Sophie’s Birthday Doll

You know the feeling you get when you’re opening a present from someone and you see it for the first time, and it’s so gorgeous and thoughtful you practically burst into tears?

That’s the feeling I got when I opened Sophie’s Land of Mae heirloom doll.

I’m so thrilled to be sharing about Sophie’s beautiful dolly today, and the woman behind this awesome Etsy shop!

I came across Land of Mae on Instagram a long time ago. I was drawn to the classic look of Stacy’s lovely dolls!

A little about the Land of Mae Etsy shop: Stacy is a stay-at-home mom in Iowa. She has three kids ages 6 and under, and she works on the dolls at her kitchen table from 4-6 am every morning! Then she tucks all her sewing things back around where they hide in her house… sewing machine in the hutch, ironing board under the couch, fabrics in the office. 🙂

She designed all the doll patterns herself. Stacy makes both boy and girl dolls as well as mini, limbless dolls that are great for little hands. Those are called Mini Maes.

The dolls are mostly cotton but the hair is 100% merino wool felt – such a beautiful material! Stacy double-stitches the dolls so they are sturdy and reinforce all the embroidery. Faces and personalization are all hand embroidered. They are around 17” long. They are soft and snuggly, but stuffed firm enough that they hold their shape. The skirts are removable.

(There are add-on products as well! Since the skirts on the original dolls are removable, you can actually get mermaid tails or tutus to play dress up with. And while Stacy doesn’t regularly carry them in her shop, she’s done anything from crowns to superhero capes and masks to “boosters” for the shoes. She also makes matching bows for the little girls!

Here’s how purchasing a doll works:

Once a month Stacy will release dolls into her shop at a pre-decided date and time (announced on the Land of Mae Instagram account and the Land of Mae Facebook page). She always includes custom dolls (what I got for Sophie), where the customer can choose the skin tone, hair color, hair style, dress pattern, shoe color, and personalization. And depending on how much time she’s had to work that month, she may include some ready to ship premade dolls in the shop, too!

The dolls usually sell out within a couple hours of her listing them in her shop each month, so you’ll want to keep a close eye on her Instagram and Facebook accounts for that monthly announcement!! Stacy also has beautiful baby bows in her shop at all times – they’re super cute!

Let’s talk about the doll I had customized for Sophie!! 🙂

I got one of the original, 17″ tall dolls. For the doll’s dress, I chose a light blue fabric with light pink roses – it seemed like such a sweet pattern for my daughter, and I love how it turned out as a dress! For her skin tone, I chose fair, hair color: blonde, and a wavy hairline (instead of bangs). For the doll’s hairstyle, I picked two braids. It was really hard to choose which hair style especially, because they’re all so adorable! (Scroll through her Instagram and you’ll see!!) (And see how her cheeks are even a little pink? So, so precious!)

The dolls even get your child’s name hand-stitched onto the bottom of a foot. What a gift!

So here’s the plan I have for Sophie: Sophie turns one(!!) on October 16 and the dolly is a birthday gift from Bjorn and me. 🙂 I DID pull the doll out and let Sophie play with her briefly so I could show you these darling photos!! I carefully packed the doll away and I’ll be bringing it out sometime in October to officially give to Sophie. 🙂 A doll like this is such a precious birthday or Christmas gift! I’m so excited to see how Sophie plays with her doll as she grows up! I have a feeling they’ll be the best of friends!

These Land of Mae dolls are so incredibly special. I love that they’re truly heirloom dolls – well-constructed, classic, and timeless looking! I can totally picture Sophie keeping this doll forever and even passing it down to her own daughter someday.

If you’re looking for a doll at all, I really recommend that you check out Land of Mae!! And Stacy is incredible to work with! She’s thoughtful, thorough, and so kind! Whether it’s a gift for your own child, or you know someone who’s expecting, adopting, or just plain has kids of their own…a Land of Mae doll is the perfect present.

Do your children have special dolls that they love? Did you grow up with an heirloom doll of your own?