Saige's Collection!

Happy New Year everyone!
And you know what that means -- new year, new Girl of the Year, as well! So here's my opinion on Saige's new line!
Heads up: American Girl raised their prices from $105 to $110 for dolls and from $24 to $28 for doll accessories.

So first we have Saige herself. I think she's super cute and I love her meet outfit (the ring is a nice touch). But even though I think her eyes are gorgeous, I feel like AG is trying to make an eye color for every shade of blue.

Similarities: JLY #23, Nicki, Felicity

Grade: A-

Now we have Saige's outfits!

Heads Up: None of her outfits are under USD $30, except for her pajamas.

1. Saige's Sparkle Dress ($30)  - This is a really pretty dress, and I hope to get it this year. I love the sparkly gold pattern and how the dress poofs out a lot. However, I'm not really fond of the boots.

Would I buy it? Yes.

Grade: B+

2. Saige's Parade Outfit ($34) - The way this outfit is styled on American Girl just doesn't look right for me. I think that if the sleeves of the shirt and the jeans were rolled up a bit, and the boots were changed to tennis shoes, this outfit would be perfect. (Thumbs up AG for not making flare jeans!)

Would I buy it? Maybe.

Similarites: Nicki's Tie Top (GOTY 2007)

Grade: B

3. Saige's Pajamas ($24) - This is a simple, little three-piece outfit (if you don't include the hairties you'll lose within five minutes of opening), yet it costs $24. I mean, the shorts are cute, yes, but if you're buying such a small outfit, you should like the whole thing.

Would I buy it? Probably not.

Similarities: Kanani's Pajamas (Slippers)

Grade: B-

4. Saige's Sweater Outfit ($34) - This outfit is probably one of the only things I'd wear from American Girl. I absolutely love the sweater and the leggings, and I think this outfit would be so much fun to mix and match!

Would I buy it? Yes, if I had the money.

Feeling Great Outfit (MAG, just the shirt)

Grade: A-

That concludes my review! The rest of my opinions on Saige's collection will be posted  later.

Bye! Happy New Year!

Hi everyone! It's Skye, and I have some good news.
I just wrapped up filming my Christmas stopmotion movie-ting. I spent four hours filming it, and am a bit disappointed that all the work put into it totaled up to only fourteen seconds.

UPCOMING VIDEOS WINTER 2012

Hey everyone! It's Skye, and here's a little list of my upcoming videos coming this winter. I'm not 100% sure I'm gonna go through with this, it's just a plan for now, but I decided to spend some extra time in second period working on this, and it seems like a pretty good diagram/schedule to go by. They're not in order, but this is still a rough draft.
I'm attempting to do most of these during this weekend and maybe cram the Christmas part of it into my Christmas vacation, but my break starts on December 21, which gives me barely enough time to finish. D: However, the rest seems fairly possible, so let's hope I can make it by then.

"The Nutcracker" - AG Style (Christmas Video #1)
I love "The Nutcracker" and I would love to do a retelling of it. I have a doll-sized nutcracker that I think is adorable and would love to use it as a prop! I also think I could incorporate cute, little dance sequence with Sugarplum fairies and mice and perhaps the Nutcracker and Maria. The problem is I may not have enough dolls to do this. D':

Costumes needed:
Maria's Outfit (X)
Mouse Outfit - ( )
Nutcracker Outfit - ( )
Sugarplum Fairy outfit - (X)

Christ-annukah! - (Original Storyline) American Girl Stopmotion (Christmas Video #2)
This is a little video I really want to make about a girl whose home alone for Christmas and her friend offers her to celebrate Hannukah with her family.

The Story of Hannuakh - American Girl Stopmotion (Christmas Video #3)
I think this would make a cute video. It doesn't have to be long or anything, and it would include some pretty awesome doll costumes.

Costumes Needed:
Rag Outfit ( )
Grecian Warrior Outfit - ( )

Eat That Up, It's Good for You - American Girl Music Video
I have horrible experiences with AGMVs but I love this song, so I must!

Things Directioners Say - American Girl Stopmotion
A fun, little video just because.

One Direction Fangirling - American Girl Stopmotion
Another fun treat for Directioners.

DIY: Doll Photography Tips!

Hi everyone! It's Olivia, and I'm going to give you a few tips, tricks, and pointers on taking pictures of your American Girl Dolls!

First, you want to make sure you're getting a source of natural light. You don't have to go outside, even an open window or door should work. Flash or indoor lighting isn't usually ever a good substitute for picture-taking.

Which leads us to tip three -- tery to avoid using flash. Flash will give you an unwanted overexposed look to your pictures, and as far as I'm concerned, this look is not what you're looking for.

Use a tripod while shooting! Tripods secure steadiness while shooting, and mine was only $15 on sale at WalMart. If you don't have a tripod, try using a stack of books or DVDs instead.

Try different angles. Face your model/object/whatever-you're-taking-a-picture-of/thing-y from different sides -- from the back, from the left, right, from below, and even a bird's eye view.

And lastly, make sure you know how to change the settings of your camera, such as the exposure and aperture. Program is a great setting to start on, but just in case you're looking for something else, it wouldn't hurt to know how to adjust settings manually to get the look you want.

Well that's all for now! Bye!

{xoxo livvster<3}

THE SCOOP ON GIRL OF THE YEAR 2013 -- FIRST ON BLOGGER

Hi everyone! So it's Skye again, and I thought I'd take the time to make a gigantic post about Girl of the Year 2013, and what we know so far. I believe I'm the first from Blogger to include all of this is one huge post, but perhaps, I'm wrong. I did get a lot from other sources, but some has been from my recent online ponderings. Well, enjoy anyway.

NAME - GOTY 2013's name will be Saige. Saige is a registered trademark by American Girl. However, on movie websites, many people refer to her as "Alberta".

APPEARANCE -

Here is a picture of Saige. She comes in a violet dress with a Bohemian-style belt and brown boots. Her hair comes in a ruffle-y braid, and she has the classic mold. Saige has feathered eyebrows (I think), blue eyes, and freckles.
The originality isn't sparkling or anything, and she reminds me of a schoolgirl-ified Nicki. I'm not sure whether I like her yet or not, but I do think her collection might be a nice addition to my doll wardrobe.

This is an early picture of Saige, from October.

source: doll diaries

From this picture, I can tell she has sort of an auburn/burnt-sienna hair that looks as if it were in a braid, a blue mid-sleeved shirt, a blue plaid skirt, a pair of brown cowboy boots (perhaps combat boots?), and a white/grey horse.

MOVIE - So it seems that Alberta will be having her very own movie. Here is the list of descriptions of the people will/have cast(ed):

 - A girl with a fair complexion (who may be named Alberta)
 - A girl from Latin America (who may be named Gayle)
 - A girl of all/any ethnicities (who may be named Dina)
 - A girl with blonde hair (who may be named Tasha)
source: agoverseasfan

It also seems Jane Seymour, the popular actress, has been casted and will be in Alberta's movie. Apparently, filming will start/has started in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, and the director has been identified as Vince Marcello (McKenna Shoots for the Stars).
source: director's guild of canada

Here is a video of ten-year old Ruby Danielle auditioning for the role of Alberta. It gives away some of the lines and the situation.
The situation seems to be that Alberta needs money for something, but only has a short amount of time. (There is a more detailed description of the plot below.)

BOOKS/PLOT - Alberta will have two books, both by Jessie Haas and illustrated by Sarah Davis. Here are the plot summaries:

Meet Saige – American Girl of the Year 2013 – Book 1 by Jessie Haas and illustrator Sarah Davis - Upset that her New Mexico school can only afford music and art teachers in alternate years, fourth-grader Saige works with her grandmother, Mimi, to plan a fundraiser but when Mimi has an accident, Saige relies on new friend Gabi to help.
Saige Paints the Sky- American Girl of the Year 2013 – Book 2 by Jessie Haas and illustrator Sarah Davis - Painting in her grandmother’s studio and riding her favorite horse, Georgia, helps fourth-grader Saige cope with missing Mimi and sparks an idea for funding the school art program, but more creativity will be needed to keep Georgia from being sold.
source: library of congress

That's all for now!
Later, Skye.

Update! Again!

Hi everyone! It's Skye (of course), and I have an update for you guys. I probably won't be posting as much (which I've said so many times already, but this time I actually have a reason), which pretty much means I won't be able to fulfill my goal of posting weekly this schoolyear. I joined the journalism club at my school, and I'm part of writing the school newspaper.
But I will post as much as I can! Thank you guys, for understnading. Bye! (:

DIY: How to "Paint" Your Doll's Nails Without Nail Polish

Hey guys!
Here's a quickie tutorial on how to give your dolls a fabulous manicure without using nail polish or having to apply anything directly onto your doll's nails.

Here's how it'll turn out. I 'painted' Livvie's nails green and Ellie's grey.

You'll need mailing label stickers, a pair of scissors, and a marker.

The color of the marker you choose will be the color of your doll's nails.

First, you want to color over your sticky labels with your marker.

With your scissors, cut out a doll nail shape. It might be a bit hard at first, but after a few more tries and trims, you'll be a pro.

And here's how it turned out!

- Skye