YOU TAKEOVER TUESDAY: What a Doll! {DISCOUNT}

Today's YOU TAKEOVER TUESDAY question comes from Emily in Roseau, Minnesota.  Take it away, Emily!

Dear AFOMFT, I have two girls, ages four and five, who love to play together but lately I've been feeling like all of their toys do the work for them, if that makes any sense.  They're all battery operated with flashing lights and lots of noise so there's no room for imaginative play.  The girls do play with their baby dolls and their kitchen but they get bored after a while.  I wish they had more "old-fashioned" toys to inspire them a little more.  Any ideas?

Such a great question!  Off the top of my head, felt food and tea sets immediately jump out at me but my guess is you've probably already thought of those.  So I'm going to share something very special that I've had bookmarked on my computer for some time now, waiting for the day that Gabrielle and Alaina will be old enough to play with them - Mini Me Paper Dolls from Lily & Thistle.

Created by Hannah, an artist and mother to three girls, MiniMe Paper Dolls can be customized to look like your daughter or you can let her design a new friend.  Choose the hair style.

Skin tone.

Hair and eye color.

And any other characteristics that make your little girl special.

Then Hannah will hand draw a MiniMe Doll to your specifications.  It will arrive on premium grade textured art paper with a name stand and one outfit.

How adorable is that?  You can also order additional clothes for your MiniMe, like the Fairy Tale package.

The Summer line:

Or my personal favorite, the Girls in Literature Line:

Lily & Thistle even offers an Outfit of the Month Club so your MiniMe will receive a new outfit every month for a year!

Wondering how the outfits stay on?  With the amazing "Sticky Strip," a reusable adhesive that attaches to each doll and helps keep their clothes secure.

If only they made that for Barbie and the Bratz dolls!  But I digress....

MiniMe Dolls also come with a set of four "About Me" pages for their "owners" to fill out and keep as mementos.

Talk about sparking imaginative play!

Imagine the fun your little ones will have dressing up their MiniMe Dolls and playing all sorts of make believe games with them.  Oh wait, are you picturing how rough four year olds can be on paper products?  Not to worry - Lily & Thistle has you covered.  You can buy MiniMe Dolls in a print-your-own option, which means you'll get an e-mail with all of the files, or you can order one to be sent you which will come with a CD of all of the files too.  Either way, you can print as many as you like.

Starting at just $6, MiniMe Dolls are play things your child will love now and cherish as a keepsake when she's older.  I know I still have the birth certificates from my Cabbage Patch Dolls.  Imagine having your own likeness in a paper doll to share with your own daughter some day?

Susanna, I hope you think Lily & Thistle MiniMe Paper Dolls are as wonderful as I do. I can't wrap up this post without sharing the background behind how Hannah chose the name for her business.  She strives to raise her three girls to be pure and authentically beautiful like a lily, strong and courageous like a thistle.  It's a beautiful sentiment and the ability to support mother-run shops like Lily & Thistle is what I love most about AFOMFT.

I also love giving my readers fabulous discounts and Hannah is helping me do just that.  When you order any one of Lily & Thistle's MiniMe Doll Packages (either the ultimate, standard or print-it-yourself), you'll receive a free Summer Line Outfit Pack!  Just enter AFOMFT at checkout to get your free gift. 

Images: Lily & Thistle