The Summer We Went Broke (on American Girl dolls)

 I had been to make this post for quite a while... but I fear I have ADHD and this task just kept on getting delayed and pushed to the lowest of priorities (which I mean it isn't a super big priority, lol, there are bigger issues in the world)  

Two posts ago, which I posted exactly 4 months ago...... I mentioned at the end that Kitty and I kind of fell into an AG doll obsession and it has not left us, which I'm both grateful for (more on that later) and also kind of disappointed because all of my money has basically gone out the window...

 If there's one thing I've learned about myself this year, it's that I'm unfortunately a very impatient, impulsive person when it comes to sudden bursts of inspiration and wanting to work on that idea right now, this instance.  And when I find something that I want to buy, either for a project or just because I want it, it becomes extremely difficult to resist buying that thing, especially when it's a good deal.

 So, this summer, Kitty and I both realized that we are adults, with adult money, and we can buy ourselves American Girl dolls, and all of the dolls we used to gush over whenever we'd get a new American Girl catalog in the mail.  We would scour ebay, mercari, Facebook buy/sell groups, and most recently depop, and our collection kinda grew from like 5-6 dolls to so many in a short span of time.

I cannot stress enough - THIS IS IRRESPONSIBLE.  WE WERE AND ARE IRRESPONSIBLE WITH OUR MONEY.  WE SPENT TOO MUCH!!  DON'T BE LIKE US!  But also, the joy that these dolls have brought, combined with all the lovely opportunities that have followed, have been absolutely incredible. 

And so, I would like to introduce you to some of the newest additions to our doll collection this year.  These specifically are American Girl official dolls and characters... we've also done a lot of custom dolls... but that'll have to be for a separate post.

Nicki Fleming 

So you may be thinking, don't you already have Nicki in your collection??  And yes, we do kinda as she belongs to our older sister; in fact this Nicki is wearing that Nicki's original outfit haha - just for the photo though.  Kitty had really wanted a Nicki Fleming of her own, so we were fortunate to find one in pretty nice condition on Facebook Marketplace.  Unlike our older sister's Nicki who's hair got destroyed due to extremely rough childhood play... this Nicki's hair was just a little tangled.  She only needed a little bit of restoring (I've since curled her hair even more than pictured), and she now lives with Kitty in New York!

And speaking of the OG Nicki doll, I actually rewigged her with a Truly Me #81 wig I bought on ebay and then curled to look more like Nicki's original hair.  It's a little more coil-y and reddish than her original hair, but it is so much better than what she had before.  I have a full video about it on our TikTok page, but here she is, and she looks so beautiful now!   

Nellie O'Malley

After watching the Samantha movie again, I realized I absolutely adore Nellie's character and decided I needed her doll.  Little did I know that she is crazy expensive... and instead of waiting for a good deal (I have since seen so many come and go and I am kinda pissed at myself hahahahah), I bought one on Ebay.  Her hair wasn't so good originally, so I had to buy a replacement wig on Ebay as well, but it all ended up working out as well because I got to use the old wig for another doll.... but that'll be for a separate post on all our custom dolls. 

Here she is with her old wig 

And here is her new one!  I actually recreated her work outfit as seen in the movie, and because I want all of my dolls to have at least one official AG outfit, I also got her pajamas.  I don't particularly feel the need to get any of her other official outfits as they are 1. extremely expensive, and 2. they don't feature in the movie, only her pajamas do, so I feel good about that.

(I realize the way I edited the picture made her look orange - she is not!  Although the Orange Nellie situation is quite funny to read about haha.)

Emily Bennett

Although I wouln't say Emily is Molly's best friend, especially since Molly's best friends in the book are Linda and Susan, Emily was marketed as Molly's best friend, and Kitty and I felt it would be fun to have all of the dolls with their best friends.

Emily came to us in her pajamas, and I didn't want her to be in her pajamas all the time, so I was able to get her meet outfit through Facebook.  The rest of her outfit is off brand from Amazon.  I think she is really, really cute. 

 I also have Molly's dog that she named after her friend, Bennett.  

Rebecca Rubin

This is actually our third Rebecca Rubin doll that we've purchased, but this is the only one that didn't get sacrificed and customized into someone else.  That sounds so harsh hahahaha, I am so sorry Rebecca. 

I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with Rebecca, which Kitty beautifully wrote up about in this TikTok post, Although her story didn't resonate with me, I do still remember how exciting it was when American Girl first announced their first Jewish historical character, and Kitty and I thought she would be fun to have in our collection. 

I did not brush her hair before taking this picture, I am so sorry girl!

 Kit Kittredge 

 Fun fact - I remember browsing the American Girl website one day in 2009-2010, and for some random reason, I saw that Kit was for sale for $60, and I couldn't believe my eyes because American Girl dolls never sell for that cheap!  I had thought at the time, maybe it was because Kit's hair is short and not as fun to brush as every other doll...   I even started to think that maybe I had imagined it, because why would American Girl sell one of their dolls for such a cheap price!  But recently AG had a flash sale on their website where a bunch of the dolls were discounted again, like Melody I think it was, was *only *$101!  (No I did not take advantage of that sale.  Maybe I should've though - I love Melody.)  

Anyway, for that reason, Kit holds a very special place in my hard, and we were able to get her for $40 on Facebook.  And because Kitty and I split the cost of almost all the dolls we buy, technically speaking I only spent $20 on her, right???  I may have splurged to get most of her meet outfit (I'm still missing her shoes), but I'm quite happy with her.  I need to tighten her legs though, poor girl is very floppy. 

Kanani Akina

I think Kanani is a holy grail doll for a lot of people.  She is absolutely stunning, with long, beautiful hair, and such a beautiful face sculpt.  She usually sells for really expensive online, and to find one in good condition is even more expensive!  But, we were lucky and found an extremely good deal on her. And she is such a stunning doll to have.  

Grace Thomas

 I mostly wanted to get Grace because she is, technically speaking, Olivia Rodrigo, and Kitty and I are trying to and have made a bunch of the current pop girlies as American Girl dolls, but we also do love Grace.  She is a super cute doll, and I actually read two of her books recently, and she has a very sweet story.  I forgot to take a picture of her in her meet outfit, but here she is in an Olivia Rodrigo dress.  And here's a video I made about her outfit if you are interested.

 

Penny and Patriot

I love horses, and animals, and plush/toy animals, and a good deal appeared on Facebook for both of Felicity's beautiful horses.  They both needed some light restoring mainly in their manes and tails.  I still need to brush out Penny's a little more, but they look pretty good if I do say so myself!

 Speaking of Felicity, I just had to recreate Ben's Sunday Breeches that she borrowed from him.  Back in the day American Girl did sell breeches for her, but they sell on the used marked for well over $100, and that's usually just for the pants, and I am not about do drop that much money on a pair of doll pants.  So I made my own.  We have a video on that as well haha.  It was my first time trying to recreate an actual historical piece, so that was exciting. 

I also was able to find Felicity's riding habit and her holiday gown for really good prices as well.  

 

AND, I found a used Felicity on Facebook with a really nice wig that needed only a little restoring, and I was able to put that wig on my older sisters' original Felicity, so now she is fully restored as well, and she looks so beautiful.

  And just for reference, while Felicity the doll holds a very special place in my heart as she was the first doll to enter our family and marked the start of our American Girl doll obsession... Felicity's family canonically owned slaves, and when her grandfather dies, he literally gives his plantation and everything on it to her, which means she too owns slaves, and that's just messed up.  I don't get how she gets so worked up over the wrongs of a horse being neglected (as she should), but cannot fathom what's wrong with owning another human being???  so yeah, Felicity the character is not my favorite. 

Julie Albright and Ivy Ling

Having been obsessed with the 1970s due to my favorite band being from the 70s, obviously Kitty and I had to get Julie Albright and her best friend Ivy Ling.  However, in our canon, these two are girlfriends. ;)  I do have Julie's entire meet outfit, but we have yet to find Ivy's outfit.  Ivy is insanely expensive unfortunately, and it took a while before we were able to find her for a good deal.  But finally these two have been reunited and we love them so much!

And lastly, but not least, I *finally* got most of Isabelle's meet outfit (everything but her shoes) for our Isabelle doll.  Kitty and I were also able to get even more of the pink that someone put all over her head off with rubbing alcohol.  She still has a trace amount on the top of her head, but she is looking so much better!

 Getting into American Girl dolls has been such a fun experience for me and Kitty, even though it has really taken a toll on our wallets...  We've been able to grow our sewing experience, learning to make doll outfits together and also trying out new techniques.  We've even gotten into doll customizing, replacing eyes, and tightening doll limbs, and swapping wigs.  I've been able to dabble in doll photography, shooting in RAW and playing around with lightroom and photoshop to really enhance the photos. And we have our TikTok page, where we've found a beautiful community, and Kitty's even arranged meet ups with fellow New York AG collectors, and it has just been so incredible!  It's also been so cool to see our TikTok page become more popular, and people are really getting to know Sew Amazing, the name that I came up with for this blog 13 years ago, just as a place to post about my sewing and craft interests, which were certainly quite unhinged, and still kinda are haha. Then Kitty joined, and we got to run it together, and the blog evolved quite a bit, as have my sewing skills, and now we get to share our creations on TikTok under the same Sew Amazing umbrella, and it's so fun getting to collaborate with my sister. :)

So while yes, this hobby is expensive and we've gone a little overboard for sure, (and I have banned myself from buying more dolls for a while... ) I'm really grateful for all the experiences this has brought, and I love our collection of dolls.  They truly make me very very happy!