My Early Start with Toy Fair 2012 – American Girl Crafts at American Girl Café

Crafty Grandmothers – This Is Especially For You!

The International Toy Fair in New York begins on Sunday but the pre-show events are well under way.  I have been choosing my pre-show invitations carefully so that I’ll get to see the things I want to write about and that I think grandparents in particular will be interested in.  On Tuesday, I made my first trip into New York to the American Girl Crafts event held at the American Girl Cafe at their flagship store on Fifth Avenue.  What a delightful morning I had.

Many of you grandparents remember the original American Girl dolls.  They were historical characters first introduced in 1986.  They were high quality dolls featuring period clothing, books and accessories – all with a theme related to the specific doll.  I remember that my daughter’s friend, Maggie, had Molly who looked just like her. They even had the same eyeglasses and they always looked so cute together.  The line is now much bigger, featuring modern characters and a “Doll of the Year” only available for one year.

In 2009, through a partnership with EK Success Brands, a leading craft company, the American Girl Crafts line was launched.  Since then an extensive line of crafts that compliment American Girl products have been introduced. 

The items in these pictures are favorites available now including the Pom Pom Scarves Kit, Bears and Owls Sew and Stuff Kits, and Funky Felt Box Kit.  The first two has great reviews at Amazon. You can be the first to review the Funky Felt Box Kit. It is definitely for girls ages 8 -13 and not younger ones. The kits are very complete with everything you need and have good instructions so the girls will be able to complete the craft and be proud of their own creation.  These are wonderful gifts for a “crafty” grandmother to give to a child and introduce them to crafting.  It is something you can do together and help if needed.  Many girls this age enjoy crafts and this can be an enjoyable way to have a cross generation experience together.

There are some things suitable for younger children too.  I especially like the stickers as I find they are very popular with younger children.  If a young girl loves her American Girl she will love the party line to play with friends and their dolls.  This cupcake stand will be a hit at any party for girls and their dolls – even younger girls.  Some of the other items in this picture will be available later this year and I'll cover them in a post then.

This craft line is very reasonably priced, and available at Michael’s, ToysRUs and online.  If you have a granddaughter who has and loves an American Girl doll, you may want to introduce her to American Girl crafts.  There is a wide range of products available and they are fun, encourage creativity and an opportunity to develop some new  - and old fashioned, but you don’t have to talk about that part – skills.

I’ll be writing more about this line as some other products will be introduced later this year. 

Here are links to some of the items at Amazon.com: