Showing posts sorted by relevance for query gumball. Sort by date Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query gumball. Sort by date Show all posts

Saturday, October 14, 2023

The Gumball Machine Costume

The complete gumball costume
 with "Boo" candy container.

       Vintage gumball machine costumes are very popular with trick-or-treaters in the U.S. right now. The costumes are also a nice alternative theme for dress-up party for children or their dolls. 
       However, this costume craft requires the skills of an adult or much older child to accomplish it. It takes a steady hand and great caution to attach all of those pom poms with hot glue! 

Supply List:

  • a large bag of pom poms
  • old tee shirt for a doll
  • scrap red fabric for a short skirt
  • felt scraps: black, grey and an extra bit to match the tee shirt
  • snaps: 3
  • hot glue gun and hot glue
  • elastic 
  • 1 button that looks like a coin
  • wax paper

Step-by-Step Instructions: 

  1. Use an old, unwanted doll tee shirt for the base of this costume top. Cut the back half of the tee shirt, from the center of the neck down, completely open. Use matching felt or similar color to attach additional support to the closure of the tee shirt.
  2. Sew on three snaps, evenly spaced to these new felt pieces so that the shirt may be snapped shut. This alteration will make it far easier to dress the doll in this part of the costume. See photo below.
  3. Before attaching the pom poms make sure to work on a sturdy surface and stuff the tee shirt with wax paper. This will prevent the inside of the tee from sticking together while layering pom poms with hot glue.
  4. Hot glue pom poms to the front and back surfaces of the tee to represent the gumball candies. Do not put many under the arms of the tee or the doll will be unable to keep her arms down by her side!
  5. Make a simple short red skirt to be the bottom half of the gumball machine. Cut to fit loosely around the doll's waist. Measure the length to come to just above the doll's knees after a hem is sewn.
  6. Turn over the top 1/2 inch to create a "pocket" for the elastic to be threaded through using a safety pin. Then sew the opening shut.
  7. To make the slot for the ''coin" and opening for the gumballs to drop through: cut a series of simple squares and circles from the grey and black felt. See photo just below, left.
  8. I found a button that looks somewhat like a coin and attached this inside the machines coin slot.
  9. Last, I attached the last pom pom to the suggested felt opening using a needle and thread.
 
Left, is the felt pieces used to mimic a coin slot and opening for the gumballs to drop down from
 the machine. Right, is the detail of how I cut open the doll tee shirt and added snaps.

Left, is a close-up shot of our doll's candy container shaped like a "BOO" ghost.
Right are all the pieces of the doll sized gumboil machine costume we used to dress the doll:
 a top, short skirt, red shoes and striped socks complete the look.

Gumball Costumes for Kids:
More Gumball Crafts:

Tuesday, April 28, 2020

Craft a Small Wooden Gumball Machine

This gumball machine craft is just the right size for a doll
but it would also work well as a SWAP!
      To make this sweet little candy craft, you will need to collect a few supplies: a spool (preferably wooden), a wooden ball to attach to the top, colorful acrylic paints, tacky craft glue, a black permanent ink marker and a little cardboard for the spout.
      First, glue the wooden ball to the top of the wooden spool using the tacky craft glue. Set this aside and let it dry overnight. Then glue on a tiny circular shape for the coin insert and a small spout for the candy return. Cut these from cardboard and attach them with the same tacky glue. Let all of these adhered parts dry completely before painting the surface.
       Paint the spool portion of the craft with red paint and the globe part with white paint. Let this paint dry for 30 to 40 minutes. Use the tip of a brush or the eraser end of a pencil to paint on all of the colorful candy dots! Paint the coin insert and small spout grey. Take the permanent ink pen and write 25 cents on the coin insert. I also added a decorative black line with the marker around the spool's lip.
       You can make a toy gumball machine like this one as small as you like; simply select a smaller spool and bead to work with!

Wednesday, April 29, 2020

Doll Summer Camp for Nature Lovers

Just a few crafts for doll campers from our listings below: sleeping bags, breakfast skillets,
a paper mache campfire and bedroll.

        What doll can resist the call of the woods, the desire to know the forest and its furred and feathered inhabitants, the fish, the insects, the plants? But to gather this knowledge, in safety, the dolls must first learn the ways of the woods, the life of the camper, how to cook and find their way by the stars, how to tie knots and what to do in case of accident, the language of signs and the secrets of the trail. There is no better way to do this than to explore and participate at our doll summer camp for nature lovers.  
No Sew scout vest made for our
smaller dolls using felt.
Things to Craft So That Your Dolls Can Set Up Camp: Artifacts depicting campers from long ago...
Things Smart Dolls Learn Before Hiking:
Scout/Campfire coloring pages and printables for doll play: 
More Doll Tent Crafts:
SWAPS short for "Special Whatchamacallits Affectionately Pinned Somewhere" that also make great doll sized crafts for your friends at camp! There have been many requests for these. I will also include a few that are specific to different Scouting groups.
  1. Soft Braided Pretzel SWAPS
  2. Mini Campfire Bundle  
  3. Assemble Italian Spumone Sodas
  4. Craft tiny canteens for a doll's camping trip, or SWAPS
  5. Mini Breakfast Skillets
  6. Craft a Pom-pom Caterpillar SWAPS
  7. Make Mini Golf Tee Flashlights
  8. Bake a Dinosaur Footprint Charm 
  9. Make faux rock candy for a SWAPS
  10. Make Miniature S'mores
  11. Assemble a Threaded Spool SWAPS
  12. Craft a Small Wooden Gumball Machine 
  13. Craft Cotton Candy for Dollplay or SWAPS
  14. Roll and Sew A Tiny Bedroll 
  15. Craft Small Award Ribbons
  16. Make a Magician's Top Hat SWAPS
  17. Miniature Flower Vases
  18. Craft a sleeping bag with a doll inside
  19. Chenille Stem Lollipops
  20. How to Make a Doll Sized Cardboard Loom
  21. DIY Movie Theater Popcorn for Dolls
  22. Sew a Stack of Felt Pancakes
  23. Twist and Tie Yarn Butterflies
Read And Learn About Natural History: Little lessons about nature are included here for kids to explore with their dolls at summer camp. You can also: take them on a family vacation, or read these aloud at a doll campsite set up in your own backyard, or even share them in a nature center at school.
  1. The Importance of Conservation
  2. Learn About Baby Birds
  3. Cottontail Rabbits
  4. Learn About Baby Snakes
  5. Insect Mimicry and Protective Coloration
  6. Bats, Ace Fliers
  7. Land Otters
  8. Beavers As Engineers 
  9. White-tailed Fawns
  10. Insect Guests In Our Gardens
  11. Dogs
  12. Red Fox Family
  13. Frog Eggs and Tadpoles
  14. Glimpses of Ant Life
  15. Rivers As Sculptors of The Land
  16. Hibernation
  17. The Story of Bread
  18. The Plants in A Woodland Community
  19. Nature's Crystals
  20. Horns and Antlers
  21. The American Porcupine
  22. Pollen and Nectar Carriers
  23. Musquash The Muskrat
  24. The Weasel And The Mink
  25. The Skunk and It's Habits
  26. Sir Stickleback, The Hedgehog
  27. Bears
  28. The Common Snapping Turtle
  29. Hibernation is Normal To Many Animals
  30. Some Ways of Self-Preservation Among Animals
Discover More Natural History Online:
History of Camp For Little Girls in The United States:

Free Summer Reading at Project Gutenberg: Recommended Reading: Books About Camp Fire Girls - Juvenile Fiction 
The following ten titles are by Hildegard G. Frey:
The following titles are by Margaret Love Sanderson:
The following titles are by Isabel Hornibrook:
The following titles are by Irene Elliott Benson:
The following titles are by Margaret Vandercook:
The following titles are by Jane L. Stewart:
The following titles are by Stella M. Francis:
The following titles are by Margaret Penrose:
The following titles are by I. T. Thurston:
The following titles are by Howard Roger Garis:

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Halloween Doll Crafts

Far left, fun felt trick-or-treat bags for dolls., Left center, Peanuts Pillows made from socks.,
 Right center, spider web paper cuts., Far right, candied apples for your American Girl dolls.

       Radiant and beautiful October, whose changing color heralds the approach of winter, gives us our first autumn holiday.
       Before the Christian era, in the days of the ancient Celts and their priests, the Druids, the eve of the first of November was the time for one of the three principal festivals of the year. The first of May was celebrated for the sowing; the solstice on the twenty-first of June for the ripening, and the eve of the first of November for the harvesting. At each of these festivals great fires were built on the hill-tops in honor of the sun, which the people worshiped. When Christianity took the place of the heathen religion, the Church, instead of forbidding the celebration of these days, gave them different meanings, and in this way the ancient harvest-festival of the Celts became All-Hallow-Eve, or the eve of All-Saints-Day, the first day of November having been dedicated to all of the saints.
       For a long while most of the old customs of these holidays were retained; then, although new ceremonies were gradually introduced, Hallow-Eve remained the night of the year for wild, mysterious, and superstitious traditions.
       It has been the custom for quite a number of years for Americans to give a Halloween parties. The home which opens wide its hospitable doors to the favored few on this night is a happy safe haven. There is usually plenty of candy and deserts, old-fashioned parlor games and guests often arrive in costume
       You can design a party such as this for your friends and dolls to attend. I will include all kinds of not-too-spooky crafts for little ones to: plan parties, decorate a doll house and dress their dolls up for trick-or-treating fun!
The Winking Owl
Crossword Puzzle
Name The Cats Puzzle
Make Simple Halloween Doll Crafts for All Your Dolls: You can help grow our listing by making requests for particular Halloween crafts in the comment box below:
  1. Craft Cute Bottle Cap Puddings for Halloween - upcycle old bottle caps into something fun for your doll's holiday meal this year.
  2. DIY Doll Sized Candy Apples - are such a sweet treat for children to use in their doll play anytime of year.
  3. Paint a Miniature Black Cat Planter for a Doll's Garden - If your doll loves to garden, make her a miniature version cat planter for her Fall garden displays.
  4. How to cut paper spider webs... - every child can learn to cut easy paper spider webs to decorate a dollhouse with this Halloween.
  5. Make a Halloween Sticker Wreath for Your Dollhouse  - The easiest Halloween doll craft around, this little wreath is perfect for dressing up your dollhouse walls this Autumn...
  6. Sew a Snuggly Afghan for Cool Fall Evenings  - this Halloween afghan craft features pirate kittens, spider webs, stripes and witchy hats sewn into patches, made from socks.
  7. Assemble Oscar, The Mechanical Paper Owl - vintage paper doll with moving parts, every child and some adults will enjoy crafting for Halloween fun!
  8. Stitch A Peanuts Pillow for Halloween - easy to cut and stitch Halloween socks into doll pillows.
  9. Printable Candy Bar Wrappers by kathy grimm - printable candy bars for filling doll candy bags white trick-or-treating!
  10. Craft a 'Boo' Web Wreath for The Dollhouse - transform an old doily into a vintage looking spider web wreath for your doll's Halloween decor this year.
  11. Paint a Pumpkin Shaped Candy Dish - upcycle old Jello molds into cute pumpkin serving dishes.
  12. Craft Halloween Cupcakes for Your Doll Bakery - Halloween inspired baked goods feature: spider webs, witches hats and spooky eyeballs.
  13. No-Sew Frankenstein's Monster Pillow - Glue a cute monster pillow for your doll's sofa or bed.
  14. Sculpt Miniature Lollipops for Dolloween! - twist and turn contrasting clay colors to craft this classic dolly treat for Halloween.
  15. Fun Felt Trick-Or-Treat Bags for Dolls - Use fun felt novelty decorations to dress up these simple, fabric candy treat bags.
  16. Craft a Foam Pumpkin Pie - A technique for constructing an Autumn favorite desert for your dollhouse.
  17. Scrap Fabric Pumpkin Pie - layer silks and creamy white lace to create a fabriclicious treat for your dolls during this Fall season!
  18. Sew Four Reversible Pumpkin Placemats - one side of the placemats feature pumpkins and the other Thanksgiving graphics, perfect for a festive dolly dinner party.
  19. A Cat and Witch Magic Changeling Paper Doll - one of many reversible images for this unique and  old-fashioned paper dolls.
  20. Dolls may now send vintage Halloween greetings! - printable postcards for the Dolly Mail.
  21. A Paper Dolly Dingle Celebrates Halloween! - color paper dolls of Billie Bumps and Dolly Dingle with cute props too!
  22. Print a Vintage Halloween Party Game Board - game board from the 1950s to print out for dolls.
  23. Creepy, Classic Halloween Posters - old timey photos of historic graveyards and qotes.
  24. Posters from Nostalgic Halloween Films - The Invisible Man, Frankenstein and Creature from the Black Lagoon posters, colorized and resized for dollhouses.
  25. No-Sew Owlloween Hoot Sock Pillow - made from Halloween novelty socks and perfect for the doll sofa or bed during the fall...
  26. Reversible Halloween Novelty Apron - a very simple sewing project for beginners...
  27. The Pumpkin House - small and quaint, just the right size for a doll or two or three...
  28. Make easy jack-o-lanterns for a dollhouse display - the simplest pumpkin craft so far!
  29. Our Dollhouse Family Room Decorated for Halloween - Our doll's are ready for a festive Halloween party...
  30. How to Make a Boneyard Brownie Display - painted and iced to look like a Haunted Gingerbread Display + pumpkin brownie craft...
  31. Craft Halloween Trick-Or-Treaters - Dummy boards for your dollhouse fireplace...
  32. Make a Miniature Printable Halloween Coloring Book - for 18" doll play 
  33. Craft a 3 Layered Monster Halloween Cake! - This desert comes with wiggly eyeballs and drips of icing...
  34. Cut and Color a Scarecrow Finger Puppet - This example has a pattern and pumpkin head!
  35. Gathered Ribbon Wreath for Halloween - A witchy Jack-o-lantern attached to this spider web ribbon motif...
  36. Decorate the Dollhouse With Pumpkins, Mums and Toadstools - Hot glue easy Autumn displays to decorate the dollhouse...
  37. Sew a few frightful pillows for the dollhouse - Featured here are Jack-o-lanterns, a ghost, dancing skeletons and a 3D spider with a web...
  38. How to paint a pretend pumpkin hamburger - with a patty, cheddar cheese, lettuce and sesame seeds...
  39. Make a pumpkin with a web shaped vine - attach a pretend spider to this one...
  40. How to stack and paint a group of pumpkins to look like a black cat
Halloween History and Stories:
  • A Halloween Party From 1924 - Travel back in time to read about how children celebrated Halloween in the 1920s...
  • How Halloween Came To Be Celebrated in Christendom - Confined to the immigrant communities during the mid-19th century, it was gradually assimilated into mainstream society and by the first decade of the 20th century it was being celebrated coast to coast by people of all social, racial and religious backgrounds.
  • What Is All Saint's Day About? by Pastor Jeremy from Commons Church, Canada
  • Hallowe'en In Olden Time - In old English times it was a night of mystery, full of charms and revelry and queer pastimes.
  • The Story of "Stingy Jack" - Stingy Jack, perhaps also known as Jack the Smith, Drunk Jack, and Jack of the Lantern, is a mythical character apparently associated with All Hallows Eve. It is common lore that the "jack-o'-lantern" is derived from the character.
  • The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving - "The dominant spirit, however, that haunts this enchanted region, and seems to be commander-in-chief of all the powers of the air, is the apparition of a figure on horseback, without a head."
  • Bats, Ace Fliers - Bats are almost always thought of in connection with witches, goblins, evil spirits and bad luck...
  • Gourds and Pumpkins and Their Uses - October brings Halloween, and since the pumpkin is a typical fruit of that time of the year it is used in all kinds of Halloween decorations.
  • Halloween Frolics From The Past - Vintage decorations for many rooms in the house, 1919...
Ghost Stories from The Brother's Grimm:
Autumn/Halloween/All Saints Day Poetry:

  1. October Thoughts - "Some people are very poetic --They speak of the October sky..."
  2. A Ghost! by Elizabeth Betts - "Good-night, me boy, now go to sleep..."
  3. An Old Rat's Tale - "He was a rat and she was a rat..."
  4. Fall-Time Fun! - "October days have magic ways of making us remember..."
  5. October - "October's days are pleasant, The fields are clad in brown..."
  6. The Silent Pool by Enid Blyton - "Away in the wood where it's dark..."
  7. The Voice of  Autumn by William Cullen Bryant - "There comes, from yonder height, a soft repining sound..."
  8. October's Bright Blue Weather by Mrs. Helen Hunt Jackson - "Suns and skies and clouds of June..."
  9. All Saints Day by James Russell Lowell - "One feast, of holy days the crest..." 
  10. The Bad Kittens by Elizabeth J. Coatsworth - "You may call, you may call..."
  11. The Mask Poem - "Behind this frowning mask I see..."
  12. An Owl Problem by Josephine E. Toal - "I thought I lived among the owls..."
Doll Sized Halloween Costumes & Fashions:
  1. The Mermaid Costume - with a recycled tail from the Dollar Store...
  2. DIY Conical Hats for Fashionable Princesses (free pattern)
  3. The Breakfast Costume - Easy paper mache craft!
  4. The Firefighter Uniform Costume  - Borrowed from another stuffed toy...
  5. Make Rainbow Hair Extensions for Fashion Dolls
  6. The Pajama Unicorn Costume  - sewn using upcycled headband
  7. Quick and Easy Skeleton Costume for a Doll
  8. The Gumball Machine Doll Costume - made using pom poms
  9. Betty Bonnet's Halloween Party - colorful paper dolls by Sheila Young
  10. The Lady Bug Costume - made from a Dollar Store purchase
  11. Your doll can dress up as a doctor for Halloween
  12. The Bumble Bee Costume - made from a Dollar Store purchase too
  13. Dress your doll in A Nun's Habit for Halloween
  14. The Witchy "Web" Costume for a Storybook Witch
  15. Pretend to Be A Gold-Medal Winning Athlete for Halloween and craft award winning ribbons too!
  16. The "Boo Who?" Ghost Costume - very vintage with adorable lantern too!
  17. The Jack-O-Lantern Costume - upcycle an infant's cap
  18. The ''Madeline'' Costume - it fits many other dolls...
Matching Halloween Costumes for Little Girls & Their Dolls

Halloween Video from American Girl Doll Fans:
Costumes:
Parties and Haunted Happenings/Stories:
Movie Posters from: Far Left, "The Corpse Bride." Center Left, "Hook."
Center Right, "The Ghost and Mr. Chicken." Far Right, "The Dark Crystal."
Kid Friendly Halloween Films:
  • The Ghost and Mr. Chicken: T.V. Trailer, Review, and Haunted Organ MusicThe Ghost and Mr. Chicken is a 1966 American comedy-drama film starring Don Knotts as Luther Heggs, a newspaper typesetter who spends a night in a haunted house, which is located in the fictitious community of Rachel, Kansas. The working title was Running Scared. The title is presumably a humorous variation of the film The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947). Read more...
  • It's The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown:  Trailer, a 1966 American prime time animated television special based on the comic strip Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz. Read more...
  • The Nightmare Before Christmas: Trailer, The Making Of.  The Nightmare Before Christmas (also known as Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas) is a 1993 American stop-motion animated musical dark fantasy Halloween-Christmas film directed by Henry Selick, and produced and conceived by Tim Burton. Read more...
  • The Corpse Bride: Trailer, Johnny Depp interview. Corpse Bride (also known as Tim Burton's Corpse Bride) is a 2005 British-American stop-motion animated musical dark fantasy film directed by Mike Johnson and Tim Burton with a screenplay by John AugustCaroline Thompson and Pamela Pettler based on original characters created by Burton and Carlos Grangel. Read more...
  • Scared Stiff: TrailerScared Stiff is a 1953 American horror paranormal semi-musical comedy film directed by George Marshall and starring Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. One of the 17 films made by the Martin and Lewis team, it was released on April 27, 1953 by Paramount Pictures. Read more...
  • The Dark Crystal: Trailer, Lisa Henson Talks About, Puppets Inside Henson's Creature Shop1982 puppet animated dark fantasy adventure film directed by Jim Henson and Frank Oz. Read more...
  • Ghostbusters: Trailer, The making of 1999 film,  Behind the Scenes of 2016 film1984 American fantasy comedy film directed by Ivan Reitman and written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. It stars Bill Murray, Aykroyd, and Ramis as, respectively, Peter VenkmanRaymond Stantz, and Egon Spengler, a trio of eccentric parapsychologists who start a ghost-catching business in New York City. Read more...
  • Harry Potter: Trailer, Interviews with character actors. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone  is a 2001 fantasy film directed by Chris Columbus and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. It is based on J. K. Rowling's 1997 novel of the same nameRead more...
  • James and the Giant Peach: TrailerJames and the Giant Peach is a 1996 British-American musical fantasy film directed by Henry Selick, based on the 1961 novel of the same name by Roald Dahl. Read more...
  • Monsters Inc.: Trailer, Learn about making monsters at Pixar2001 American computer-animated comedy film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures. Read more...
  • Hook: Trailer, Documentary1991 American fantasy adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg and written by James V. Hart and Malia Scotch MarmoPeter Banning is a successful corporate lawyer in San Francisco, but his workaholic lifestyle strains his relationship with his wife Moira and children Jack and Maggie. The family prepares to fly to London to visit Moira's grandmother Wendy Darling. Peter, in effort to complete his work before leaving, inadvertently misses Jack's baseball game. Read more...
  • Coraline: Trailer, It's Alive About Coraline2009 American stop-motion animated dark fantasy film directed and written for the screen by Henry Selick based on 2002 novel of the same name by Neil Gaiman. Read more...
  • The Haunted Mansion: Trailer, Behind the Scenes Production, Interview2003 American supernatural horror comedy film based on the Disney theme park attraction of the same name. Read more...
  • The Chronicles of Narnia: Trailer, The Making Of2005 British-American high fantasy film co-written and directed by Andrew Adamson, based on The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, the first published and second chronological novel in C. S. Lewis's children's epic fantasy series, The Chronicles of Narnia. It was co-produced by Walden Media and Walt Disney Pictures and distributed by Buena Vista Pictures. Read more...
  • The Never Ending Story: Trailer1984 English-language German fantasy film directed and co-written by Wolfgang Petersen (in his first English-language film), and based on the novel The Neverending Story by Michael Ende. Read more...
 
Silhouette "Parade of Lanterns"