Here's how we made Bella's doll… First, I picked up a blank plush doll from Hobby Lobby. I painted it's scalp black and added yarn hair to match her cute bob. Then I painted a cute "swimsuit" and glitter shoes on the doll (all with fabric paint). Kinsey helped craft these adorable outfits. They are made with restyled fabrics and simply a tiny version of the outfit i bought for Bella. The bow and polka dots are painted on the fabric with Martha Stewart Multi-Surface Acrylic Paint
(our new favorite paint). She loves The Wizard of Oz, so I snagged some red glitter shoes for her too. It was so much fun. We whipped this doll up in a couple days in our spare time at the shop! 
Hooray! Bella loved her new doll and her new outfit too! I love handmade toys and it was so much fun to make this doll for her! If you make a doll for your kiddo please share a link with me. XO. elsie
109 Comments
Your niece is too cute! Her new friend makes her even cuter 🙂
SOOO cute! Love this!!! Great job!
I love this doll!! I need to make one for my daughter! Lovely.
Callmesnakke
so cute and a lovely idea! love their outfit too!
So cute! I love their matching outfits!
-Miranda
http://paperthoughtsfabricdreams.blogspot.com
I would have loved this as a kid. I used to make stuffed bears when I was little with little button eyes, but they never looked this cute. I love their matching outfits.
-Ashley
http://pencilleddaydream.wordpress.com
Aw, this is one of the cutest presents I’ve ever seen! And their matching Dorothy slippers are very sweet, what a lovely Aunty you are. I love the old dress patterns that come with matching patterns for dollies too. 🙂
So adorable. She’s darling. xo, rv
http://aneclecticheap.blogspot.com/
That is SO adorable! I remember that my mother used to make my doll (which she would also make) and I matching clothes too. I absolutely loved it.
Too cute!
A jewelry blog.
http://www.houseofavandan.blogspot.com
very sweet!!
georgia
http://swonderfulgd.blogspot.com/
i love this! i never thought to use fabric paint… such a great idea. i actually make and sell dolls in my etsy shop! http://www.etsy.com/shop/thecinnamonbears 🙂
they’re so cute! love the matchiness http://www.WearAboutsBlog.com
CHICTOPIA
She is just the cuuuutest, she seems to totally love the doll! So sweet!
She’s lucky to have such a creative aunt 😉
xo
http://kittysnooks.blogspot.com/
What a sweet idea! Martha Stewart’s multi-surface paints are fantastic– I’ve used them on everything from glass to shoes– & now I have a new project to try!
http://aclosetintellectual.blogspot.com/
You are just so creative! I really love this post.
km-iamyou.blogspot.com
x.
How sweet! What a lucky kid. And you ladies never fail to impress me with your endless ideas and craftiness. Always so inspiring.
xo, Corinne
brilliantnature.blogspot.com
Oh! Ideas like this make me so wish I had a girl!!! Maybe I could do a special teddy bear version of this for my son’s third birthday next month… Hmmmm….
Love this idea. So cute!
♥ sécia
http://www.petiteinsanities.blogspot.com
This is downright adorable!
that is the cutest thing EVER!!! i’m so making one for each of my nieces.
djsghakljdhja SO CUTE!
♥
Talia Christine
http://taliachristine.blogspot.com
This is so cute/sweet!!!!!! I want to make one for my little sister! Great post 😀
Matching outfits are so cute! I love this project. Would be a cute gift!
http://www.weatheredrosevintage.com/
Too cute!
ADORABLE! Your niece looks looks thrilled to pieces with her present! Every time my girls see those red sparkly shoes in the store they go nuts.
Such an amazing project! Home made gifts are amways the best, they are so personnal ,and clearly this one is perfect. Love it.
awww she’s just so adorable!! how cute =)
beautiful idea, love it! <3
Adorable! I have a pic of myself, age 4, with the doll my grandma made to look like me! Special.
That is so cool! I love it!
that was the sweetest thing ever 🙂
xxx
-S
http://www.messylittlemonsters.blogspot.com
Oh my gosh this is adorable! I love it!
xoxo, Jjanga
http://www.sayhelloandsmile.blogspot.com
This is so adorable! Such a lucky girl! 🙂
Step into Estherina’s World
This is adorable! The best part (other than the lovely outfit on both Bella and her doll) was seeing her (Bella) smile at the end. I have to admit, I had a smile on my face too 🙂
how stinking cute is that!! what a special (and oh-so-creative) gift.
aw this is way too cute, i love the happy face in Bella, and her pretty red shoes, the doll is adorable 🙂
SOOOOOO adorable!! Thanks for sharing!
Love,
Stephanie May*
http://www.maydae.com
what a sweet idea!
IM still deciding which one is cuter if its the doll or Bella herself!
niece photos are one of my favorite types of posts! says the girl who posts her nieces & nephew all over her blog. 😉 very cute darling bella, & twin doll idea.
So darn cute! She looks so happy 🙂
http://ahopelessnotebook.blogspot.com/
Very cute! 🙂
Well, this is the cutest thing I’ve seen in a long time! So precious 😀
http://thejoyfulfox.blogspot.com
This is so darn cute. She looks so happy. I know I would have been thrilled to receive something so beautiful and thoughtful.
http://houseofwren.blogspot.com/
Wren
i want to make this for my almost niece! love it – so cute!
Hiya Elsie, I am a bit of a newbie to your blog 🙂 I have just posted about a man doll that I made for my small person, here is a link – http://naughtyshorts.blogspot.com/2012/01/my-new-man.html – I am planning a self portrait doll next… Lots of fun. love the twins idea x
Oh my gosh I would have LOVED this as a little girl!! I just don’t understand how you find the time to do all of the things that you do!
What a lovely, special and thoughtful gift. What a lucky niece you have.
http://shannonhearts.blogspot.com
Aww, I love her look-alike so much! I loved the Bella cookies too!
x
http://www.lostinthehaze.com
that is too precious!
http://babybakerlove.blogspot.com/
so sweet! love that you made the doll a matching outfit. 🙂
The photos of Bella and her doll are too, too lovely.
My mum did a similar thing for me as a kid – my doll didn’t look like me (though just how I wanted her to!), but my mum made us matching party dresses and they made me pretty much the happiest girl in the world.
What a fantastic aunt you are! 🙂
this is so cute! i love the matching outfits. i don’t have a kid but i do make dolls! 🙂
lily ♥
http://lilysolblog.blogspot.com/
The cuteness is overpowering! My niece is only three months old at the moment, but I’m bookmarking this for the years ahead 🙂
motu viget
Oh my goodness that is so cute! Awesome. I would love it as an adult!
PS Love Bella’s shoes!
I just love how the bow looks on both tops. I love making handmade toys for my little girl.
So sweet
Emmax
almost died of cuteness. so precious!
Great job, but I find it quite creepy!
http://missbobino.blogspot.com
Too cute! I love the shoes.
🙂 This is sooo cute!!
Too cute! I bought my niece that very same sweater :).
Good day and welcome to check: http://www.joyfax.com
Good day and welcome to check: http://www.joyfax.com
very cute what a sweet thing to make for her xo
Cute *-*
Sew cute! Cant wait to try it for my little neice : )
-Lyndsay
http://craftanista.blogspot.com/
adorable, little sweetie with his little doll!
(New blog needing some love and support: http://inwhirlofinspiration.blogspot.com)
Aaah… so cute! Cuurently in love with red color, this one is lovely! =)
So cute!
X WS
Lovely!
http://www.mykitschworld.blogspot.com
This is so cute! Thank you for making me smile <3
XoXo
Plami
http://www.fashionthrill.com/
This is SO creative!! Absolutely love it. Your niece is adorable.
Oh my god this is so cute. The other day my dog saw a kid and got scared and I realized we don’t have any children in our lives! My dog doesn’t even know what a kid is! So sad!
Woaaaaah, that is one super cute cool dolly. Isn’t that every girls dream, to have a doll exactly the same as them? I know it was mine!
nattie x
this is the cutest thing ever!
http://madnessanmusings.blogspot.com/2012/01/and-not-to-pull-your-halo-down-around.html
She is so cute! 🙂 They look good together. 🙂 cool project!
xoxo
Ida
Come over my blog for a My Memories Suite Scrapbook software giveaway. 🙂
http://asplashofida.blogspot.com/2012/01/amazing-giveaway-my-memories-suite.html
What an adorable doll and outfits!! Great post. ; )
they are both lovely!
Beautiful gift, beautiful girl. The expression on her face is priceless. I so so so wanna come and play in the shop with you girls if this is what you whip up in your spare time!
I absolutely LOVE handmade dolls! I crocheted my daughter a doll before she was born – Now she can *play* with her. Here they are: http://sensitivesnapdragon.blogspot.com/2012/01/handmade-dolls.html
SO adorable! I just made a doll recently too: http://niftykidstuff.typepad.com/nifty/2012/01/taking-shape.html
I love this!!! cute sweater!
hi elsie, this is such a sweet + personal gift, not to mention adorable!!
i make monster dolls (that my kids help me design) out of recycled sweaters. hoping to get an etsy shop out soon 🙂
http://openhouseforbutterflies.blogspot.com/2011/12/just-another-day-at-office.html#comment-form
Super cute! Love it!
http://lovinglifeasmommy.blogspot.com/
Cutest ever. Great job, auntie!
This is probably one of the cutest ideas I’ve seen in a long time!
This is one of the cutest things I have ever seen! Nice work!
Cheers,
Savannah Marie
http://www.everybodysbuyingvintage.blogspot.com
these pictures are super cute!
loving the matching outfits
That is absolutely the cutest thing EVER. I don’t know if I could make the outfit (my sewing skills are pretty lackluster) but wow, adorable idea for my niece.
So sweet! Wondering how the paint holds up on fabric after multiple washings? Would appreciate anyone’s feedback. Thanks!
That doll is the absolute sweetest!
Thats adorable! And such a thoughtful gift too 🙂
xx
annieshomemadeheaven.blogspot.com
Aww, such a lovely thing for you to do! I don’t make dolls but I follow a lady on Facebook who does, and I thought I would share her creations!
https://www.facebook.com/supercutetilly
They are magical (:
What fun! I would love to make these for my little boys- there are so few great boy dolls out there! Thanks for the inspiration!
This is just toooooooooooo darn sweet! I can’t believe how grown up your niece is! She is adorable and her dolly too!!!
Lori
adorable is putting it mildly!!
So sweet and simple too! I wish I’d thought of buying a premade doll form. You can see the doll I stitched in the last picture of this post:
http://smitholand.blogspot.com/2011/05/as-promised.html
This project literally took my breath away in cuteness and whimsy. How do you do it?!
luv that dolls. so cute!!!
What a sweet idea! I just made a doll for Christmas, but I wish I could have done matching clothes, because seriously, how cute is that. Here is my doll. http://pinksuedeshoe.com/2012/01/03/an-angel-doll/
So cute.
whats in my bag? find out below
notjustanotherfnblog.blospot.com
That last photo of her and her doll is absolutely precious!!
my mom used to do this for me because she made all my clothes. it was the best!
wow, the bows look like they were knitted in instead of painted. that sounds like so much fun!!
http://www.guccibagsjapan.com/ 国土交通省運輸安全委員会は同日、船舶事故調査官を派遣。苫小牧海保は船長から事情を聴くなど事故の原因を調べる一方、巡視船など５隻とヘリを出して行方不明者を捜索している。
SO cute! I made a doll for my daughter last year for Hinamatsuri which is the day to celebrate girls in Japan. Traditionally, girls have a very serious and formal set of dolls to display in the home, but I made my little Miss O a doll with a kimono….and a funny face!
http://elseseven.blogspot.jp/2011/03/hinamatsuri.html
Thank you Thank you Thank you for this post! I made one for my niece too! Here’s my post:
http://alittlewhitemouse.blogspot.com/2012/04/what-doll.html
So cute! How did you make the doll’s hair?