I looked around online for free doll clothes patterns and pinned quite a few things at Pinterest.  You might like to have a look at what is there.

I hit the thrift shop and picked up some clothes with some fabrics that I knew Quinn would like.  The first things that I made were a couple of t-shirts with this pattern..  I only followed the directions exactly the first time because I found my serger to be so much faster.  It was very helpful shape to have that shape for my first item.  Rose Petal is eagerly waiting to not be a nudist.

Biggest tip ever – If you can, ALWAYS cut your pattern to maintain the existing hem in the clothes.  You will save time and it will look more professional.

After this shirt, I cut the sleeve off of a silk blouse.  (For the record, I don’t think <i>I</i> have anything silk in my own clothes.)  I noticed that it fit around her.

I kept the angle of where the sleeve attached to the shirt and then sewed an elastic waistband into the other end (mid-sleeve).  You can see from the pictures, I didn’t do any pinning or worrying about the stitches.  I may regret that a tad, but my daughter never noticed.

Done!

Well, sort of. In these pics, the bottom isn’t hemmed and it was fraying like crazy, so I ended up running it through the sewing machine. Here she is in her new t-shirt and silk skirt.

I hope you like this. It was super easy and my daughter thinks it is very fancy.

Jude loves the books on CD that he can listen to.  They are just like the ones we listened to as kids, only we did it with records and cassette tapes.  He will sit still and listen and it is just amazing.  Sadly, we don’t have that many of them.

So, I got this idea.  What if I recorded myself reading a book.  I could even get out the xylophone for the page-turn ding.  I could do this for some of his favorite books — especially the ones that there don’t already seem to be recordings of.

THEN, I got an even bigger idea.  What if there are some of you who would also want to do this.  We could each record ourselves reading one of our favorite children’s books and upload the mp3 of it to a dropbox or something and then we could not only have recordings of an assortment of children’s books, but we could also have them done by an assortment of people and not just boring Mommy all the time.

So, if I figure out a way to do this, is there anyone interested?

Update: I started a facebook group to work on this.  If you would like to join, it is here:  <a href=”https://www.facebook.com/groups/472032719513386/”>When you hear the (BING!), turn the page</a>

We have visited COSI because it was local, but decided recently to branch out a bit.  We drove down to Dayton to the Boonshoft museum.  It was really a lot of fun.  I don’t know why we didn’t do it sooner.  It made me wonder what other cool things are here in Ohio for us to do with the kids.  Here is the list that I created.  Have you been to any of these?  Opinions? Tips?

AHA! A Hands-On Adventure

Hours of Operation:
Monday – Saturday 10am to 4pm
Sunday 12pm to 4pm

General Admission:
$5 All Ages

The Works

55 South 1st Street in downtown Newark, one block south of the Licking County Courthouse Square.

Regular Hours of Operation:
Open Tuesday – Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Closed Sunday & Monday
Additional Hours of Operation January – March:
Open Sundays from Noon – 5:00 p.m.
January through March

The Works General Admission Fees:

Children Under 2 years: Free
Child (2-17 years): $3
Adult (18-54 years): $7
Senior (55+ years): $5

The Works is proud to honor ASTC reciprocal Passport Memberships for general admission fees.

Early Television Foundation and Museum

5396 Franklin Street, Hilliard, Ohio

Museum Hours:
Saturday 10-6
Sunday 12-5

American Whistle Corporation
“Tour the only manufacturer of metal whistles in the United States. See how a whistle is made from coils of brass, soldered and packaged. Also, see the same whistle presented to the Super Bowl referees each year. For groups of 15 people or more, everyone receives a free whistle at the end of the tour.  For more information please call 1-800-876-2918.”

Phone: (614) 846-2918
Contact: Raymond Giesse
Location: Off I-71 & State Route 161, 6540 Huntley Road, Columbus, OH 43229
Admission: Groups 15 + ($4.00/person)
Open: Monday – Friday 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Number of Coaches Accepted: tours per day
Reservations Required: Yes
Length of Tour: 45 minutes to 1 hour
Location of Parking: Rear of building
Comp Policy: Groups 15 + 1 driver and 1 escort receive complimentary admission

Old Rectory Doll Museum
The Doll Museum offers a fine permanent collection of nineteenth-century dolls and toys. Among them are German chinas, Parian bisques, French fashions, Milliners’ models and French bébés. American dolls include the work of maker Ludwig Greiner, Izannah Walker and Joel Ellis. Self-guided or docent led tours are available, as are special children’s programs. Also housed in the elegant Greek Revival headquarters of the Worthington Historical Society are the gift shop, library archive, and appointed parlor.

Phone: (614) 885-1247
Contact: Mindy Mace, Worthington CVB
Location: Olde Worthington – State Route 161 & State Route 23, 50 West New England Avenue, Worthington, OH 43085
Admission: $1.50/person
Open: Year-round, by appointment only
Number of Coaches Accepted: 1 at a time
Reservations Required: Yes
Length of Tour: 30 minutes
Location of Parking: Public parking lot, south end of Methodist Church, High Street
Restrooms Available: Yes
Comp Policy: For driver and escort

THE OHIO CRAFT MUSEUM & Gift Shop

Hours: Mon-Fri 10am – 5pm | Sat-Sun 1-4pm (during exhibitions)
Admission to the Ohio Craft Museum is free

Wyandot Popcorn Museum

169 E. Church St.
Marion, OH 43302

Winter Hours:
November 1 thru April 30
Saturday and Sunday
1:00 to 4:00 p.m.

Admission:

Adults: $4
Seniors: $3
Children 6 years to 17 years: $1.50
Groups rates: $3 per person

NE Trip

http://tvdinnerclub.com

In Akron next to the library

Sunday  2-5 or call

Mazza Museum of Children’s Book Illustration

(gift shop!)

The Mazza Museum is open to the public on
Wednesday-Friday, noon-5:00 p.m. and Sundays from 1:00 p.m.-4:00p.m.)

Invent Now Museum

Museum Info:
221 S. Broadway, Akron OH
(234) 678-6692

Hours:
Monday through Friday 10am to 4pm
Closed weekends and holidays

Free

Cincy Trip

American Sign Museum

Closed because of move.

Caesar’s Creek Pioneer Village

http://www.entertrainmentjunction.com

Hours of Operation
10 a.m.-6 p.m. Mon.-Sat., Noon-6 p.m. Sunday. (Closed Closed Wednesdays, January thru March,  and Easter Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day.  Early closing on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve)

Location
EnterTRAINment Junction is off I-75, 30 minutes north of downtown Cincinnati and 25 minutes south of downtown Dayton, at the Tylersville Rd. exit (#22). Go East.  Right on Kingsgate.  Right on Squire Court.  7379 Squire Court, West Chester, Ohio, 45069

SE Ohio

Marietta Soda Museum

109 Maple St.
Marietta, Ohio
45750

Cleveland

Children’s Museum of Cleveland

Address:

10730 Euclid Ave.

Cleveland, OH 44106

(In University Circle)

Admissions

$7.00 per person (Child & Adult)

Infants 11 months and under are FREE!

Monday – Sunday

10:00 a.m. – 4:45 p.m.

*Exhibit areas close 15 min

Cleveland Museum of Natural History

Hours of Operation

Monday through Saturday: 10 am to 5 pm
Wednesday: 10 am to 10 pm
Sunday: noon to 5 pm

Closed: Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. The Museum will close at 4 pm on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve.

Driving Directions

General Admission Tickets

Adults (ages 19 and up): $10.00; $6 after 5 pm on Wednesdays
Youths (ages 7 through 18): $8.00
College students with ID: $8.00
Seniors (60 and up or with a Golden Buckeye Card): $8.00
Accessibility (wheelchair) rate: $7.00
Children (ages 3 to 6): $7.00
Toddlers (age 2 and under): FREE

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Sandusky

Merry-Go-Round Museum’s 2011

Family Cloth/Wipes

Felt Play Food

Hand-stamped necklaces

Pop Culture Necklaces

The magnets are upcycled from vintage and modern sources, such as Disney, Muppet and Fraggle books and Entertainment and Pop-Culture Magazines such as Entertainment Weekly.

Ready to ship choices are:

Christina Hendricks (Madmen)
Homer Simpson
Oscar the Grouch ( Sesame Street)
John Hamm (Madmen)
Willam Shatner and Tribbles (as Captain James T. Kirk in Star Trek )
Abby Cadabby ( Sesame Street )

Ian McKellen ( as Dumbledore in Harry Potter)
Bride of Frankenstein
Marilyn Monroe
Frankenweenie
Joan Crawford
Chewbacca ( Star Wars )
Superman
Pongo from 101 Dalmations

Other listings have magnets of other topics.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/25934329/sale-felt-cookies-set-of-5-cookies

https://www.etsy.com/listing/37484635/chicken-nuggets-with-ketchup

On sale for $5 at Felt Gourmet.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/116544181/set-of-6-downtown-abbey-magnets

Couldn’t find a Misery pattern/stencil, so I had to wing it.