New Muslim Doll Design.

I have just finished a new purple gingham Muslim doll, and she is looking ultra cute, especially with her matching purple shoes and oversized bow.  Like all the girl dolls she is all trimmed up with lots of lace.  I would like to make a few more of these in different colours.  I think a Muslim boy doll in matching gingham clothes would also be a good idea.  What do you think?  Any ideas? What colour would you like to see this doll wearing? I would love to read your comments under this post, or on facebook.

By the way she is available to purchase on the Muslim Dolls page.  I have one already made, which you can have if you get in quick, otherwise you can order one.  If you would like a different colour, just let me know.

Salam, from

Win Goodies...Too Easy!

There are two very easy competitions currently active on Hijab Sparkle...beautiful stick pins up for grabs, and all you have to do is (A) play 'Spot the Difference' , and (B) tell us your favourite Hijab Sparkle stick pin.  Why not enter both competitions?   Maybe you will win both!  All the details are below.  Both competitions are open to all Hijab Sparkle Facebook followers, no matter where you live.

Already entered? No problem...you can enter many times for both competitions!

Click on the images below for details of each competition. Don't forget to share with your friends!

What I've been Up To

A selection of some of the headbands I have been making.

Things may have been a bit quiet on the Hijab Sparkle blog lately, however that doesn't mean that I haven't been busy! I have been up to many different things, so I thought I would post a few pikkies and show you.  

My daughter has lots of curly hair that doesn't stay neat and tidy for more than 3 minutes.  I usually put it in a pony tail or a plait, but sometimes she wants to wear it down.  This can be a bit of a problem in Windy Wellington.  Headbands seem to control the situation, and I have seen so many cute ones in the shop.  But I like to try and make as many things as possible myself (and I have to justify the purchase of my sewing machine) so I have been experimenting at making headbands.  At first I began by wrapping ribbon around the headband and then adding embellishments.  These are sweet, but my daughter's hair needed a wider headband.  So I turned the thin headband blanks into wider ones.  Then I began looking for ways to use fabric to decorate them, and you can see some of the ideas I came up with below.  These can all be made in any colour, and can also be made as a thinner headband.  These will be available for purchase soon, I just haven't thought about the price yet, I have to sit down and think about the materials and how much time they took me to make.

I think this one might be my favourite.  It has a hand sewn Kanzashi flower on it,
and the material I used is so beautiful and silky with chinese patterns.

This headband is a bit different in that the fabric on the band is ruffled, which would make it  very
soft and comfortable to wear.

My daughter loved this one the best, because it has strawberries on it.
Her daddy is growing strawberries in our garden, so she has a bit of a soft spot for them.
Sometimes we get to eat them before the birds do!  The bow on this headband  is also hand made, and has a sort of puffy feel to it.  It is actually quite sturdy because of the way it has been constructed.

The Muslim Women's conference here in Wellington last month was something I was very keen to attend. I had the chance to go there for a few hours on the Saturday, where I gave a small talk with some other sisters about being 'Mumtrapaneurs' (Mums who make things themselves and have small home businesses). It was inspiring listening to the other speakers, and I hope my talk was inspiring too (I can't even remember what I said, I was a bit nervous!) After the talk, we had a lovely dinner and then everyone went downstairs to have a look at the stalls set up in the basement 'souq'.  I had a stall there too, and it was so nice to meet all the sisters from around New Zealand.  Some I already knew and it was nice to see them again, and I also had the chance to meet many new ladies.

A box of handmade Muslim dolls, all finished, packaged up and ready to  travel to the Muslim Women's conference in Wellington.

I made heaps of new Muslim dolls for the occasion, and was up until 3am the morning before making sure they were all finished.  I will photograph them all soon and post them individually.

What else?  Well I have been busy working on packaging for different items.  I made a little card to go with the dolls which has a bit of information about why I started making the dolls, how to use them, and how to take care of them. (see photo above).

Last but not least (and probably the thing which has been keeping me the busiest) is the big move from my 'crafty corner' (a couple of desks in the corner of the lounge room...in everyone's way and quite dangerous when you have three little kids, a sewing machine, pins, needles, hot glue gun, many electrical plugs etc) to a room which was previously the baby's room.  Now I have a bit more space to store all my bits and pieces, and it has been a lot of work, although also a lot of fun, to move everything in and organise it.  I will post some photos of my new space soon as well. I call it my 'nest', as it is quite cosy...mainly because I have too much stuff!!

This is my work space before  I moved into a  dedicated room.  It's not looking quite so neat and tidy at the moment, but I will post some photos of the new space when I have things a bit more sorted.

Well that's all for now, folks, the power in the whole house just turned off and on again for some strange reason...I think that's a hint that it's time to go to bed.  Night night!

Salam from

Positive Reward Stickers for Muslim Kids!

Now available from Hijab Sparkle...positive reward stickers specially made for Muslim kids! I designed these to use with my own children, in our own little homeschool, and thought others might enjoy using them too.  Great for school, homeschool, playgroups, kindergartens, parents, or as a fun gift for your friends. These are printed professionally on matt paper with beautiful colours.

There are four designs available.  Each packet contains 9 stickers of one design.  Each packet is only $1, so it will be easy to collect them all.

Choose from:
Design#1: Masha Allah Neat Work (big pencil)
Design#2: Masha Allah Beautiful Work (Happy sunflower)
Design#3: Masha Allah Beautiful Work (Pink Butterfly)
Design#4: I Love My Hijab

Please like and share with your friends :) Have a great day!
salam from

New Printable Muslim Doll Puppets For the Holidays!

My 4 year old son and 6 year old daughter are very keen on finger puppets at the moment.  I was watching them play with some the other day. They were chattering away, telling stories to each other, and really getting into character. I started thinking about how I could make my own version to encourage them to practice their Islamic manners and talk about Islamic concepts.  There is no point in trying to teach children of this age from a text book about Islam.  Teaching them through play is much more fun and effective.  I drew a cartoon version of the Handmade Muslim Dolls and set to work designing these printable paper puppets.  They are for education use only, not meant for any commercial use, please.  There is a girl and boy puppet, and the printable sheet also includes instructions and ideas.

Download the puppets HERE, on the new 'Free Stuff' page....enjoy!

If you like this post, why  not share with your friends? The more the merrier :)
Do you have any other ideas for printables? Let me know and I will see what I can do :)
salam
from

Say 'Salam' to the Arab Style Muslim Boy Doll.

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.

Assalamu alaikum all,

Ahamdulilah I have just finished the latest doll design and took advantage of the amazing weather we are having, to snap some photos outside with the kids.  This doll has been made with Arab style clothes.  He looks as though he is all dressed and ready to attend Jummah.  This little Muslim brother comes complete with Arab-style head dress (eghal and ghotra), a beautifully embroidered white thobe with matching long white pants, and he even has cute little brown sandals for the hot weather :).  He can also be purchased as part of a matching set, with the niqabi doll shown in the photos below.  They have both been made as an order for a Muslim sister friend of mine who lives in Saudi (salam sis!) , but anyone can order these if they like them.  Each doll is $45.  If you are interested in purchasing, please contact me and place an order, with your general location details.  I will then let you know the shipping cost and other information.

Let's go for a swing!

Enjoying the roses...subhanAllah!

Relaxing in the garden.  Who's for a spot of Arabian coffee?

Detail showing the Eghal

Those cute little sandals...perfect for the hot weather!

The New Niqabi Doll! All Finished and Waiting to be Collected.

Meet the new Niqabi Muslim doll, 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.

Assalamu alaikum all!

Insha Allah I hope you all had a lovely Eidul Adha. Alhamdulilah we made it to the Eid prayer at 8am at our local masjid (always an achievement for us with 3 small children, as I'm sure many of you understand ) and then had a barbeque the next day as the weather has been great lately alhamdulilah.  On the Sunday after Eid I took my two eldest children to the model train exhibition which we all really enjoyed.  My 4 year old son, in particular, was so excited when he realised exactly what a model train exhibition really was when we arrived there, I have never seen him so happy. He was literally spinning with excitement!

 Living in a non-Muslim country here in New Zealand,  and not having any public holidays for Eid, we sort of have to break our Eid up to fit in the weekends.  So this weekend Eid activities will continue here in Wellington, with get-togethers and community Eid events planned, insha Allah.

This photo shows the size of the doll in
comparison to my 6 year old daughter,

So...to the photos!  A friend of mine, a Muslim sister from New Zealand who is now living in Saudi,  asked me to make her a 'Niqabi' doll wearing Saudi-style dress, and this is what I came up with, alhamdulilah.  She loves wearing iqab herself, so this doll is just perfect for her.

This little cutie was a lot of fun to make.  She has a long black abaya with silver and white lace trims, and long black matching pants underneath.  Everything, including the shoes, scarf and niqab, is stitched on securely, so that insha Allah the clothes will never get lost and the doll always looks generally at its best.  With every doll I have been carefully re-designing and changing different aspects to make it safe and strong for all children to play with.  I have changed the eyes from buttons to small circles of black felt which have been stitched on with very strong thread.

This doll features a beautifully detailed black abaya, with a silver wave motif trim down the centre, finished off with a tiny pom pom trim at the sides.  It has a delicate lace trim accented with a narrow cream coloured ribbon and tiny bows.  There are also rainbow coloured silver sequins around the ends of the sleeves.

Closeup of the detailed trim decoation
on the front of the abaya.

Closeup of the shoes and pants.
Click for a larger photo.

This doll is a little more expensive than previous dolls, because it has quite a bit of detail, and some expensive trims included, as well as the extra time involved in making it.  If you would like to order a doll the same as this one, it will cost $45.  This is still very cheap compared to many of the other Muslim hijab dolls available, which are often mass produced and not made by hand.  Each one of the dolls pictured on Hijab Sparkle are completely hand designed and hand made by me.  If you would like this doll with different coloured abaya or trims, I can also do that for you if you wish.

I have been getting more requests like this one, for Muslim hijab dolls wearing clothes from a range of different countries.  Subscribe to my blog and facebook page so that you don't miss out on seeing the new designs.  Some which are coming soon include dolls with Yemen hijab clothes, and Somali hijab clothes.  My  friend in Saudi has also asked me to make a Saudi Muslim boy doll, which I am working on now.  If you would like a doll wearing a particular type of hijab style, please let me know and I will see what I can do.  If you email me a photo of what you are looking for, that will help give me an idea.

Please let me know if you have any questions or ideas, and I would love to see your comments about the dolls in the comments below or on the Hijab Sparkle facebook page.  You can also read more about the dolls and see more photos of different designs here.

Salam for now,

Regards,