatly finish the oven mitts in our Pattern #1022: Cookie Time Apron, Pinafore and Oven Mitt for 18" Dolls. 'Tis the season for sharing with friends, and we want to share this great technique with you. So we've included the pattern and the complete, photo-illustrated directions to make these adorable stockings as a FREE download, with our best wishes for the season!

It's the Festival of Lights.

To celebrate the miracle of Chanukah, we created a video tutorial (and FREE printable template) that will show you how to make your own 18 inch doll-scale Chanukah Menorah (or Chanukiya), based on a gorgeous, stamped-and-plated original that American Girl™ Rebecca Rubin® and her family might have brought with them from Eastern Europe around the turn of the last century.

Go for the gold — and the silver, and the bronze!

Make your own doll-sized gold, silver and bronze Olympic-style medals with coin pendants, 3/8 inch grosgrain ribbon and Jacquard Lumière paint-anything metallic paints — the perfect accessory to go with Lee & Pearl Pattern 1055: Skating Dresses for 18 Inch Dolls!

Painting with fire!

We love the Our Generation® doll-scale table top grill, but the "glowing coals" at the bottom lack a lot of oomph. In this video tutorial, we'll show you all the tools and steps you need to create realistic glowing charcoal briquettes for your dolls' next barbecue.

Welcome 18" trick-or-treaters with doll-scale candy!

We've made two new craft videos to make your own miniature Halloween candy: both perfectly scaled and shaped FUN SIZE CANDY BARS and polymer clay CANDY CORN that looks so real you might be tempted to scoop up a handful.

Take your best shot with our "Scottish Princess" bow!

We LOVE turning inexpensive plastic toys into fabulous 18" doll scale treasures like this bow for our Disney movie-inspired "Scottish Princess" to sport while wearing the gown we made using Lee & Pearl Pattern 3001: A Late Medieval Lady's Wardrobe for 18" Dolls. Click on the picture to see how we re-painted the bow. (And click on the highlighted pattern name to get your own copy of this wonderful pattern.)

Have a cookout with easy "cast iron" painted pots!

Our dolls loved their new Coleman® camping stove from Sophia’s so much, we made them a whole set of cast iron cooking pots to go with it! We started with toy pots from the dollar store and covered the shiny plastic with an easy faux cast iron paint job using supplies available in your local chain craft store: primer, acrylic paint, metallic rub and sealer.

Make perfect doll salads with easy organza lettuce!

In this craft tutorial, we'll show you how to make delightful, doll-scale lettuce leaves out of polyester organza. All you need are one or two colors of organza, a pair of scissors, tweezers or forceps to hold the organza at a safe distance, and a lit candle. (Because of the candle, this tutorial is recommended for adults only.)

Make an identity bracelet for your doll!

We found these cute alphabet beads at the craft store. Add some elastic beading cord, two colors of 6/0 glass bead to match your doll's signature colors, and tiny seed beads for spacers, and you can make cute bracelets like these without any sewing or special techniques!

Rebecca finally gets her silver candlesticks!

One quick visit to the craft store, and our Rebecca Rubin® has her very own gleaming "silver" candlesticks, made with jewelry findings, jewelry wire, a crystal teardrop bead, E6000 glue — and of course, a pair of ordinary birthday cake candles. Gut Shabbos, Rebecca!

It's Easter morning...

... and the baskets wait on the breakfast table: brightly colored and filled with flowers and goodies and a beautiful chocolate bunny! Now even 18" girls and boys can celebrate Easter morning with this easy-to-make, cuter-than-cute doll sized FREE printable craft.

Cosmic clouds and sparkling stars...

Click the image for this cute "Nebula" T-shirt tutorial. Then click to our November 2014 Tweak the Pattern for the T-shirt marbling directions. For a great canvas for your marbled artwork, try our Pattern #1001: Unisex T-Shirts for 18" Dolls.

Aloha, girls!

Here's an easy, fun project – make colorful Hawaiian leis for all your 18" dolls. All you need is a $.99 fabric lei from Party City, twenty inches of elastic beading cord, a sturdy needle and your trusty scissors!

Seize the spotlight with stencils and glitter

Love the look of pavé crystals on skating dresses and dance clothes, but don't want to apply a thousand tiny gems? Take a quick trip to the craft store for glitter, glue, a paintbrush and a stencil and follow our easy directions for an amazing look.

Sweep the podium with gold, silver and bronze.

Make your own doll-sized Olympic-style medals with coin pendants, 3/8" ribbon and Jacquard Lumière paint-on-anything metallic paint.

Make your own homemade playdough.

This easy and safe recipe from a vintage collection can be made in minutes with ingredients you probably have around the house.

Send them off to Hogwarts.

These doll-scale wands, made with twigs, hot glue and metallic paint, are super easy and super fun.

Lumos!

Make wands with glow-in-the-dark dimensional fabric paint instead of hot glue to light the way through the darkest adventure.

 

Take an unexpected journey.

Make and paint a rustic cooking bowl — then make the super-realistic campfire, too.

Dish up some craft dough.

Use molds you find around the kitchen — or around the house — to make an array of air-dry table settings.

Go Early American with gusto — and gesso.

In American Girl® Caroline's time, the irregularity of the yellow spots was part of the redware charm.

Open your eyes at Goodwill.

We love shopping for clothes at thrift stores to turn them into doll fabrics at home. But sometimes the best 18" resources are found in non-fabric thrift store aisles. Shoes, anyone?

Everybody loves a cool T-shirt.

Here's a tip when you're looking for a great graphic on a thrift store T: carefully cut out the pattern you want to use — may we suggest our Pattern #1001: Unisex T-shirts for 18" Dolls — then bring the left-over paper, not the pattern, to the store to use as guide to check the scale and placement of any graphics you find.

Ready for lunch.

Make these super-realistic pita rounds and flour tortillas with homemade air-dry dough, lightly toasted in an oven.

Pearls are always appropriate.

Here's a handy comparison of two brands of liquid pearls — ideal for embellishing your most stylish doll clothes and accessories.