Easy to Make Crafts for American Girl Dolls

Pins

• Make decorative pins to add to Rebecca's costume chest or design one to keep her Russian shawl closed around her shoulders. For costume jewelry pins, glue silk flowers, pearls or sequined applique to pin backs. You can even make pins using animal crackers to complement the rabbit pin Rebecca's grandmother gave her as a gift. Purchase pin backs at a craft store or remove decoration from old pins you already own. Paint animal crackers with three coats of varnish or clear nail polish; let them dry between coats, and use a heavy-duty adhesive to glue a cracker to a pin back.
  
  

Keepsakes

• Create a tiny photo album for Emily to complement her scrapbook showing pictures of her family. Include pictures reflecting the life of a young girl growing up in England during World War II. Cut two pieces of fabric 4 3/4 inch by 2 3/4 inch, one for the outside of the album and one for the interior. Cut a piece of paper-backed fusible stabilizer with the same dimensions. Iron the fusible stabilizer to the wrong side of the fabric for the outside of the album. Let it cool. Following the directions on the fusing, attach the material for the interior of the album, right side facing up. Fold the album in half and glue pictures to the inside covers.
  
  

Eyeglass Case

• Protect Molly McIntire's glasses in a handmade eyeglass case. To start, you will need one 9-inch square batting, one 9-inch square of fabric for the interior and one 9-inch square of fabric for the exterior. You will also need a needle and thread. Layer a piece of batting between the two pieces of fabric, right sides of the fabric facing out. Stitch the pieces together on all four sides, about 1/4 inch from the edges. Fold the square in half with the fabric you want to be the outside of the case facing inward. Sew a 3/4 inch seam along one short side and one long side of the case, leaving the top open. Trim the seams and turn the case inside out.
  
  

Accessory Storage

• Store American Girl Doll accessories in a personalized storage box made from an empty egg carton. Here, you can keep Addy's cowrie shell necklace, Kit's reproduction buffalo nickel or Ivy's chandelier earrings. Use spray paint or paint and a brush to add color to the outside and inside of the carton. Use puff paint to add decorative dimensions, such as flowers and leaves. Glue a bow to the top center of the carton to complete the look.