CORRECTION

Big Appologies. Not only can I not spell, but I can't type either! Correct link for the class is
http://www.fabricaddictions.com/

New On-line Class

I know it has been a long time since I posted but I have been busy working on my first online class, Neptunes's Daughters. The class will begin September 19th and you can sign up at http://www.fabricaddictions.com/I have really enjoyed writing this--though it was time consuming--because I could put in all the pictures I wanted (almost 200!!!) with lots of step-by-step directions and not have to worry about printing and weight etc. Also all the pictures are in COLOR!!!! I thought I would share the metamorphasis for these ladies of the sea. I used to teach a collage fabric purse class at a local quilt shop. Almost all my students had problems with free-motion stitching so I did some experimenting and found great results could be achieved if they did straight sewing at all angles and mixed it with decorative stitches and couching of threads. Big success! So the next step was to see if I could use it on a doll so I created a simplified version in 3 different collor ways with the idea of mermaid tails. When I was approached to do an on-line class the three ladies said "me! me! me!" and I couldn't refuse. First came the sketch and muslin body and head prototype. I wanted to make the class interesting and also give the student/doll artist lots of opportunity for making the doll their own so each uses the same body, arms and head but has different tail shapes, coifs, and embellishments. Left to right they are AquaMarie, Pearl and Algea. I had fun making them, I hope my students do too! Oh and did I mention I have also include directions to make the shell throne Pearl is sitting in?

Also BIG thanks for the nice comments on my previous post. I am so glad so many of you are enjoying the chairs.

Chair Directions

I've had so many inquiries about the chair I made that I thought I would post the directions along with some addional pics of other chairs I made using the same techniques. Here is a link to the directions.

We originally made similar chairs in doll club using a kit designed by Mary Egger with a 5" x 5" paper mache box sort of adapted from Christine Shively's chair that appeared in Art Doll Quarterly. For some reason, my legs never stayed on or stayed straight, so I decided to try something with a wooden box. So, here are the results. The pink and black chair was first, the butterfly was second. The Butterfly chair's back is made from Sculpy and Liquid Sculpy and the wooden brace in back is actually part of a small wooden type purse. It also has a separate cushion instead of a padded seat.

My Little Buddy and Mermaid update

Here is a pic of my darling Diamond in her favorite position. I can't believe she is comfortable! It is in my studio in the corner of the loveseat and sofa. I have a soft rug down and she spends most of her time when not in my lap here. She is a little annoyed I bothered her to take the pic.

I have finished all three mermaids and also a shell chair. They will be an online course offered through http://www.fabricaddictions.com/ I am very excited about it. I am almost done writing lesson 1 of 5 (5 will be the chair). The student will have the option of which mermaid they want to make or take bits and mix and make their own. Will keep you posted when it is ready for prime time. I also hope to teach this live and in person. They are called Neptune's Daughters. Their names are AquaMarie (pictured in a previous post), Pearl, and Algea.

Catching Up

First, thanks to all who had such nice things to say about The Secret Garden. She didn't win but she will be traveling. You can see the winners here http://http://www.hoffmanchallenge.com/ It appears the winner and I had similar visions. Congrats to all the winners. Can't wait to see next year's Challenge fabric.

Thanks also to Sharon and Sandi who nominated me for the Nice Matters award. That was VERY Sweet of you. I am so glad you enjoy reading my babble and I so enjoy the exchange of ideas.

This weekend on Saturday was Day With Dolls organized by Diane Kearny who did an OUTSTANDING job. There were about 60 people representing 5-6 doll clubs in the NY, NJ, Conn, an Pa areas. The show and tell was awesome--unfortunately my battery in my camera died after 1 pic! Also making an appearance were Mary Ann and Bonnie from Doll Maker's Journey who gave us an overview of some wonderful products, such as Paverpol, Apoxy Sculpt, Angelina fibers and film to name a few, and their applications. We had a table set up for lace dying and classes given in Armature building and creating faces with paperclay and cloth overlay. Just wonderful! Everyone had to make a "Who Am I" Doll Face pin and they were all wonderful. Here is a pic of mine which was the prototype. I put together all the kits.

I also finished the three mermaids who tentatively will be called Neptune's Daughters. I am really pleased with them and they got a good reception at DWD. Now to write the directions--yikes! I took over 500 pics!

Sunday I went with my dear friend to a Scrapbook show. I was looking for some interesting stamps and found some which, along with Li Hertzi's new book, inspired the following doll. The stamps for the head (above) were from Lost Coast Designs (http://www.lost-coast-designs.com/) and the heart stamps were from Stamp Camp (http://www.stampcamp.com/ She was definitely outside the box for me but I was inspired by Li's book an I did enjoy making her. Her head can turn so I can change her face though I only beaded one with eyes open and the same face with eyes closed. I modified the stamp to make the eyes open.

Chair for new Doll

Well, we didn't go visit because of threats of bad weather which didn't materialize, so I still have the doll and decided she needed a chair. We did something similar in Joyzee Girls doll club in a class led my Mary Egger and adapted from Art Doll Quarterly. Mary was able to get mache boxes for the seats. These worked out great by I had a problem with getting the legs sturdy. I found wooden boxes, 4 x 4" at Michaels marked down to 50c each! I bought 10! So with the box, some wooden pegs, wooden beads, matte board, batting, paint, fabric, glue, and trims left over from the doll, I made her a chair.

Oh, I have finished 1 of the mermaids for the class--Aqua Maria. 2 more to go! Took over 300 pics while I was making her. Here is a tease.....

Using My Head

We may be visiting a cousin of my Husband's today--weather permitting. She just had her first grand-daughter (second GC) and I made a doll for her as a gift. I used the head I did when teaching the Conn class and my Lady Ragalia pattern. I also used fabrics and trims I had on hand--some I wouldn't normally use such as the fringe on her apron. Her dress is Hoffman Challenge fabric from 2005, her legs are a Hoffman Coordinate from this year, the tiny pompom trim on her shoes, her apron stripes and pantaloons are scraps from Citronella (another Ragalia doll and one of my favs), her hair is two yarns I bought awhile ago from the clearance bin. All of the ribbons and trims were given to me or purchased at flea markets. I dyed them with Dynaflow. I originally had intended to make her with lots of reds but I have NONE in my stash! Hmmm. All in all, I think she will be well received. Now on to the mermaids for that class.

Here is a pic of Citronella. I never did get a pic of her alone. Brought her to a class for show and tell right after I finished her and she sold. Here is a pic too of Sweet Pea. I sold her even before she was actually completed. I made her after I got the book Beaded Garden and just had to do all those beaded flowers. She is my favorite and I never did get a pic of her finished either--I added another layer of lime green lace to the sleeves and legs of the jumpsuit under the sheer embroidered ruffle.