there are quite a few imports available for $100 or less. All depends on your budget. If she is comfortable with what she's using, maybe something similar would be a good choice.
What rod is she using?

she has only ever lawn cast, and its my 7' 6 old fiberglass 4 weight. she did well with it but i think the length might have been a bit too much for her. trying to see if there are any blanks out there in shorter sizes that people have experience with, and would recommend.

matt, thanks for the pm!

As Picketpin suggested, Lots of shorter, lightweight blanks out there. Just jump on EBay and you’ll find them, many with colors an 8yr old might really like. Also, don’t forget an 8yr old is probably going to need a smaller diameter grip.

Here is another old discussion you might find helpful regarding a build done for my daughter on a 7ft Seeker spinning rod blank -

viewtopic.php?f=8&t=6394&p=145748&hilit=mountainshark#p145748

At that age, she's going to be 4 inches taller in 2 years, and recognize anything you do is going to be a compromise. I love the idea of wrapping it with her.

I would look at a Proof 7' 3/4wt (Lantern) I haven't built on the new tip over blank, but the older blank was nice, but it was much more of a 4/5wt in my hands. Which is a good thing for what you want this rod for. Purchase the component kit or complete kit with it and you are are set. He has nice components and the kits are well done and complete.

I've never been a fan of shrinking rods for kids. I would consider a 7'6" 3wt graphite for this purpose. Graphite is just going to be lighter. A rainshadow Unity (or rx6) 763-2 makes a great rod at an affordable price. It can be overlined though works well as is. The 2 pc RX6's are nice, but the 4pc are a bit heavier and stiffer.
Think about what you want the rod to do. A 4/5wt will be good rod to learn on. A true 3wt is going to be hard to throw any decent sized fly.

Hi all! As an update, I went with a Proof Vapor blank 7' 3/4 weight. I liked the idea that the Vapor is faster action, which should help her with her casting. The slower action rods she tested out were tougher for her to be accurate and cast. Plus, Matt @ Proof just rocks with his customer service. Easy buy.

here are some pics of the finished build. she helped me wrap some of it, and picked out the colors and all the hardware. black hardware with a pinkish / multicolor style stripping guide. I think it came out great! thanks all for the advice.

That's awesome!

Now we need a proud papa pic with a fish on that rod.