Class completed!!!

My first online class offering, Neptune's Daughters, has just completed and I must say the ladies in that class were a most talented bunch! Their dolls turned out just amazing and I admit I learned from them. Amazingly, in most cases, the ladies made all three! Their choices and combination of design elements made each doll lovely and unique. If you want to join in, it is not too late! A new class starts November 5, 2007. For more information, visit http://www.fabricaddictions.com To see the original Daughters, scroll down my blog.

Thanks too ladies for all the nice comments on the class. And also a big thanks to Kai and Katy for you sweet words about my Jester guy. Now I just have to get him finished!

Third time the charm

I have been trying lots of new techniques because I just feel like experimenting. I have created a cloth and paper book and am working on another. I also have been playing with paperclay on cloth. I have tried sculpting a head twice before and just couldn't get the hang of it. Today I was determined. I am making a jester and decided he needed a big nose and lips so I dug out a cloth head I started to add paperclay to and went to work. Here is the sculpt. Looks a little rough but it is sanded pretty smooth. I then stretched some cotton lycra knit (pretty thin) over the face (the hardest part IMHO) and colored it using mostly chalks and pigment powders. Wasn't sure if I should give him teeth, but if I want to change them, I can black them out. Not too bad for my first completed head. He definetly has a big nose!He works with the body as it is. Was hoping to finish him tonight in time for doll club tomorrow but I doubt it.

I'm Back--Long

A few weeks ago, we lost my sister in law 2 months to the day she was diagnosed with liver cancer. She was a very loving mother, wife of 44 years (they were childhood sweethearts) and grand-mother. We flew out to Colorado to attend the memorial service and remember Vivian with family and all the loving friends who's lives she touched in her 64 years. She was much loved and loving and will be greatly missed.

Though not the magnitude of that loss, my harddrive decided to go to cyber heaven. I lost all my files, and about 10,000 pictures. I did have quite a bit backed up, but by the time I tried to save everything, my drive was so bad, my other drives were not working either. Lesson learned! I love my computer and to replace it like for like would cost more than I want to spend at the present so I thought I would try just replacing the hard-drive--which cost 1/10th the price! So here I am with a new hard-drive. I have almost all my old programs loaded. I am also in the market for a new printer. My 8 yr old HP needs new cartridges but it has been acting a little tired so I think rather than spend $60 for the cartridges, I'll spend a bit more and just get a new printer.

Sorry these answers are so late but Deb--Dances with Butterflies is available as a pattern in the September, 2007 issue of Doll Crafter and Costuming. Thanks too to all who sent well wishes on my first on-line class--Heera, Allie, Judi in Alaska, Yvonne, Kat, and Shashi. So far so good. I am amazed that most of the ladies are making all 3 versions!

I also made another of these sea nymphs. I needed better pics for the final directions and decided to use a non-batik fabric for the tail--a large floral actually. At the Sew Sew Doll club meeting, we created some Fiber Fusion fabric and I made a piece that worked out perfect for the tail and head piece-and from all these parts, Coral was born. I made a trip to my local bead shop thinking I could pick up some branch coral until Ipriced it! YIKES! A strand of coral was $30! One of the girls said "You're creative. Why not make some from Polymer clay." Great Suggestion! I mixed the Clay Coral with some made from layers of Textiva film curled around a skewer and heated. Her bodice is painted tyvek with pieces of sheer fabric sewed on then hit with a heat gun. So here she is.

She has LOTS of bling thanks to heat set crystals.