The shoes were made of felt and ribbon. Unfortunately, they don't show up in the photos and are a bit difficult to explain. I made soft shoes. If you look on sites about step dancing, you can check out the types of shoes they wear. It's possible you will find some doll shoes that look close enough.
Maureen's Book
Download and print the book's cover
Print the book--Plain HTML version (to read online or print, should work for all systems)
Downloadable book-format file ONLY download this version if you can unzip files, print on both sides of a sheet of paper, and have the program Microsoft Publisher. This file is a printable book. While printing, print on both sides of each sheet of paper used. This program will collate the paper automatically so that the pages can be folded in half and stapled in a small (normal-sized) book format. This version includes the cover, no need to download separately.
What is Maureen's Christmas like? Does she ever get to meet Sarah in person? Do her twin sisters finally drive her crazy? It's up to you. Moms and daughters, please feel free to write more stories and books about these characters for your personal use. (Please remember that stories cannot be published. The characters may only be written about for personal use.)
Kudos!
Thanks to the following websites/groups, which offered help with my Maureen project:
Society of American Girl Collectors: http://www.evernotice.com/soagc/. This is where the idea began, with board member Sandra recommending a project of making our own dolls with personalities.
Irish slang -- in an effort to give the story an Irish feel, I used Irish slang dictionaries on the Internet. Parents, please be aware that some of the slang is R-rated. Not in my story -- but on these sites! The story's language should, for the most part, be self-explanatory by paying attention to the context and surrounding vocabulary, so the Irish dictionaries really aren't needed in order to read the story. Here are a couple:
http://www.at.artslink.co.za/~gerry/print.htm
http://www.jackeen.com/Slang.html
Morrissey Dolls, Inc. at http://www.morrisseydolls.com has a pattern for a teddy bear. I used some old Pleasant Company patterns for the dress, but their patterns are no longer available. This website has patterns for 18" doll clothes, and one might be useful in making the dress.
Babynames.comhttp://www.babynames.com was indespensible in looking up Irish names for the various characters mentioned in the book.
Back to doll craft ideas page