Dollmaker’s Journey CUSTOMER CONNECTION
Dream ~ Imagine ~ Create ~ Grow ~ Believe ~ Magic
At http://dollmakersjourney.com we help your creative dreams come true.

August 2012 Issue 123

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Copyright 2012 by Dollmaker’s Journey

Dollmaker’s Journey Customer Connection newsletter is a free e-mail newsletter.  Tell your friends, family and fellow dollmakers about us, and feel free to forward this newsletter to those who might be interested.  You can visit our companion website at:
http://www.dollmakersjourney.com/

**Notice!** 

You can read all the past issues online.  Go to:
http://dollmakersjourney.com/newsletter/archives.html
The archives include an easy to follow index to all the past issues.

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Dear Dollmaking Friends,

August is a month here in the United States for vacations, the Summer Olympics in England, getting ready for fall and back-to-school, challenges and deadlines (I am working on my Treasures of the Gypsy Challenge doll as we speak), and gearing up for the holiday season. I just finished an elf (or dwarf) for the G Street Doll Club Christmas tree, and am making more ornaments this evening. This month we have a sale on dragons, trolls, elves, wizards and mythical beast patterns to help get you started. Have fun looking at our huge variety available to spark your creative juices.

This is also the time to get organized so you can find everything you need to create wonderful gifts. To help do this we now carry Swatch Buddies, a fabulous way to organize all your fabric. You can bring Swatch Buddies to the store with you to pick the perfect complimentary colors for any project. See our video at http://dollmakersjourney.com/supplies.html  I got so excited when Mary Ann told me about it that I ordered 48 cards immediately to begin the challenging process of identifying all my fabric. (I have 30 huge totes full, all color coordinated.) This will make life much simpler when searching for that perfect piece of fabric. Enjoy the video!

Bonnie and Mary Ann

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2012 UFO CHALLENGE FROM DOLLMAKER'S JOURNEY

The goal is to spend 2012 minutes this year clearing the decks for new projects and challenges. Recently there has been a discussion on FOCD about ways to focus on one project at a time, and clearing out all the UFOs (unfinished objects) in your life.

So the challenge remains. Work 45 minutes a week, 6 minutes a day, or 2012 minutes this year finishing your UFOs. How are you doing?

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AUGUST SALE

Our AUGUST SALE categories are DRAGONS/MYTHICAL BEASTS, TROLLS and ELVES/WIZARDS from which you find a ton of amazing projects discounted 20%. http://dollmakersjourney.com/

Remember, visit our website at http://dollmakersjourney.com at the beginning of each month to see what our new sale will be. That way you won't have to wait for a newsletter.

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WORDS TO LIVE BY

"Never put off until tomorrow what you can do today, because if you enjoy it today, you can do it again tomorrow!"  Buz Moxon

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JULY ANSWER

Q:  Which verse in the Bible contains every letter of the English alphabet except one? (There are several correct answers.)

A:  Ezra 7:21 and Ezra 1:24 have all the letters except J.  Daniel 4:37 every letter except Q

Congratulations to Kathleen Muller from Commack, New York. Your name was selected at random from all of the correct quiz entries, and you will receive a $10 gift certificate from Dollmaker’s Journey. Watch for your name in a coming month!

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AUGUST QUESTION

Bonnie's brother-in-law passed away peacefully and unexpectedly in July. He is survived by his wife (Bonnie's younger sister), 10 children, and 30 grandchildren. His last grandchild was born the morning he died, and he spoke to his daughter about the birth several hours before passing away. Bonnie attended the funeral and military burial near Quantico Marine Base. He will be in a marked grave, but in Arlington, Virginia at the National Cemetery we have a tomb for the Unknown Soldier. There are three soldiers buried there: one from World War I, World War II, and the Korean War. A soldier from the Vietnam War was also buried there, but he was later identified and his body returned to be buried in his hometown. If anyone knows of other countries where they have a memorial tomb for unknown soldiers, please email Bonnie at EnchantedR@aol.com 

Here is the question of the month:

Q:  How many steps does the guard take during his walk across the tomb of the Unknowns and why?

Everyone who emails in the correct answers by September 15th will be entered into a drawing for a $10 gift certificate to Dollmaker’s Journey. The winner will be announced in the next newsletter. Email your answers to Bonnie at EnchantedR@aol.com Put August Quiz in subject box. Please include your full name and where you live (state/country) in your email.

NOTE: Several times in the past a winner was drawn with no name or state/country included. When that happens we have to draw again. So please, make sure you include this information with your answer.

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CHARITY CORNER
Every Doll Needs a Home – The Evangeline Booth Miracle Home Annual Auction
Deadline to donate dolls: September 15, 2011
We will be holding our annual fundraiser on October 4, 2012. The event is called "Every Doll Needs a Home" and is a doll art benefit. Donations of dolls are being accepted anytime now up until September 18, 2011. All the proceeds from this benefit go directly to helping the Booth Home. You can also read more about the Booth Home and doll art benefit by going to:
http://everydollneedsahome.weebly.com/index.html

What kind of dolls are we asking for? The live auction will consist of handmade dolls of cloth or cloth and clay. These can be anything from ragdolls to brightly colored funky dolls and/or hand-sculpted cloth and clay artist creations. Altered Barbie dolls will also be welcome again this year. Porcelain, vintage, and manufactured dolls are accepted. They will be offered in a silent auction. For those of you that like to create more unusual dolls, some of us will be challenging ourselves to make a doll using Altoid tins for the event. That should be fun!

Dolls can be dropped off or shipped to:
The Salvation Army Evangeline Booth Miracle Home
ATTN: Pam Small
168 Lafayette St.
Schenectady, NY 12305
Any questions? Please call (518) 370-0276 and ask for Pam.
Or email Pam Small for more information at: erasmuse@verizon.net

This year's benefit will be held on Thursday, October 4, 2012 at:
Schenectady County Community College
The Mohawk Room
78 Washington Ave.
Schenectady, NY 12305
5:30 - 7:30 p.m.

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TIPS FOR CREATING PATTERNS by Judi Ward

Someone asked about writing directions and presenting a pattern for others to use. A pattern cannot have mismatched seams, parts that don't fit together and have to be pinched and pulled and fixed for others to follow. When one makes a doll as a new design it has to be "trued" for others to follow. Every part needs to fit and a pattern needs to be tested to be sure things fit.

Many dollmakers need lots of directions, many don't, but you are better off to have too many for the advanced dollmakers than to not have enough for a beginner. Beginners are the future of cloth dollmaking and some have sewing skills but most dollmaking skills are different ....soooo....directions need to be quite explicit.

When I started doing my doll patterns (1975) doll patterns were not so sophisticated and folks who wanted to make a doll had good "school learned" sewing skills so the directions could be fewer. We also didn't have the ability to do photographs and such so patterns were much smaller in page count and had less explicit directions.  Over the years many cloth doll patterns have become cloth dollmaking books.  Skills can be learned from one pattern and used for another if the skill fits.

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CHALLENGES

See the 2012 Hoffman Challenge Doll Winners here:
http://www.hoffmanchallenge.com/2012challenge/winners12/dolls2012.html
Here are links to the traveling dolls including some doll makers we know:
Doll trunk C - http://hoffmanchallenge.com/travel_schedule/DCC2012_traveling_items.pdf
Doll trunk B - http://hoffmanchallenge.com/travel_schedule/DCB2012_traveling_items.pdf
Doll trunk A - http://hoffmanchallenge.com/travel_schedule/DCA2012_traveling_items.pdf
Check the schedule to see if any of the shows will be in your area.

September 20, 2012 – Cloth Doll Artistry Challenges
To join this group (yearly fee $12) go to: www.clothdollartistry.com
They currently have seven studios. Each studio has quarterly challenges. At the end of each challenge they round up all the pictures from each studio and incorporate them into CDA quarterly videos.
Here are the challenges for the 3rd Quarter due by September 20:
Art Doll Studio- The Candlestick Doll Challenge
Cloth Doll Studio- The Clothespin Art Doll Challenge
Crafts Studio- It's Your Bag Challenge
Pin Doll Studio- Halloween: Frankenstein, Dracula, Werewolf Challenge
Prim Doll Studio- Halloween in July Challenge
Soft Animals Studio- No Picture/ No Instructions Cat Challenge
Vintage Studio- It's Summertime Gourd Challenge
  
Regarding the yearly fee, the moderator of the site writes: "We now have close to four hundred doll artists who like the privacy as well as having their profile, photo albums, and blog pages. We advertise our CDA updates on our Facebook and Twitter accounts, our CDA Central Newsletter blog  as well as featuring quarterly videos at Youtube showcasing all the photos from each of our studios. Some may say $12 is too much, but one dollar a month is far cheaper than any of the magazines at checkout stands." When you join you can participate in the many challenges they offer. Sounds like fun!

September 2012 - Treasures of the Gypsy Challenge 2012
Promise form due August 1, 2010. Dolls due last week of September 2012 for Houston Quilt Festival.
You must purchase packet of materials to be used in your doll from Pamela Armas. The cost, which includes entry fee and shipping, is $20.00. The theme is: The Charmed and Mystical Gypsy
For more information go to: http://www.creationsinfiberinc.com/Gypsy-Challenge.html
Or contact Pamela at GypsyTreasures@cs.com

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UPCOMING EVENTS YOU WON’T WANT TO MISS

September 21-23, 2012 – RenoIowa Retreat
Marshalltown, Iowa
Classes from Sherry Goshon and Jean Bernard
For information go to: http://www.RenoIowaRetreat.com or contact Sherry Goshon at innerchildslg@yahoo.com or Jean Bernard at Jean@JeanBernardArt.com

September 27-30, 2012 – NIADA (National Institute of American Doll Artists)
Stamford, Connecticut
More information about the convention at: http://www.niada.org/index2.html

October 1-3, 2012 – NIADA Dollmaking School
Stamford, Connecticut
Class registration is now open for the NIADA 2012 Dollmaking School
http://www.niada.org/dollschool.html

October 20-21, 2012 – Forget Me Not class with Barbara Willis
Make a free standing ground fairy(no wings) with fully soft sculpted face from knit fabric, wired hands for posing and fabulous leather shoes that compliment the fairy couture costume.  18 inches tall.
Cost: $300 The price goes down, the more people we have registered!! Please send your cheque to secure your spot to Edwina at: 1276 Wellington Street, Ottawa K1Y 3A7

October, 2012 – Doll and Teddy Bear Expo
Information coming soon at: http://www.dollandteddyexpo.com/

January 2013 – IDEX
More information coming at: http://www.regonline.com/builder/site/Default.aspx?EventID=942999

To save yourself time and energy, get all the details on upcoming doll related events at
CLOTH DOLL CONNECTION:  http://clothdollconnection.com/

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SPECIAL GIFTS FOR YOU

American Girl Doll Clothing Patterns
http://www.agplaythings.com/AG%20Patterns/DollDressPatterns.html
I bought all these patterns a long time ago and lent them to a friend because she wanted to make some clothes for Christmas. I never got them back, and they are no longer for sale. Here is a website that has all the original patterns. Viewed patterns at 100% and they printed out perfectly. I compared Kirsten's apron pattern grain line with one I printed, and they both measured 2-3/4". Hopefully that will give you a guideline when you print your patterns out.

If you like to crochet, here is a free pattern for a doll puppet in a blanket. I made several similar to these over the years for my children and grandchildren. It is even safe for babies. Enjoy!
http://crochetpatternsonly.blogspot.com/2009/04/puppet-dolly-in-blanket.html

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HEALING HANDS – The Healing Power of Color and Friendship
By Julie Booth

Glorious!
That's how she described it. A Glorious Yellow with a deep Velvety Brown. And large like a plate. A perfect specimen...a perfect sunflower...

I visited with my friend, M, yesterday. This is her last week of work. After nearly 20 years, she is retiring. She needs the time to work towards getting well, and if not, she needs the time to do as many of the things that bring her joy as she can. This week it was taking in the beauty of a sunflower.

M is also an artist. She works with color and texture...mostly paper.. which she cuts and tears and pastes into abstract collages. She takes great pleasure in moving the papers around, in finding the perfect bit of color and placing it in just the right place to make her pieces sing.

I brought along my prints from Tuesday's play date with gelatin. I always try to bring something art-related that we can talk about. I think it helps her to take the focus off her cancer and reminds her that she is still an artist...still someone curious and creative.

I gave her some gelatin prints I made with rice paper.

"You know", she said, "I will be tearing these up."
"I know", I said.
"And that red, I think it's just the red I've been looking for. I think I'll call it Julie's Red."

In a recent phone conversation, M, in an almost joking way, told me about her last visit to the doctor. There was the good news...the cancer in her lungs seems to be getting smaller and then there was the new news, she has a blood clot in her lungs.

It amazes me that she can have a sense of humor about it all.

M seems relieved to be retiring. She is excited to get back into her home studio. To get back to playing with the paper, with color and texture. We talked about how time is different when you're creating. It seems to open up, to broaden.

Yesterday was the last time I'll be visiting her at work. We are making plans to get together at her home. But first, she wants to have something to show me...artist to artist.

So she is will be working in her studio tearing, cutting and pasting paper and I will be working in mine painting and printing cloth.

 I am hoping in the healing power of all things colorful, in the healing power of art and friendship and that we will be getting together very soon.

To see color pictures and fun projects visit Julie's blog.
http://www.threadbornblog.com/2012/06/healing-power-of-color-and-friendship.html
Be sure and sign up for her free newsletter on making fabulous fabric using things found in your kitchen. Just think, you can make custom fabric for that OOAK doll using some of her techniques. While there, check out her archives for a great summer project!
http://us5.campaign-archive1.com/home/?u=d8b51cbd7b9847f09709a5144&id=402eed82ec
Check out Julie's kid-friendly patterns at http://dollmakersjourney.com/friends.html#Booth

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NEW PATTERNS/BOOKS/CD-ROMs/DVDs/MOLDS

We are always delighted to introduce you to talented new designers. Come see the well-presented patterns of Canadian designer NANCY PERENNEC. "Cassie - The Little Ballerina CD" has lots of great construction features and "Ume Midnight Garden Stump Doll CD" is a study in movement and grace. We know you will enjoy these two wonderful projects. - http://dollmakersjourney.com/perennec.html

SHERRY GOSHON has a great body pattern to go with her "Sara Pressmold." As always you learn a ton of clever costuming techniques on "Rose - Buttons and Bows." - http://dollmakersjourney.com/goshon.html

That amazing SUSAN BARMORE never seems to run out of imaginative Steampunk characters. Go grab some soda cans out of your recycle bin and see what you can do with them on "Thaddeus." - http://dollmakersjourney.com/barmore.html

Come take a peek at BARBARA SCHOENOFF'S delightful little fellow named "Finch." You are going to love him! - http://dollmakersjourney.com/schoenoff.html

DEANNA HOGAN'S "Viola Ruth Pressmold and Body Pattern" has been so popular that VCICTORIA DI PIETRO recommends using it with her amazing "How to Create the Portrait-Style Doll in Cloth and Paperclay CD." To make it easier, DEANNA is now offering the "Viola Ruth PRESSMOLD ONLY" for those that just want the mold. Do take a look at these wonderful projects! - http://dollmakersjourney.com/hogan.html and http://dollmakersjourney.com/dipietro.html

"Enchanting Art Dolls & Soft Sculptures" is a marvelous new book by MARINA DRUKER. The pages are filled with the most imaginative projects that combine sculpting, crazy quilting, embroidery and beautiful embellishment techniques. You will find many hours of creative inspiration within. - http://dollmakersjourney.com/books.html

 JENNIFER CARSON is treating us to her lovely new "Jewel Dragons" that are hand stitched from hand dyed wool blend felt. http://dollmakersjourney.com/carson.html  AND it is on sale because... Our AUGUST SALE categories are DRAGONS/MYTHICAL BEASTS, TROLLS and ELVES/WIZARDS from which you find a ton of amazing projects discounted 20%.  http://dollmakersjourney.com

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SUPPLIES

OH MY GOSH! Do we have a fabulous new product for you - or anyone who would really like to catalog/organize their "stash." Check out our new "SWATCH BUDDIES (tm)." This quick and easy system allows you to see your fabrics at a glance and record how much you have and where you purchased it. As you'll see in the video, SWATCH BUDDIES (tm) are all about Viewability, Portability, Flexibility, Label-ability, Durability and Re-Usability! Hurry up and order now because we don't think our current supply is going to last very long! - http://dollmakersjourney.com/supplies.html

You will now find the handy-dandy TURN-IT-ALLS (used to be called Bow Whips) amongst the many new supplies we have for you. - http://dollmakersjourney.com/supplies.html

BACK IN STOCK: White Gel Pens, Waxed Linen Cord, 12" Muslin Doll Bodies, 3.5" Hemostats http://dollmakersjourney.com/supplies.html 
and Ethnic Fabrics #1 and #9. http://dollmakersjourney.com/fabrics.html

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CUSTOMER QUERIES

Q:  I really enjoy Dollmaker's Journey and the purchases I make. Soft dollmaking has certainly taken a turn as it has progressed from simple raggedies to "art".  I still enjoy making the old fashioned dolls that a very young child can grab by the arm and drag around! They are the best ones to give away! I would love to see you feature some dolls and patterns in this category.  Most that you feature are not dolls for play although they are fun and exciting. Thanks for a great site, Sue Morton Cottonwood, MN

A: We appreciate the thought.  Our site specializes in "Art Dolls" although we do have several that fit your category.  Check out the dolls by Julie Booth - these are designed to be made with children.  Also check out our Raggedies and Babies/Children categories. There is a darling baby head with a security blanket that even a baby can cuddle. The very best doll for a toddler to drag around was in an old Cloth Doll Magazine.  She had long skinny legs and arms, yarn hair and a tiny body with clothes that were part of the doll.  Nothing came off.  It was called the Carry Me doll.  You can find doll patterns appropriate for children in most pattern catalogs in fabric stores.  We now carry many realistic baby and children dolls, but you are correct.  Most of them are not designed for children.  Check out http://caroleecreations.com (Sew Sweet Dolls) for patterns more suitable for children. Also check out http://thedollnet.com/ for suitable patterns by Judi Ward and Kezi Matthews. I made Milo and Rocky (a rocking horse) for one of my grandsons when he was a toddler.

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NEWS FROM THE HOME FRONT

Bonnie just has a "blast from the past." One of our customers requested a Captain Underpants doll for her nephew's 7th birthday. This is one of our free patterns that Bonnie created ten years ago. It used a Baby Bobble pattern by Meo Feroy which was enlarged and then dressed in a cape and underpants. http://dollmakersjourney.com/newsletter/captunderpants.html  She made the doll and shipped it on time, but it was strange to reread directions written so long ago. She has since explored uncharted waters in the art doll world and rarely makes a child-safe doll. It was kind of fun to play with dolls again.

On Saturday 28 July Mary Ann’s granddaughter made an early debut in Sacramento CA.  Her name is Nakoalani Mae Ka’ahanui. She weighed 7 pounds 11 ounces and is 21” long. http://dollmakersjourney.com/newsletter/granddaughter.jpg Mom Kyah, Dad Mike and big brother Kainoa are all delighted to have their newest family member safely home.  Mary Ann is a busy beaver making girlie things and it counting the days until she meets this precious bundle of joy!

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WEBSITES:

Check out the amazing morphing technology in celebration of Queen Elizabeth’s Diamond Jubilee
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8nJhG1xE5o&feature=em-share_video_user

Olympic Synchronized Swim Team 2000 – Awesome
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPx5g_eg7z4&feature=related

Just for fun – Senior USA swim team (this I could do)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_eR11SE0RA0

Great ideas to use leftover string and yarn.
http://www.kamibashi.com/products/dolls/stringdolls/