Homemade Accessories and Homemade Furniture Ideas for American Girl and Bitty Baby Dolls

I purchased my daughter an American Girl Bitty Baby doll. After spending money on the doll, I wanted to get her a variety of fun accessories, but didn't want to spend a lot of money. I've come up with some creative ideas I wanted to share.

Do you have a real baby in your home, or know someone who has a baby? You can reuse a lot of small baby items for pretend play with your American girl dolls. I took empty plastic baby food containers and painted the insides various colors. It gives the effect of having fake baby food and allows for interaction as the child can unsnap the lid and feed the baby. Paired with an old baby spoon and a newborn bib, it makes a fun pretend item for the Bitty Baby. I also saved empty travel sized baby shampoo, powder and wipe containers.

Are you a crafty person? If you can knit or sew, you can make a ton of clothes for both American Girl Dolls and Bitty Baby dolls. The internet is full of free patterns for these dolls! Jenn C, another Associated content writer has compiled an excellent list of patterns here. Another good source for patterns is at Knitting Pattern central, which you can find here. Even without patterns, you can use your imagination to create things for the dolls. Sew two small scraps of fabric together to make a doll pillow. You could continue with this theme to make a blanket that matches the pillow!

Do you have cardboard in your home, or can you find some empty boxes? The internet is filled with ideas of how to make your own American Girl sized doll furniture! One of the best explanations is here at Ehow. I opted for a very simple approach. I took a sturdy cardboard box. I cut out a headboard and footboard out of cardboard and super glued it together. I even added some decorative touches, but cutting out hearts in the headboard. I then sponge painted the cardboard to make it look like brown wood. I also took a large box, cut a hole in the side for an opening and placed a wooden dowel through it. I took doll hangers and used that box to make a closet for the doll clothes. I cut similar heart shaped holes as the bed and painted in a similar fashion. It looks really cute. This might be a great project to do with your child and get them involved in the decorating aspect.

If you use your imagination, there are tons of ways to come up with inexpensive doll accessories for your American girl doll.