Meet the Muslim Dolls! ...Handmade by Hijab Sparkle.

Please note:  This article is a slightly older blog post, therefore some of the information and prices of the items featured here may have changed since I wrote it.  For more updated information about the Muslim dolls, please refer to the Muslim Doll page. Thank you.

Salam everyone!  I'm excited to introduce a brand new surprise on Hijab Sparkle...the Muslim Dolls!  These are completely hand made and designed in New Zealand, by me, alhamdulilah.

When my daughter was very little I wanted to make her a Muslim doll, complete with hijab, which didn't have too much detail on its face or body.  My daughter and her little brother love to play together and make converstations between the characters in their toy box, and I wanted them to have some Muslim characters to play with. My children are all homeschooled, and all still very young (6, 4 and 1) and therefore they spend a lot of time at home playing, which is an important part of their development.   I consulted Islamic scholars about how the character should be portrayed, and they told me it would be fine as long as I didn't make it too detailed and try to re-create Allah's (SWT) creation.

So I got out my pencil and sketchbook, and began to draw a very simple version of a Muslim doll.  First I made the two Muslim girls, and then my son wanted one too, so I made the Muslim boy version.  As you can see, the face is very simple, with eyes only.  I think this also helps to develop the child's imagination, as they can decide which mood their doll is in when they play.  The dolls are all fully clothed, complete with long dresses, long pants, and a scarf for the girls, and a long shirt and long pants for the boys.  The boys also have a muslim cap.    The dolls are made mostly of cotton (calico/cotton, and polycotton), and then filled with polyester filling.  The shoes and some other small details are made with polyester felt. Some of the clothes are also made from recycled vintage fabrics, which I have collected over the years.  I have tried to vary the skin colours, too, to reflect the wonderful multicultural nature of our Ummah, masha Allah. They are 43cm long from the top of the head to the tips of the shoes.

It would be easy to mass produce these dolls, but as I make each one completely by hand, I found the fun in making them was that each one was differerent.  I enjoy thinking about the colour of the clothes, the details on the shoes and hijab, etc. I also thought of taking orders if people want them, but I thought it would be much more of a surprise to post them to my blog as each one was made, and customers can purchase exactly what they see.

Someone suggested that I give each one a different name, but then I would like to give that task to their new owners, insha Allah.

The Muslim Dolls, all packaged and ready to be sold to their new owners.

I really can't count how many hours have gone into making these dolls, from the design to completion.  I just make them one at a time and try to enjoy the process of making them as much as I can, and hope that the new owners will enjoy playing with them as much as I have enjoyed making them.

They are $35 each, which is very inexpensive considering the price of a mass produced doll in the shop, of this size.  I didn't want to make them too expensive, as I know it is hard to find Muslim dolls, especially in New Zealand, and I want as many Muslim kids (and adults!) as possible to enjoy them. If you need info on shipping cost to your particular location, just drop me an email.

The boy doll is not for sale, sorry!  I promised my 4 year old son that if I didn't sell the doll at the Masjid Open Day, that he could have it (he looked at me with those eyes...you know how it is lol).  However, I will be making more soon, insha Allah.  Join the facebook page or subscribe to this blog if you don't want to miss out.  There are two different Muslim girl dolls l for sale, however, as you see in the photos..

Safety note:  The eyes on each doll are made of small buttons, which have been securely sewn on with much care.  However, to be on the safe side, you might want to save the doll for children 4 years or older if you think this might pose a choking risk to your child.  The outer fabric of the dolls is made mostly of cotton, but the inside is polyester stuffing, therefore please keep away from the heater or naked flame.

If you have any questions, or would like to purchase one of the Muslim girl dolls, please feel free to ask in the comment section below, or contact me via email or the Hijab Sparkle Facebook page.

Have a great day, insha Allah!

Salam,

The Hijab Sparkle Stall at Wellington Masjid Open Day.

The Hijab Sparkle Stall.

Salam everyone!  A few weeks ago I set up all the goodies from the Hijab Sparkle blog on a stall, at the Wellington Masjid Open Day.  The Open Day was being held as a part of New Zealand Islamic Awareness Week.  Alhamdulilah it was a great day, and it was so nice to see all my friends, as well as meet some new ones. This is the Masjid where I converted to Islam, and it holds some lovely memories for me...but I haven't been there for a while as we have moved a little further away, and I am homeschooling my three small children, so it's a bit hard to find the time to get there as regularly as I used to.

 There were many non-Muslims there, learning about Islam and meeting the Muslims from their community.  For those of you who haven't been to the Wellington Masjid in Kilbirnie, it is a large building, Masha Allah, with two levels.  The upstairs level is the main prayer area, as well as some large rooms.  In the large rooms there were many beautifully set up information displays and activities relating to Islam, for the public to view.  There were many people involved in setting up these displays, and they stayed there until very late the night before to help.  May Allah SWT reward them all for their hard work.

On the downstairs level (known as 'the basement' to most people!) there were Muslims selling all types of amazing food, as well as others selling their own hand made goods and other items from around the world.  Again, this was set up and organised by a truly dedicated group of people, may Allah reward them.  Masha Allah I am always so impressed by the amount of skill people in our community have of producing such wonderful goods...whether it be food, crafts, soap, etc.  I am sure that if all the Muslims lived in a little village, we would just about have everything we need!

Oh...and I almost forgot...there was a free BOUNCY CASTLE!! And free candy floss, and free face painting!! For most of the kids I'm sure that would be the only things they would remember hehe.  For the ladies, there was free henna, which is always very popular.

Close up of the Hijab Sparkle table.  

Alhamdulilah it was a successful day for Hijab Sparkle.  I made a few new customers and gave my business card to as many people as I could.  One of the difficult things about selling online is that you have to let people know that you are out there.  As well as this, many people like to know who they are buying from, so it is a good idea to get out and show people the face behind the name!  

More goodies :)

One of the main bonuses of setting up a stall at the Open Day is that people have the opportunity to talk to you about Islam. I hope you enjoy looking at the photos I have posted of the Hijab Sparkle stall.  If you look carefully you may see some new products which I made especially for the day (I was up all night on my sewing machine to get them finished the night before!) I will be posting these on my website very soon, so stay tuned!

By the way, the best way to stay tuned to new goodies at Hijab Sparkle, as well as competitions and promotions, is to join the Hijab Sparkle Facebook page, and subscribe to this blog by hitting the 'JOIN THIS SITE' button on the left :)

Salam :)
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