First Aid To The Injured

Smothered the flames of little Soami's
frock.

       Now, all at once," directed Chief Arrestem. "One, two, three!" and the two officers and the two ambulance men lifted the dollsmobile high up over to the other side of the road.

       "Well, friends," said Officer Arrestem, "if there's nothing more we can do, we'll return to our duty."

       "Nothing more, thank you," the head nurse answered.

       The driver had quickly smothered the flames of little Soami's frock by using the automobile robes.

       "Oh, my goodness!" shrieked Mrs. Brave, "where's Shesa? I wonder where my dear daughter is! Where is she? Where can she be?" she kept on asking, crying hysterically.

       "Hush! quiet yourself!" commanded the assistant nurse, who came in the ambulance. "We found your daughter a few moments ago where she was thrown. She had fainted, but she is all right now."

       "Oh, sit her up; don't let her lie there!' exclaimed the mother.

       "Indeed, you must keep quiet," said the nurse, or we cannot do anything for anybody. It is better for her to lie down than to sit up."

       "I'd keep quiet if I knew what to do! Every woman and man, too, ought to know."

       "Yes," replied the nurse, "every person ought to know something about first aid to the injured." She and the other nurse were busily directing the orderly and driver of the ambulance in every movement, giving them explicit directions.

       They attended the most dangerously injured first, stopping the bleeding (hemorrhage) of Mr. Brave's head and bandaging a dressing in place. They applied soothing carron oil to the burns on little Soami's arms and legs.

         They bandaged temporary splints to little Ibee's broken arm, and, since Mrs. Brave's scalds were not serious, they attended her last.

       Under Mr. Brave's broken leg they placed pillows to make him more comfortable.

       "If I'd only remembered to turn off the power this never would have happened," he muttered. " How foolish of me!"

       "There would never be any accidents to speak of," said the assistant nurse, soothingly, "if everybody did everything right, you know."

       "If everybody just kept his head cool," said Mr. Brave, as he tried to move his position, but fell back with a groan.

       "Give him a half-teaspoon of aromatic spirit of ammonia, Miss Helpem," said Miss Bossem, who was engaged in spreading the stretcher.

       "Now, everyone ready to lift this patient," she directed, as she and the driver and orderly knelt on one knee beside Shesa, and Miss Helpem took her position on the opposite side of the stretcher. As the three lifted Shesa, Miss Helpem carefully held the stretcher in place, and afterward helped carry the patient to the ambulance. Next they carried the two children, using a stretcher for little Ibee, and making a two-handed seat for Soami. (A "sedan chair," you know the kind you play with at school.)

       "I'm sorry neither doctor could leave the operating room to come, Miss Helpem," remarked Miss Bossem, to her assistant, who was Mary Frances, you remember. "If you will wait here with these two patients," (they were Mrs. and Mr. Brave) "I will return with either Doctor Surecure or Doctor Quickenquack."

       ''Oh, why can't you take my dear husband along?" begged Mrs. Brave. "He's awfully hurt! awfully!"

       "Please explain to her, Miss Helpem," said Miss Bossem, getting into the ambulance, "that it is far better to wait for the doctor to attend a broken leg than to attempt to place it in splints unless it is absolutely necessary to move the patient."

       Miss Helpem turned to Mrs. Brave, who was by this time quite exhausted, and after explaining the situation, treated her, as she had all the others, for --

They attended the most dangerously injured first.

Cause: SHOCK

       A severe injury, or even the sight of one, will often cause intense nervousness, which is very weakening. This is especially true if the patient is suffering from severe bleeding. Check the bleeding before treating for shock.

       Shock differs from fainting. The patient's face becomes pale and the skin cold, the pupils of the eyes large.

What to do:

1. Send for the doctor.
2. Place patient on back with head low to allow plenty of blood to enter head. 
3. Give hot water or hot coffee, or one-half teaspoonful aromatic spirit of ammonia in a quarter of a tumbler of water. 
4. Hold smelling salts to the nose. 
5. Do not excite by trying to remove clothing unless absolutely necessary, but keep patient warm by use of hot-water bottles and blankets, etc. 
6. Cover patient. Rub limbs toward body. 
7. Do not give whiskey or any other form of alcohol, if any other stimulant can be found and never whiskey in case of hemorrhage (severe bleeding).

Introduction: Chapters: 1, 2, First Aid to The Injured,  4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 

Off To Mexico

"Always carry this with you."

         The head nurse, Miss Bossem, rushed out of the Dolls' Hospital toward the children. "You're late, Miss Helpem," she called to Mary Frances. "Go right on duty rolling bandages for the soldiers who start for Mexico today. The troop-train leaves at two-thirty. Hurry, now, or you won't get them to the station on time."

       Then, turning to Billy, "Get the ambulance ready immediately," she commanded, and Billy disappeared into the garage.

       You see, Mary Frances finished the course in First Aid Nursing with the Red Cross Preparedness Class just before her birthday. Being very proud of her newly acquired knowledge, she wanted to show Billy how much she had learned.

       When Billy promised her any favor she could think of as a birthday present, Mary Frances joyfully asked him to spend a whole day at the Dolls' Hospital in the playroom, pretending they were little kiddies again that she was Miss Helpem, the assistant nurse, and that Billy was the ambulance driver. To keep his promise, Billy consented.

       Just as they stepped into the playroom door, they seemed to grow smaller and smaller, until they were no bigger than the dolls themselves.

       Promptly at two-fifteen, Miss Helpem arrived at the station with an ambulance full of bandages, and just in time to see the Brave family bidding good-bye to Private Ima Brave. All the family were there, even Michael, the big bulldog. Private Brave was among the last of the soldiers to board the little train.

       "You'll write from New York, dear," begged his mother, kissing him for the twentieth time, and slipping a little American Red Cross first-aid outfit in his hand. "Always carry this with you, and remember how your mother loves you."

       "And you'll send me picture postcards from everywhere, won't you?" begged little Ibee Brave, standing on tip-toe to get a better view of his tall, straight brother.

       "There's a speck of dust on your uniform," fussed Soami, his little sister, as she brushed him with her handkerchief.

       Private Brave smiled. "We're not on dress parade, little sister," he said. "It's good that khaki doesn't show the dust, for it's a dusty country we're going to."

       " 'It's a long, long way to Mexico, it's a long way to go,' ' began little Ibee; but at that moment the engine whistled, and his father clasped Private Brave's hand.

       "I am proud of my son," was all he said.

       "And I, of my brother," Shesa, his big sister, added, with tears in her eyes.

       One more whistle, and the little train started down the playroom railroad track.

       "We'll bring the limousine nearer the station," said Mr. Brave, taking Mrs. Brave's arm and walking away.

       "Father and Mother don't want anyone to talk with them just now," said Shesa.

       "I don't see why. Gee, I wish I was big enough to go," said little Ibee, as he watched the train until the last car turned a curve in the track.

       "You'd make a fine soldier, wouldn't you," laughed Soami, "when you're afraid to go upstairs in the dark."

"My! he can drum bravely!"

        "Only sometimes," answered Ibee, "only when the wind blows hard and when it's not moonlight and then, not often."

       "Why, Soami, Ibee is real brave," said Shesa. "Don't you remember how you were afraid to go down cellar to get some jam last night and Ibee would have gone, if father hadn't made you go?"

       "Yes, and father stood on the landing the whole time you were gone, too, Miss," declared Ibee triumphantly.

       "Yes, that's so," acknowledged Soami. "I guess Ibee would make a good soldier especially a drummer boy. My, he can drum bravely! Did you hear him yesterday, Shesa?"

       "Indeed I did," laughed the sister.

       "Yes," continued Soami, mischievously, "don't you remember the verses about

       'A little man bought him a big bass drum, Boom-tid-dee-ah-da-boom!

       "Who knows," said he, "When a war might come? Boom-tid-dee-ah-da-boom! I'm not at all frightened you understand, But if I am called to fight for my land, I want to be ready to play in the band. Boom-tid-dee-ah-da-boom!' "

       "Come, children," said their father, driving up, "here's the car; hop in."

Introduction: Chapters: Off To Mexico, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 

The Speeder's Accident

"Oh, the engine's on fire!

      The shrill sound of a policeman's whistle cut the air three times, but the dolls mobile sped on faster than ever.
       "I couldn't catch them at all, at all," reported the little thin sub-officer, McStoppem, at headquarters.
       "Bring my motorcycle, McStoppem," ordered Chief Arrestem.
       "All right, sir," nodded Officer McStoppem, bringing out the wonderful little toy. "If you take the cross-cut road toward Sandpile Village, you'll catch them. The number is here it is, I wrote it down 1492. You can easily remember it the year Columbus made 'preparedness' necessary."
       "Cut out your chatter, McStoppem, and follow me in a hurry," directed the chief, as he kicked the pedal of the motorcycle to start the engine. "Hand me the paper," and, snatching it, was off.
       "The chief'll get'em O.K.," muttered Officer McStoppem to himself, as he watched the long line of dust and smoke in the wake of the little motorcycle.
       Just as Chief Arrestem came into the cross-roads leading to Sandpile Village, the runaway automobile flew past.
       "By Jiminy, I don't wonder McStoppem couldn't catch them," he said under his breath, as he put on still more speed. "That man's lost control of his car, and unless I'm mistaken there'll be an accident when he comes to that dangerous turn in the road where that big rocking chair stands."
       Meanwhile everybody in the dollsmobile was trying not to be frightened.
       "Can't you slow down a little, Father?" asked Mrs. Brave.
       "The brakes won't hold," panted Mr. Brave, forcing both brakes on with all his might. "This is dreadful!"
       "Gee whiz!" exclaimed little Ibee, looking out the rear window. "Here comes the motor police. He'll arrest us for speeding."
       "Oh, mercy, we're coming to Rocking Hill road," gasped Shesa. "Father, do turn off the power!"
       But Shesa spoke too late, and kerr-smash! ken-bang! kerr-plunk! went the dollsmobile right into the rockers of the rocking chair, turning "turtle" twice, and breaking the beautiful glass windows to pieces. Out of the broken radiator the boiling hot water poured over poor Mrs. Brave's arm where she lay just as she was thrown.
       "Oh, the engine's on fire!" shrieked little Soami, "and I'm burning to death!"
       "Father, Father," called little Ibee, "come get me out! I'm fast under the car! Come get me out, please! Oh, I'll be burned to death! Father, oh, my arm hurts! Oh, I can't move my arm!"
       The mother managed to get up when she heard the children call.
       "Where's your father? Oh, where is he?" she cried, and going to the other side of the car, she saw poor Mr. Brave lying amidst a heap of broken glass and wheels and gears. From his head ran a little stream of blood.

Up came chief Arrestem.

        "Oh, he's dead!" she sobbed, but just then he gave a little groan. "Oh, my dear husband," she exclaimed, "tell me you're not dead! Tell me you're not dead!" she begged, unmindful of her own arm.
       "I'm dead, Mother," groaned little Soami. "I just know I'm dead with pain."
       "Well, I'm not!" said little Ibee, "and even though my arm hurts so, I'm going to try to go for help if I can get out from under this car."
       "My, that's so!" exclaimed the mother. "I myself forgot to be brave. I'll go for help."
       But just as she spoke, up came Chief Arrestem.
       "I saw it all, madam," he said, "and I stopped to telephone to the hospital for the ambulance."
       "Oh, don't 'rest us, please," begged little Ibee. "Please, Mr. Officer, don't arrest us. We weren't speeding. Father couldn't make the brakes hold!"
       "Don't you worry, little chap," replied Chief Arrestem. "I won't arrest any of you. Here comes Officer McStoppem on his motorcycle, just as I told him to, and in a minute we'll have you all out from under."
       "Never mind about me," said Ibee. "Please get poor Soami out. She's dead, I think."
       "Quick, McStoppem," called the chief, "help throw sand on this car to put out the fire!"
       It took about ten seconds for the two officers to put the fire out, and even before that, they heard the honk! honk! of the ambulance.
       "Here comes the ambulance!" cried Chief Arrestem. "Now, with the driver's help, we'll soon be able to lift this car."

Introduction: Chapters: 1, The Speeder's Accident,  3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 

Render First-Aid With Help from Mary Frances

The very first 'Mary Frances'
was a paper doll drawn by
Jane Allen Boyer.

       It is important to mention here that any one of your child's dolls may be called a "Mary Frances" doll. Her Mary Frances could have dark skin, blue eyes or even red hair. She could be a rag doll, a fashion doll or a 18inch classic child doll. In the world of play, the physical attributes of a heroine are not nearly as important as the content of her character. Mary Frances dolls should have a devoted heart, and a kind and sacrificial spirit above all else. 

       Mary Frances Helpem, lives in a child's nursery, working as an assistant to a Red Cross nursing doll called Miss Bossem. Together they help treat all kinds of doll injuries that appear to be quite similar to those found among humans in the outside world and indeed, the methods used to treat the injured and sick originate from real-life manuals used by red cross emergency aid workers in 1916.

       Below is a quote taken from the creator of the very first Mary Frances doll about her stories:

      

      "This book is more than a story to inspire children with a desire to relieve suffering; it is a simplified and handy reference book, telling what to do in cases of accident or illness. In no sense is it intended to take the place of the physician. The first principle of first-aid cannot too often be repeated when in doubt, send for the doctor.
       Especial thanks are due to E. A. Y. Schellenger, M.D., member Surgical Staff, Cooper Hospital, Camden, N. J., for his great assistance in verifying and revising the medical and first-aid instructions given herein; and to Constance Cooper Crichton, Instructor of First Aid Classes, New Jersey Women's Division National Preparedness, whose helpful criticism and suggestions have been invaluable." by Jane Eayre Fryer

Click here to download and print the 
hospital staff, police and patients for 
the book. These have been restored
by kathy grimm for young students.

Chapters:

1. Off To Mexico
2. The Speeders' Accident
3. First Aid To The Injured
4. At The Doll's Hospital
5. The Real Cross Nurses
6. Lessons In First Aid
7. Safety First
8. Practice Games
9. The Hikers
10. On Looking Glass Lake
11. Two Boys Are Late
12. Plans
13. A Sane Fourth of July
14. Shesa, A Red Cross Nurse
15. A Telegram From Mexico
16. Private Brave's Adventures
17. The Mad Dog
18. The Poisoned Baby
19. Hurrah For Our Hero

Online Research for Our Mary Frances Doll Character:

• The American Red Cross and The American Red Cross Nurse
• Clara Barton: The Beginnings of the American Red Cross
• American Red Cross History
• How the American Red Cross Works - History & Facts 
• Civil War Medicine: The Civil War in Four Minutes
• A Guide To American Red Cross Uniforms by Shirley Powers (pdf)
• Medical Treatment in World War I - The Great War Special
• History of the Red Cross and the Geneva Convention
• The red cross, red crescent and red crystal. What do they mean? In one word: protection.
• Principles in action: How do neutrality and independence contribute to humanitarian effectiveness?
• A day in the life of a nursing assistant/Healthcare Support Worker
• World Health Organization
• 8 Foods That Give You Energy!

Doll Hospitals:

• Doll Hospital Sydney Museum
• Additional hospital artifacts for 18'' dolls  at Dollsville Hospital

Historic Costume for Red Cross, Salvation Army, and Modern Nurse/Doctors:

• 18" Historic Doll Clothes: Army Doughnut Girl Outfits 
• U.K. Red Cross Nurse Uniform 
• WWI Nurses Uniform

The Treasures Of The Snow

"Hast thou entered the treasures of the snow?" Job 38:22

        Today I want you to come with me into a wonderful treasure-house and we shall walk round and look at the treasures. It is the treasure-house of the snow. Perhaps you never thought very much about the treasures of the snow. You may have thought more of its pleasures, of the snow-balls and snow men you could make, and the sleigh rides you could take. But its treasures are well worth looking at to.

1. The first treasure we shall look at is its beauty. 

       You go to sleep one night in a bleak, dingy world and you wake up next morning to find that the earth has put on its beautiful white winter dress. Last night the brown earth lay cold and bare, a few dead flowers drooped their withered heads, and the tall trees shivered as they waved their leafless arms. But to-day all is transformed.

The snow had begun in the gloaming,

And busily all the night

Had been heaping field and highway

With a silence deep and white.

Every pine and fir and hemlock

Wore ermine too dear for an earl,

And the poorest twig on the elm-tree

Was ridged inch deep with pearl.

       And not only are the earth and trees and flowers changed, but the ugly walls and houses which man has built have got their share of the beautiful white dress.

       Then have you ever tried to look at a snow flake through a microscope? If you have you will have seen something very wonderful and beautiful, for each snowflake is made up of numbers of little crystals that take the form of six-pointed stars. Sometimes, when the flakes are very tiny, each one is a single star, but more frequently the little stars join together to make a flake. Nor are these crystals all alike. More than a thousand different varieties have been noticed. Some are quite plain like the spokes of a wheel, but in others the rays of a star are formed of the finest lacework. Each little snow crystal is like a perfect little flower which God has sent down from His sky-garden.

       Now I wonder if you ever thought about the trouble God takes to make things beautiful. He need not have made the snowflakes so lovely. It would have been enough if He had made them useful. But He could not make them otherwise, just because He is God, and God is love; He could not have made them otherwise, because He wanted to give us joy. Everything that God makes is beautiful. He made the flowers, and the trees, and the grass, the moon and the stars, the blue sea, and the everlasting hills. It is man who spoils things and makes them ugly. He digs up the beautiful green fields and plants ugly towns on them, or runs railways through the middle of them, or covers them with heaps of coal refuse.
       God meant our souls to be beautiful too, but we have allowed sin to spoil them. Yet they can still be made beautiful if we give them back into His keeping to mould them.

2. The next treasure I want you to look at is the warmth of the snow.
       Perhaps you think it is a funny thing to call the snow warm. You could have understood if I had called it cold, because you know how your fingers tingle when you try to make snow-balls. Nevertheless the snow forms a warm blanket for the earth. In the Psalms there is a verse that says, "He giveth snow like wool." And snow is just like wool because it prevents heat from escaping. When it falls on the earth it helps to keep in the heat that the earth has absorbed during the summer-time.
       Scientists who have made experiments have found out that under two feet of snow the temperature is forty degrees warmer than above it, and in cold climates farmers depend on the snow to keep the hard frosts off their sown crops. Underneath the snow beautiful flowers have been found growing that would perished in much milder climates if exposed to the air, and up in the Alps some of the loveliest flowers grow on the edge of the snow-fields.

Little snowflakes falling lightly,

Little snowflakes falling whitely,

Cover up the sleeping flowers,

Keep them warm through winter hours.

Do you know

Why the snow

Is hurrying through the garden so?

Just to spread

A nice soft bed

For the sleepy flower's head,

To cuddle up the baby ferns, and smooth the lily's sheet,

And tuck a warm white blanket down around the roses' feet.

        I wonder what the flowers think when the snow comes on the top of them? Perhaps they think it is very hard to be shut away from the light. But if the snow didn't come they would never blossom next spring. And I think it is just like that with the hard things we have to endure. It is the difficulties we overcome and the hardships we bear that make the sweetest and fairest flowers blossom in our characters.

3. Another of the treasures of the snow is its power.
       If you watch it coming down so gently and softly you think it is one of the weak things of the world, and if you weigh a snowflake on a pair of scales it will not even make the scales tremble. Yet a snowstorm can stop trains, block roads, break telegraph wires, interrupt labor. And up in the mountains avalanches of snow can destroy villages, tear great rocks from their foundations, change the face of a mountain-side.
       Now sometimes we are tempted to think we can't be of very much use and can't do very much good in the world. We are so weak and small, and the world is such a very big place, and we are tempted to give up trying. But remember it is each little snowflake doing its own part that makes for strength, each one falling in its own place without ceasing. And if the tiny snowflakes  that weigh next to nothing can be so powerful, surely we can be of very great value if we put our weight on the right side.

4. One more treasure I want you to look at. It is the purity of the snow.
       Newly fallen snow is the whitest thing in the world. If you take out your tissue on a snowy day you know how grey and grimy is looks. But when the snow falls on a city street it does not stay white long. Soon it gets covered with soot, or mixed with mud and turned into slush, and we get rid of it as quickly as we can by shoveling it away.
       Now you remember we noticed that sin spoiled our beauty. Well, there is another thing it does--it soils our whiteness. We are not long in the world before it begins to lay its ugly marks upon us. And those marks will never come off unless we ask God to wash them clean.
       God can melt the dirty snow in our city streets. He can lift it up into the clouds and turn it again into beautiful white snow. And He can lift us up too and wash away all our stains and make us "whiter than snow."

"Angels in The Snow" by Amy Sky

Girls of Faith Dolls

       The Girls of Faith dolls was a line of Christian doll characters developed by Sara McCord of North Carolina in 2010. Each character came with a doll and book introducing little girls to faith based play. Do to the complications in manufacturing during Covid the company was forced to put the reissue of the original first three dolls aside. Read their story here.

 The Girls of Faith Dolls Include three religious character dolls:

1. Hannah Olivia Patterson's Bible and Cultural Artifacts about Miracles
2. Kayla Newman's Bible and Cultural Artifacts about Missions
3. Audrey Thompson's Bible and Cultural Artifacts about Sharing The Love of Jesus - Below are sample artifacts teachers may use to help students develop research for a lapbook assignment based upon Audrey.

Opening Audrey Thompson doll with Rilyn Dinyae.

Audrey Reaches Out Book Cover.

      Read about the adventures of a third grade girl, Audrey Thompson, who attends a small church school with her siblings. Audrey loves winter fun activities and making new friends. 

      But not everything in Audrey's life is peaceful and ideal. She learns how to show gentleness to a new girl at school and must gain this young stranger's confidence through persistence and bravery.  

"Because Audrey reached out to Trina, Trina's life and Aunt Nell's life were truely changed. They all spent many happy times together, with Bear and Angel too. This experience not only changed the lives of Trina and Aunt Nell, but also Adrey's life as well. Jesus had given Audrey the courage to reach out and share her faith. In the process, she learned some wonderful things about Jesus and how much He deeply cares for all people." Sheri Baker and Sara McCord

• Authors Sheri Baker and Sara McCord - Girls of Faith dolls reach young Christians
• www.girlsoffaithdolls.com
• Audrey Thompson's book "Audrey Reaches Out"
• Sharing Jesus With Kids
• Learn the meaning of the name, Audrey

Our Artifacts for Themes Covered in Audrey Thompson's Book:

• "Treasures In The Snow" James Hastings child sermons based upon the life of Job
• "Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow?" Job 38:22 coloring page
• Asleep by Edward A. Jenks

Online Research for Girl of Faith Audrey Thompson:
The Snow Day:

• "Angels in The Snow" by Amy Sky
• How to Build a Snowman
• How to Go Sledding!
• How to Make Snow Angels
• Seeing snow for the first time with the Norris Nuts in Australia
• Grandfather makes granddaughter's snow wish come true 

Starting All Over Again:

• 10 Year Old Sings "Listen"
• The New Kid - a short film about starting a new school
• How to handle being the new kid at school

How Children Learn To Mourn:

• Jenkins sings "Guiding Light" along with the Children's Grief Encounter Choir
• Losing a Pet - The Story of My Dog Leo
• Grief through a child's eyes - visit the children's bereavement camp
• How to help grieving children
• Stephen Ministries, St. Louis

Lost In The Woods: 

• "What A Beautiful Name" by Hillsong Kids
• Lost girl gives big thanks to officer and dog who found her
• What to do if you get lost in the woods?
• How To Survive The Wild: A 10-Year-Old Boy's Survival Story

Believing Is Seeing:

• Lauren Daigle sings "Look Up Child"
• "Let the little children come to me" by the students of Saint Gregory
• The importance of leading kids to love Jesus
• Nine-Year-Old Alaine Shares the Love of Jesus
• Mississippi Children's Choir sing "Things Go Better With Christ"
• 4 Ways your kids can live out their faith
• The "E" Word for parents...

The True Love of Dogs: Fun Video About Man's Best Friend!

• So God Made a Dog - very cute video!
• How my dog taught me about God
• The Circle - short film
• Organization uses animals to help kids grieve
• If I Could Talk and If I Could Bark

  Return to the Doll Guide Index Page 

Printable Student IDs for Your Doll and You!

       Now your dolls can have student doll IDs for Trinity Church School and so can you! Download, print, cut, and paste photos inside the boxes provided. Fill out the information on each card and cover the cards with a transparent tape to keep them looking new. 

       The dolls could clip their IDs onto their uniforms for a few days while everyone learns their names. Then keep their IDs inside a backpack, folder or in a doll purse for future play.

• Back to Trinity Church School for Dolls index page

Print a doll school ID for Trinity Church School dolls.
Print, cut and fill out the information for your 18" dolls.
Paste a photo of your doll in the empty box.

Print a Doll School ID for yourself so that you can attend Trinity Church School as an older brother
or sister to your doll. Paste a photo of yourself in the box and fill out the information listed on the left hand side.

Build a Market Booth For Your 18" Dolls

       This market stand or stall is constructed from a discarded wooden crate. It is the perfect size for 18inch American Girl Dolls and may be used for all kinds of doll play. We will be using it to demonstrate a lemonade stand, a road side market stall for fresh produce and as a doll booth for homemade baked goods in the future.
       The crate had only four slats across it's bottom to begin with. I removed these and cut seven slats of uniform size and type before nailing and gluing them back onto one side of my crate. I kept the original shelf in the middle and glued on additional narrow slates to the ends of all three shelves to make these stronger and give them a finished looking edges. 

Left, one side of my doll market stall has shelves for doll food items. Center, a side view
 of the booth shows the tall wooden slats both glued and nailed into place for the draping
 of banners and signs. Right, here's is a close up of the banner slat; it has a narrow slit cut
 away from it's center so that I can suspend and change banners and signs between these
 two flat 'posts.'

Left, I will use the shelf side for a baked goods booth. Right, the slated 'wall' side of this
 booth will be used as a lemonade stand eventually.

Left, you can see how the cardboard sign is suspended between the booth slats above.
 Right, here is an 18inch doll standing next to the completed booth. I decided to color 
parts of my booth with a transparent wash of teal colored, oil based paint.
 Then I stained the remainder of the wooden parts: shelves and posts by rubbing the 
coats of stain into the wood with an old rag. Lastly the entire booth was sealed with a 
durable wood varnish to give the stand a tough weather resistant surface, perfect for outdoor play.

Left, the 18" doll standing next to the booth. Center, up close photo of the stained 
surface. Right, cardboard sample of the sign placement. It will be fun to decorate 
our doll's booth with all kinds of banners and signs in the near future.

Building More Market Booths or Stalls for American Girls and Their Dolls:

• DIY American Girl Doll Nanea's Family Market by agloviesparkles - made from foam board
• DIY American Girl Doll Lea's Fruit Stand - made from foam board
• How to sew a gathered canopy for a child's market stall...

DIY Basic Gymnastic Equipment for American Girl Dolls

Pictured above is an incline wedge ramp, balancing
 beam and a tri-fold workout mat. Read more about
her leotard here.

       Gymnastics is a sport that includes exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, shoulders, back, chest, and abdominal muscle groups. Alertness, precision, daring, self-confidence, and self-discipline are mental traits that can also be developed through gymnastics. Gymnastics evolved from exercises used by the ancient Greeks that included skills for mounting and dismounting a horse, and from circus performance skills.
       Here I have crafted basic gymnastic equipment for our 18" dolls: a tri-fold workout mat, a balancing beam and an incline wedge ramp. All three crafts required only basic skills to complete and I recycled materials found in the garage, scrap bag and our toy block collection.

Supply List:

• wool felt for durability
• narrow wooden blocks (for feet)
• wood scrap for balancing beam, 3/4" dowel
• wood varnish
• wooden block for wedge ramp
• enamel paint and or varnish for balancing beam and wedge ramp
• foam padding for the tri-fold workout mat
• sandpaper

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. The wooden, wedge shaped block is common to the majority of classic block collections. Ours was originally unvarnished, so I painted it with a teal colored enamel paint and sealed it with a clear varnish. In real gyms these wedge ramps are made using foam and vinyl. 
2. Cut the balancing beam, using a hand-held saw, from a square dowel. Our beam measures 18 inches across.
3. Remember to sand the ends of the dowel smooth.
4. Then, stained and varnished the dowel, leaving space for gluing two wooden blocks at either end to act as feet for the doll's balancing beam.
5. Paint the feet a coordinating color to match the other two pieces of equipment.
6. The tumbling, tri-fold mat was sewn together with a durable thread and heavy duty wool felt. 
7. I removed the foam stuffing from a box. These pieces measure approx. 6 1/2" x9 1/2" each.
8. Line the foam sheets up side-by-side on top of the fabric. Allow for approx. 1" of space between each sheet and 1 1/2" extra fabric around the circumference of the entire mat before cutting it out.
9. Cut a second sheet of fabric the exact same size as the first.
10. Remove the foam sheets and sew the two identical pieces of fabric with right sides facing together. Make the seam approximately 1/2 inch wide.
11. Only sew the two long sides plus one short side together to form a 'pouch' so that you can insert the foam padding easily.
12. Turn the pouch inside out so that the right sides of your tumbling mat now face outwards.
13. After adjusting the first foam piece inside the long narrow pouch, sew a plain top stitch across the open end, up next to the cushion.
14. Add the center foam cushion and repeat the above step.
15. Then stuff the final third foam cushion between the opening of the tumbling mat and sew an invisible seam across the open end to close off the end neatly.
16. Your tri-fold tumbling mat should fold up neatly into three sections for storage.

Our American Girl doll does the splits on her tri-fold tumbling mat.

Left, cut the foam and wool felt. Center, the mat is sewn with straight stitches.
 Right, the tri-fold gym mat folds up for easy storage.

Close up of basic gymnastic doll equipment made from materials found at home.

More Links to Gymnastic Equipment for 18" Dolls:

• DIY American Girl Doll Gymnastics Mat
• Gymnastics mat by Shelbri AG

Craft an Inglenook Fireplace for Your 18inch Dollhouse

Our version of a doll inglenook has a faux 
cast iron wood burner.

       An inglenook (Modern Scots ingleneuk), or chimney corner, is a recess that adjoins a fireplace. The word comes from ingle, meaning "fireplace" in Old English (from Old Scots or Irish aingeal, "angel" or euphemistically "fire"), and nook. 

       The inglenook originated as a partially enclosed hearth area, appended to a larger room. The hearth was used for cooking, and its enclosing alcove became a natural place for people seeking warmth to gather. With changes in building design, kitchens became separate rooms, while inglenooks were retained in the living space as intimate warming places, subsidiary spaces within larger rooms.

Supply List:

• masking tape
• sturdy cardboard box and cardboard scraps
• paper mache pulp
• novelty printed brick on cotton fabric 
• Styrofoam (thick cut) for mantel
• black, brown, yellow, and white acrylic paints
• acrylic sealer or Mod Podge
• hollow paper tube
• recycled plastic lid and clear plastic sheet (for wood burner door)
• small cut tree branches for logs and supports for the mantle (These are sold at the dollar store or search your own backyard.)
• sandpaper 
• paper toilet tube
• faux wooden paper

Step-by-Step Instructions for the Inglenook Fireplace:

1. Tape together a strong, thick cardboard box for the fireplace/ inglenook. I found a box with the opening already cut away at a local Sam's Club.
2. Then I resized my doll's inglenook to the shape and proportions of approx. 12"x14"x3".
3. Mask (with tape) the areas that you will be covering with fabric and Mod Podge in advance.
4. Use a large soft brush to apply the craft glue/ Mod Podge to the cardboard surface. Then layer on your novelty printed, brick fabric onto the box surface. Reapply the Mod Podge onto the surface of the fabric and let the cardboard fireplace dry in the sunshine.
5. After this surface has dried, you may then mix and layer on the paper mache pulp to the inside of the inglenook. I elected to paint my surface white after the pulp was fully dry. I had to wait a few days before I could complete each of the above steps.
6. It is important to give your surfaces plenty of drying time between applications so that the cardboard does not warp while you work. 
7. It is also important to remember to construct a paper mache project like this one, in a hot dry environment in order to achieve the best results.
8. I cut a mantle to fit on top of my inglenook from foam insulation. 
9. I masked the bottom of the mantle with tape before hot gluing it down on top of the fireplace. Then I used a heavy tin (or book) to apply pressure to the top of the mantle while it dried.
10. After the Styrofoam mantel was successfully mounted, I dry brushed the side surfaces with three different brown colors of paint, alternating the layers to acheive a wood-like surface.
11. Next, I layered a wooden looking paper onto the mantel top with Mod Podge.
12. You may need to use a bit of sandpaper between gluing the surfaces to give your project a professional looking surfaces.
13. Hot glue two cut pieces of wood (shaped from tree limbs) to the underside, edges of the mantel, to look as though these were supporting the mantel.
14. After finishing the inglenook, I sealed all of it's surfaces with an acrylic varnish.

Directions for the Woodburner:

1. In order to construct the woodburner, I removed the lid of a baby wipes container from it's original container and then reattached it to a smaller box constructed with thick cardboard. I had to cut a corresponding hole, mask off the surfaces where I would be gluing the pieces together and also cut a round hole at the top of the box for a cardboard chimney pipe.
2. The chimney pipe was cut from a toilet paper tube and sized to fit into the hole.
3. I used glue to attach a wooden block the the bottom of my wood burner to act as a foot.
4. Then I painted the entire woodburner with black acrylic paint.
5. After the paint dried, I then cut a small piece of plastic to line the inside of the woodburner's door.
6. I stacked wooden faux logs inside the woodburner for appearances. 
7. With a bit of hot glue and manipulation, I mounted my faux woodburner inside the inglenook. Now the dolls will have a very romantic looking fireplace for their future winter parties!

Left, First you will need to tape together a strong, thick cardboard box for the fireplace or inglenook.
Right, use a heavy tin (or book) to apply pressure to the top of the mantle while it dries.

Left, I had to cut a corresponding hole, mask off the surfaces where I would be gluing the pieces together
 and also cut a round hole at the top of the box for a cardboard chimney pipe. Right, hot glue two cut
 pieces of wood (shaped from tree limbs) to the underside, edges of the mantel, to look as though 
these were supporting the mantel.