In 1989 Sara McDonald, a stay-at-home mom, began making handmade natural-fiber Waldorf-style doll, crafts and selling them locally. Inspired by the enchanting cabin in which she was living and working, Sara named her new company Magic Cabin Dolls that is unique in providing handmade dolls, and handmade crafts. As demand for the handmade dolls grew, Sara added handmade doll-making kits and classes to her business roster. Word spread, and she began traveling from coast to coast teaching adults how to hand make dolls, crafts and arts for their own children.

In 1990, after a move from the cabin (in the woods of Minnesota) to a farm on the rolling farmland of Wisconsin, Sara mailed the first Magic Cabin Dolls catalog for handmade dolls and handmade crafts ( a 12-page, black and white catalog that offered 34 handmade doll-related products) to 600 homes. All of the dolls were handmade by Sara, and she and her husband Bill packed and shipped the orders from their farm.

By 1995 the catalog was a thriving business, with employees and doll makers drawn from outside the family. The catalog has continued to grow, and to change, in the ensuing ten years. Toys, games, and crafts have been added to its pages, and its name has accordingly been shortened to Magic Cabin. One thing that has not and will not change is Magic Cabin's dedication to offering "Childhood's Purest Treasures" -- unique dolls, toys, and crafts that are heirloom-quality, environmentally friendly, fun to play with, and that, most of all, ignite the imaginations of children.