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

June/July 2013 Issue 130

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Copyright 2013 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,

If you haven't seen it yet, check out the latest Disney movie "Oz: The Great and Terrible". One of the stars is a 12" fully jointed china doll. She is healed when the wizard uses glue to mend her broken legs, and then accompanies him for the rest of the movie. It is fun to see a doll in a starring role.

Bonnie and Mary Ann

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ATTENTION ALL DOLL TEACHERS AND STUDENTS!

We are establishing a LIST of every Doll Class we can find. We want to know about the classes in your local stores, doll clubs etc... We will post for FREE the information about each class AND we will issue each teacher a specific coupon code so that all of the students can get 20% OFF THE REGULAR PRICES FOR ONE ENTIRE ORDER. In a few days we will have a form on the site that you can fill out to give us the details we need to post for you. Our goal is to connect interested dollmakers everywhere with exciting classes and we are relying on you to help us make that happen! – http://dollmakersjourney.com/dollmaking_class/index.html

Our list of exciting Dollmaking Classes is growing! Be sure to visit this page as often as possible to see what wonderful classes may be coming near you! - http://dollmakersjourney.com/dollmaking_class/index.html

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JULY SALE

Our JULY SALE  is Everything in our HAIR DEPARTMENT!   20% discount all month long. - http://dollmakersjourney.com/hair.html

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

"When you have confidence, you can have a lot of fun.
And when you have a lot of fun, you can do amazing things" -Joe Namath

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MAY ANSWER

Q: This one is for all you knitters and crocheters out there. What entertainer boxed under the name Kid Crochet as a teenager?

A: Dean Martin was call Kid Crochet around the age of 16. His birth name is Dino Paul Crocetti.

Congratulations to Vonda Kay Warshaw from the United States. 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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JUNE/JULY QUESTION

Q: What premiered at Loew's Grand Theater in Atlanta, Georgia on December 15, 1939?

Everyone who emails in the correct answers by July15th (I've given you more time) 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 June/July 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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OH THE THINGS WE SAW AND LEARNED AT AFICC! - Part 2
By Bonnie B. Lewis

In addition to classes, we had a night where different people demoed their favorite techniques. Sherry Goshon showed us how to mold faces. She used a special Press Mold Companion Kit http://dollmakersjourney.com/supplies.html#tools (it looks like a PVC pipe with two end caps and tools inside) to roll clay into a sheet that is the perfect thickness for a press mold. She pressed the sheet into the face mold and then added clay to the back if needed. Talcum powder or cornstarch dusted in the mold before use helped for a quick release.

Kathryn Walmsley taught classes in How Do You Do That? She had the class printing on lightweight pellon or interfacing with an inkjet printer. She had them print two pictures of leaves (one reversed). Sandwiched between the cutout leaves was iron-on fusible web and wire. This allowed the leaves to be shaped. What a great idea! I never knew you could print on interfacing.

In addition she demoed how to shape realistic garments. She used five different techniques using 24 to 28 gauge wire (some colored):
1. She zigzagged over wire and then rolled it into a hem. This allowed a skirt to look like it is blowing in the wind.
2. She put a skirt on a doll and then spritzed it with water. She weighted the bottom with mini metal clips from the electronic store (no teeth) or clothespins. This created folds in the material that remained when the fabric was dry and the clips removed. (I did something similar when the broomstick skirt craze was popular, except I wrapped the damp skirt around a broomstick and covered it with a nylon stocking until dry. If you wrapped a damp doll skirt around a 1/4" wooden dowel and then tightly wrapped it in muslin until dry you might have the same effect. Just be sure to pull each fold straight before encasing it in fabric.)
3. She zigzagged a hem over colored 24 to 28 gauge wire to create a decorative hem. (The wire was visible on the right side.)
4. She wrapped colorful wire around a meat skewer. She then removed the wire and flattened the loops, couching down the bottom of each loop.
5. She wrapped colorful wire around a 1/4" flat stick (like a popsicle stick). She then removed the stick and pulled the wire gently out. This created a zigzag which she flattened and sewed a bead on each point. It looked like beaded rickrack.

Judy Skeel and Patti Judd demoed Bits and Bobs. They began with Clover Quick Yoyo Makers http://dollmakersjourney.com/supplies.html to show how to make quick flowers using these for templates. They cut a series of concentric circles or shapes out of tulle, lace, organza (burning edges to keep them from fraying), layering the fabrics to create a flower. To make ribbon roses they twisted folded fabric by rolling the beginning or folding down and up with the raw edge on the bottom. They then loosely rolled the fabric or ribbon to create a rose. Wired ribbon worked best, because there were no raw edges and the wire held things in place.

The Indy Cloth Doll Makers (including Jude Hernly, Katie Jones, Andrea Baughman, Julie Gavsvik, and Sandy Wildman) taught us how to make wrapped beaded beads. They wrapped paper around a skewer, gluing the end. Different shapes of paper created different beads. A long thin triangle, a long rectangle, or a gradual tapered strip created different shapes. They then twisted and wrapped each bead with decorative yarn, trim or thread and added beads. These were then removed from the skewer and used to make jewelry for people, dolls, etc.

Lots more to come, but this is enough for now. Tune in to July newsletter for more information.

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JUST FOR FUN by Bonnie B. Lewis

Bonnie has been asked by her church to come up with creative solutions to common problems. So far she has shared how to make homemade laundry soap, deodorant, dishwasher soap, dryer balls to eliminate static electricity and soften clothes naturally, and the benefits of hydrogen peroxide over Clorox for cleaning and sanitation. This month she is focused on natural pesticides from your kitchen. Here is the list she made:

PESTS
Ants (see also mosquitoes for outdoor and fire ants)
- Ants, ants, ants everywhere. Well, they are said to never cross a chalk line. So get your chalk out and draw a line on the floor or wherever ants tend to march – see for yourself.
- Ant killer: Use chili powder to hinter entry.
- Squirt lemon juice anywhere that attracts insects, like door thresholds or window sills to keep ants away.
- Place orange peels in blender, add 1 cup water, and blend until smooth. Place on ant hills or dab across entryways.
- Mix together warm water and healthy squirt of Dawn dish detergent. Shake to mix well. Spray ants and they will die. This will keep indefinitely.
- A lot of ants and other pests enter houses through plugs or switches. Remove cover and put 1/2 teaspoon borax powder inside metal casing. Replace cover. Refill every 3-6 months if needed.
- Make bait traps. Fill plastic bottle caps with Borax. Place anywhere you notice ant activity – under appliances, sinks, vents leading outdoors, inside cupboard with sweets or greases, near kitchen garbage cans, near doorways leading outside, in kitchens, bathrooms, and laundry rooms.
- Ant mounds outdoors – Mix together 1/4 cup sugar and 1/4 cup honey. Heat in microwave until sugar melts. Gradually add 1/4 cup Borax, blending well after each spoonful. Drizzle 1 tablespoon mixture onto active any mounds. Cover bait jars and store up to 2 weeks at room temperature. Another recipe: 1 cup mint apple jelly and 1 teaspoon borax. Use as above.
- Mix together 4 teaspoons peanut butter with 6 tablespoons honey and 3/4 teaspoon borax. Place on small pieces of tin foil or inside baby food jars with holes punched in lids. When ants eat borax they dehydrate and die.
- These things DON'T WORK to deter ants: grits, cornmeal, oatmeal, dry yeast, cucumber peels, flour, gasoline, bleach, ammonia, urine, baking powder, and cinnamon. They may disrupt the ant line but they don't work.
Bugs/Weevils
- Put spearmint chewing gum in flour canisters and on cupboard shelves to keep bugs away.
- For pests in cereal and flour, sprinkle plain baking soda on cabinet tops where you store items.
- Remove any infected items (such as whole wheat pasta) and throw away. Then sprinkle bay leaves on cupboard shelves (for ventilated shelves tie bay leaves in nylon net and attach to shelves.) Weevils hate the smell of bay leaves and will go elsewhere.
Fleas
- Citrus spray to remove fleas from other parts of your home - Slice one lemon thinly. Add 2 cups water. Bring to boil. Let sit overnight. Spray any areas where fleas hide.
- Fleas in your carpet? 20 Mule Team Borax- sprinkle and let stand for 24 hours. Maybe this will work if you get them back again.
Fruit Flies
- Fill a small disposable bowl (such as empty butter container) with enough vinegar to cover bottom. Place a piece of cut fruit in bottom. Tomatoes work best. Cover top of bowl with plastic wrap. Poke small holes with a paper clip. Fruit flies will enter bowl and drown in vinegar or find they can't get out of entry hole. Throw away entire container when all fruit flies are trapped.
Lice
- Mayonnaise will KILL LICE and it will also condition your hair.
Mosquitoes/Flies/Flying Insects/Fire Ants
- Repel mosquitoes. Just drink 2 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar in water before you go outside and mosquitoes will stay away. Plus, vinegar is a great health tonic.
- Insects like mosquitoes, flies and ants will stay away if you grind up, grate or use zester on orange peels and place piles around your patio.
- Mix together 2 cups water and 10 drops liquid dish detergent. Spray plants. Repeat every few days. (This also repels stink bugs.)
- These essential oils all kill ant and mosquito larvae: eucalyptus, cedar, geranium, peppermint, lemongrass, fennel, and rosemary. Catnip also works. Mix essential oil or catnip powder with water, soybean oil, alcohol, witch hazel, unscented lotion or apple cider vinegar and put on anthills or places where mosquitoes breed.
- If you are bitten by a mosquito, the following helps alleviate the itch: meat tenderizer, wet a bar of soap and rub on bite, lemon juice, white vinegar, ammonia, or cut a garlic clove in half and run juice on bite.
- For fire ant bites rub the inside of a banana peel on the bite. Elevate wound and cover with ice or cold compress.
- Repel mosquitoes by doing the following:
o Eat lots of garlic (drawback gnarly breath)
o Wear light clothes (mosquitoes like dark clothing)
o Use unscented toiletries (includes shampoo, perfume, laundry soap, hair products, deodorant)
o Relax (exercise indoors – they are attracted to sweat)
o Use citronella candles (drawback stinky smoke)
o Mix lemon and eucalyptus oil with your unscented lotion or sunscreen (lasts 6 hours)
o Mix geranium essential oil with soybean or coconut oil and spread on skin
o A product called Bite Blocker repels mosquitoes for 1-1/2 hours (hard to find, must apply often)
Moths
- Moth repellant in closets (and wonderful closet aroma): save lemon and orange peels and dry thoroughly. Put in jars with perforated lids (hole can be punched with an ice pick), add two whole cloves to each jar and put in each closet.
- Instead of toxic mothballs, use cedar chips. (Why do you think cedar chests were so popular for hope chests long ago?)
Roaches
- Roach killer: mix baking soda and powdered sugar. (Keep away from children and pets.)
- Wash the floor with juice of 4 lemons and 1/2 gallon water to deter roaches and fleas.
- Mix together 5 Tb sugar (1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon) with 5 tablespoons baking soda (1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon) and 1/4 cup water. Mix together until a paste forms (thinner than hand lotion). Stir well until sugar dissolves. Spread in areas you've seen roaches and watch then suffer.
- Mix 4 parts borax with 2 parts flour and 1 part cocoa powder. Pour in a continuous line along walls. A little messy, but it kills roaches. You can also mix baking soda or borax with sugar, cocoa powder, brown sugar or powdered sugar and it works as well.
- Make dough balls to kill roaches. Mix together 1 to 2 cups baking soda, 1 cup flour, 1 chopped onion or onion powder, 1/4 cup sugar, and 1/2 cup solid shortening. Mix well to form dough. Roll into small balls and place around house. Keep in airtight container until needed.
Slugs
- Kill slugs by spraying them with a mixture of 1 part water and 1 part white vinegar.
Stink Bugs (see also mosquitoes)
- Mix together 2 cups water and 4 teaspoons garlic powder. Spray plants, leaves, soil, doorways. Repeat every 2-3 days.
- Mix together 2 cups water and 10 drops mint or peppermint essential oil OR 2 teaspoons ground mint leaves. Spray on plants to repel stink bugs. Repeat as need every 2-3 days.
- Grow catnip or sprinkle catnip powder around the garden and home to repel stink bugs.
Wasps, Hornets, Bees
- Cleaning liquid that doubles as bug killer - If menacing bees, wasps, hornets, or yellow jackets get in your home and you can't find the insecticide, try a spray of Formula 409. Insects drop to the ground instantly.
- For bee and wasp stings: Use toothpaste, baking soda and water, mud, or make a paste of meat tenderizer and water.

PETS
- Sprinkle a few drops of eucalyptus oil around perimeter of outdoor planter boxes to deter cats from using them as a litter box.
- Make a natural flea spray for dogs. () show recipe for smaller amount.
3 cups water (1 cup)
3 drops tea tree or Melaleuca essential oil (2 drops)
6 drops lavender essential oil (4 drops)
Mix together in spray bottle and spray dogs to kill fleas. The tea tree oil will repel fleas and the lavender will kill them. You can use this mixture to spray on mattresses or bedding to kill fleas. NOTE: Do NOT use this spray on cats. Their skin is sensitive to essential oils, especially tea tree oil.
- A powder that will repel/kill fleas on dogs. Mix together
1/2 cup baking soda
1/2 teaspoon essential orange
Put in shaker bottle with lid. Sprinkle on dog and rub in.
- Eliminate ear mites ... All it takes is a few drops of Wesson corn oil in your cat's ear. Massage it in, and then clean with a cotton ball. Repeat daily for 3 days. The oil soothes the cat's skin, smothers the mites, and accelerates healing.
- Kills fleas instantly. Dawn dish washing liquid does the trick. Add a few drops to your dog's bath and shampoo the animal thoroughly. Rinse well to avoid skin irritations. Goodbye fleas.
- Neighbors' pets will keep their distance if you sprinkle cayenne pepper under your rose bushes and shrubs.

PLANTS
- To remove pests from your home or garden, add peppermint essential oil to a sprayer filled with water. Spray mixture anywhere pests are. Discourages ants in your kitchen, bugs in your garden, and is safe around pets and children.
- Stink bugs LOVE to eat tomato plants. To repel them spray tomato plants with a sprayer filled with water and a few drops of peppermint essential oil.
- Make a house plant fertilizer using this recipe:
1 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon household ammonia
1 teaspoon Epsom salt 1 gallon warm water
1 teaspoon salt peter
Stir all ingredients into warm water. Warning: Do not use more often than every 4 to 6 weeks for watering plants or the leafy ones will crowd you out and the flowering ones will blossom themselves to death. Water as usual between feedings.
- Downy mildew on squash or cucumber leaves (pale green areas on upper leaves that change to yellow spots with fine white downy growth on underside of leaves). Spray with neem oil (organic insecticide and fungicide) or make your own by thoroughly wetting affected plants with spray made of 1 heaping tablespoon baking soda, 1 gallon water, and 1/2 teaspoon hand dishwashing liquid soap. Repeat as needed.

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CHALLENGES

See the winners of the 5th Annual Cloth Baby Doll Challenge! http://clothdollbabies.com
Scroll down to see a composite picture of all the winners.

August 15, 2013 – Doll Street Dreamers Mermaid Challenge
Anyone can enter whether you are a member of Doll Street Dreamers or not. Rules are here:
http://www.dollstreetdreamers.com/mermaid-challenge

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UPCOMING EVENTS YOU WON'T WANT TO MISS

July 13, 2013 – Low Tea and Mommy and Me
Baltimore Threadquarters, 518 S. Conkling Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21225
11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Parent child class to make doll - includes pastries and tea
Tickets available at http://prettygirldoll-eorg.eventbrite.com

July 26-31, 2013 - National Doll Festival #26 (NDF)
Georgetown University Conference Center & Hotel, Washington, D.C.
For more information email Rowbear or Faith Loman at DollFestival@aol.com or NatlDoll@aol.com
or call them at (831) 438-5349 (phone) or (831) 439-9142 (fax)

July 29-August 1, 2013 – UFDC 64th National Convention
Washington Hilton, 1919 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington, D.C. 20009
http://ufdc.org/convention/

July 2013 - ODACA
Washington Hilton, 1919 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington, D.C. 20009
http://odaca.org (not updated yet)

August 17, 2013 – 7th Annual Day with Dolls
First Presbyterian Church, 513 Birch Street, Boonton, NJ 07005
9 a.m. – 4 p.m.
For more information visit http://daywithdolls.blogspot.com

October 11-13, 2013 - Magical Art Doll Conference
Tulsa, Oklahoma
For more information about this new doll making/fiber arts conference go to: http://magicalartdolls.com
Our teachers will be: Linda Misa from Australia, Jessica Hamilton of the Doll Project and Barbara Schoenoff from Illinois.

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

Watch a video and get a pattern for a free dress form mannequin pincushion
http://www.thediydish.com/2011/10/season-4-how-to-make-a-dress-form-mannequin-pin-cushion/

Lots of free patterns
http://www.clothdollconnection.com/ Click on free patterns and tips

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EPOXIE SCULPT VS. EPOXY PUTTY

At Dollmaker's Journey we sell Apoxie Sculpt and love it. Some people wonder how it compares to common Epoxy Putty. Here is a link from Edwina Sutherland explaining the difference:
http://www.edwinasutherland.blogspot.ca/2013/06/apoxie-vs-epoxie-which-is-best.html
This blog appeared Friday, June 21, 2013. If the link doesn't work, you can find the article on the right hand side of her blogspot under Apoxie Sculpt. You can buy Apoxie Sculpt at http://dollmakersjourney.com/supplies.html

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

Our favorite Dragon Charmer JENNIFER CARSON has combined FIVE of her most popular dragon patterns on one great CD called "Here There Be Dragons." Dragon lovers are sure to enjoy this great bargain! - http://dollmakersjourney.com/carson.html

"Anna Grace" is a sweet 18" doll from SHERRY GOSHON and it comes with a PRE-PRINTED face for you to use if you choose and extra faces are also available. - http://dollmakersjourney.com/goshon.html

We have added another delightful pattern from LUCY LANDRY called "Wild Things in the Zoo" that includes several animal options. Stop by and check it out! - http://dollmakersjourney.com/landry.html

BARBARA SCHOENOFF debuted her newest pattern collection "Seasons Greetings" at this year's AFICC Conference and we immediately sold out of all that we had. You will love all the delightful costuming details that will transform one fabulous doll body into four distinctly different seasonal dolls. - http://dollmakersjourney.com/schoenoff.html

Oh my goodness, just wait until you see SHERRY GOSHON'S elegant new pressmold "Ella the Star Catcher" also debuted at AFICC. Pattern includes directions for the moon she sits upon and the star she holds. - http://dollmakersjourney.com/goshon.html

You will find an enchanting selection of dolls, puppets, stuffed animals and more in this wonderful new book "Storybook Toys" by Jill Hamor. Ideas for involving young children in the creative process to teach them basic sewing skills are included. - http://dollmakersjourney.com/books.html

"Blossom Babies" is the newest charming pattern from GINNY LETTORALE. Stop by and take a peek at these sweeties. - http://dollmakersjourney.com/lettorale.html

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SUPPLIES

Did you know that it is best to use BALL POINT NEEDLES when sewing Dolskin so that you don't pierce the fabric and cause runs? We now have Schmetz Ball Point Needles available for your sewing machine - http://dollmakersjourney.com/supplies.html

BACK IN STOCK: All of the Animal Eyes in all sizes and colors PLUS a new larger size 13.5 mm. Light Brown Tibetan Lamb, Bleached and Black Kidassia Goat.
http://dollmakersjourney.com/supplies.html#eyes
http://dollmakersjourney.com/hair.html#tibetan
Crystal Lacquer - http://dollmakersjourney.com/supplies.html

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CUSTOMER QUERIES

Q: I recently purchased your new book "Creating Fabulous Footwear for Fantastic Dolls". It's a great book by the way, and very informative and so much information. Thank you so much for writing it! I was wondering if you could help me out with a problem. I really liked the chapter on painting the shoes straight onto the doll's foot, as my cloth dolls are only 5.5inches tall which makes their feet very small indeed. Painting seems to be the best way to go with their shoes. Now, my problem is, when using stockings on the ladies made from 20 denier stretch tulle I'm running into problems with seam at the base of the stocking. It makes a dreadful ridge on the bottom of the shoe making almost impossible for the doll to stand freely. Can you make any suggestions on how I might overcome this problem, please!

A: Try gluing a piece of cardboard or leather on the bottom of the foot to be the sole of the painted "shoe". You can also add a cardboard or leather "heel" to make it look more realistic.

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NEWS FROM THE HOME FRONT

Bonnie has been busy teaching classes in pattern design, pest control, and creative rain sticks which she used for her Primary classes at church. She is the Primary chorister and teaches three different groups of children (ages 18 months – 3 years, ages 3-7, and ages 8-12) songs for 2 hours each Sunday. Last week all the children made rain sticks using whole wheat, paper towel rolls, brown paper, cardstock, and aluminum foil. You can see directions for this creative project here: http://www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/music/rainstick/ To really make these work she used two pieces of aluminum foil 6" X 1-1/2 times the height of the tube, made two skinny snakes, coiled them around each other, and put them in the tube. We used them with a baptism song "I like to look for rainbows whenever there is rain, and ponder on the beauty of the earth made clean again……" The children loved making it rain.

Mary Ann

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WEBSITES:

Check out this incredible balancing video. Be sure and watch to the very end. I dare any of you to make a doll like this!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6rX1AEi57c&feature

I played violin for 12 years. Watch this amazing video from Pakistan where people are making musical instruments from garbage. The group is called the Landfill Harmonic.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXynrsrTKbI

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We'd love to hear your thoughts about our Customer Connection newsletter.

Contact the editor Bonnie B. Lewis at EnchantedR@aol.com with any comments, suggestions, etc.
Please feel free to pass this newsletter on to any of your friends. Help us spread the word about Dollmaker's Journey! All we ask is that you forward it intact, with all the subscription information included.
Thanks!