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

May 2009 Issue 90

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Copyright 2009 by Dollmakers Journey

Dollmakers 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  view this issue online. Go to
http://dollmakersjourney.com/newsletter/cc90.html

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,
 
I mentioned in last month's newsletter a website on U-Tube featuring Susan Boyle singing. Well, believe it or not, someone has now turned her into a doll! Check it out at http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/tv/article2435299.ece
 
We'd like to share a story with you called "What's The Best Way To Start?"
 
Once upon a time, there was a king who ruled a prosperous kingdom. One day he went on a journey to some distant areas of his country. When he returned to his palace, he complained that his feet were very painful. This was the first time he'd gone on such a long trip, and the roads he'd traveled were very rough and stony. He then ordered his people to cover every road of the entire country with leather. Yes, this would require thousands of cow skins and could cost a vast amount of money, but the king was adamant.
 
Then one of his wise servants bravely said, "Why do you wish to spend that unnecessary amount of money? Why don't you just cut a little piece of leather to cover each foot?"
 
The king was surprised, but he later agreed to his servant's suggestion of wearing "shoes."
 
The moral of the story: If we want to change the world, sometimes the best way to start is with ourselves.
 
Bonnie and Mary Ann

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MAY SALE

Well, the Fairies made quite a racket in the forest during our April Sale.  They managed to stir up all the ELVES/WIZARDS and DRAGONS/MYTHICAL BEASTS who are demanding equal time.  Be sure to enjoy a 20% discount all month long (ending May 31) on the huge array of patterns in these two categories during our MAY SALE.  And guess what? We have three fabulous new patterns in the sale categories!
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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APRIL QUIZ WINNER

Q: Yabusame is a sixth-century Japanese samurai art practiced from horseback. What sort of athletic endeavor is this?
 
A: Archery. Yabusame's origins were at the beginning of the Kamakura period. When Minamoto no Yoritomo became alarmed at the lack of archery skills his samurai had, he organized yabusame as a form of practice. Archers ride at a full gallop and shoot a special "turnip-headed" arrow at three targets set up at certain intervals. Hitting all three, an archer is considered to be very skillful. It is now a Japanese Shinto ritual whose purpose is to bring prosperity and peace.
 
Congratulations to Cathy Koos Breazeal  from Volcano, California. Your name was selected at random from all of the correct quiz entries, and you will receive a $10 gift certificate from Dollmakers Journey. Watch for your name in a coming month!

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MAY QUESTION
 
Q:  Which explorer is credited with being the first European to see the eastern shore of the Pacific Ocean?
 
Everyone who emails in the correct answers by June 15th will be entered into a drawing for a $10 gift certificate to Dollmakers Journey. The winner will be announced in the next newsletter. Email your answers to Bonnie at EnchantedR@aol.com  Put May 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
 
This is an odd one. If you go to http://freerice.com you will get a vocabulary game where you have to match a word with its synonym. For every match you get right, you donate 10 grains of rice to the World Food Program. I went there and in 5 minutes I donated 370 grains of rice. Warning: most of these words DO NOT appear in your standard dictionary (I checked). In the first five months this website fed over one million people. WARNING: This website is addictive. However, it is great for anyone having to take the SAT or ACT college entrance exams. It has absolutely NOTHING to do with dolls, but is great fun.
 
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SAFETY TIP
 
PUT YOUR CAR KEYS BESIDE YOUR BED AT NIGHT This tip came from a neighborhood watch coordinator. Tell your spouse, your children, your neighbors, your parents, your Dr.'s Office, the check out girl at the market, everyone you run across: Put your car keys beside your bed at night. Just press the panic button for your car if you hear a noise outside your home or someone trying to get in your house. The alarm will be set off, and the horn will continue to sound until either you turn it off or the car battery dies. Next time you come home for the night and you start to put your keys away, think of this: It's a security alarm system that you probably already have and requires no installation. Test it. It will go off from most everywhere inside your house and will keep honking until your battery runs down or until you reset it with the button on the key fob chain. It works if you park in your driveway or garage. If your car alarm goes off when someone is trying to break in your house, odds are the burglar/rapist won't stick around... after a few seconds all the neighbors will be looking out their windows to see who is out there and sure enough the criminal won't want that! And remember to carry your keys while walking to your car in a parking lot. The alarm can work the same way there. This is something that should really be shared with everyone. Maybe it could save a life or prevent a sexual assault. My Mom has suggested to my Dad that he carry his car keys with him in case he falls outside and she doesn't hear him. He can activate the car alarm and then she'll know there's a problem. It would also be useful for any emergency, such as a heart attack, where you can't reach a phone.
 

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CUSTOMER QUERIES

Q:  I need a machinecompact and not too many bells and whistleswhat do you suggest?
 
A:  I own several sewing machines.  The one I use the most is my Bernina.  I have one at the very low end of their line and it's perfect for my needs.  I have no interest in the computerized sewing.  You basically need a machine that can sew short even stitches for seam strength.  Look for a machine that you can get an "open-toed" foot for.  Most dollmaking these days is done with freezer paper templates and the open toe enables you to clearly see the edge of the freezer paper.  You can probably get an inexpensive machine that will do the job just as well.  I wish I could be more helpful but I'm really not up sewing machine selection.  Ask me something about doll construction - that's right up my alley!
 
Q:   What kind of fabric do you recommend for making hands??
 
A:  I prefer woven fabrics for the dolls I make, but many people have better luck turning the fingers with the knits like dolskin or deersuede.  Generally the fabric for the hands would be the same that you choose for the rest of the body.
 
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STUFFING TOOLS FOR MAKING DOLLS
By Bonnie B. Lewis and Mary Ann Kaahanui
 
I have used many things to stuff dolls.  It depends on what I am stuffing.  For general doll bodies I love the long hemostats (uterine forceps), and I have them in many different sizes.  They are also great to turn bodies inside out.  I even have some tiny 3" ones that are great for stuffing fingers that Barbara Graff recommended, and now Dollmaker's Journey carries. 
 
I also learned to use a flat head screwdriver from Judi Ward, which is great for sliding stuffing along the outside edge of a stuffed body to get it in exactly the right spot. 
 
Barbara Willis taught me how to use her stuffing forks, which have a pronged tip that can hold stuffing.  We sell two sizes on our site.  The smaller one is perfect for inserting stuffing into tiny pipe cleaner filled fingers.  You take a tiny amount of stuffing, put the end of the stuffing fork in the middle, and twirl the stuffing around it to create an end that looks kind of like a cotton swab.  You then slide this into the tiny fingers and when you remove the handle the stuffing stays in place. 
 
Judi Ward accomplishes the same thing by cutting off the tip of the eye of a long dollmaking needle and inserting the point in Sculpey and baking the handle in the oven.  You will need to sand the pronged end so it isn't too sharp. I made one when I took her class.  Gerry Krueger from Spokane, Washington, also wrote: You can also use a 12" long upholstery needle instead of a doll needle. These are much stronger. Cut off the tip of the eye, sand smooth, and put the pointed end into a round drawer knob.
 
Wooden chopsticks work well, especially with the squared off ends (easier to hold) and since I can get lots of them at my local Chinese Restaurant, they are perfect when I am teaching a class of children who need cheap, free stuffing tools. 
 
Of course, pencils (unsharpened) are great, and the eraser end seems to cling to the stuffing.  elinor peace bailey once sold me a long (18") stuffing tool made from a dowel with a pointed end that she painted and autographed.  She has doll patterns with long legs and arms, and shorter tools just wouldn't work.  So I guess the bottom line is:  use whatever makes stuffing easier for you. 
 
Mary Ann once took an actual stuffing class from Collette Wolf at a We Folk of Cloth Doll Conference.  They spent the morning constructing a body and the entire afternoon stuffing it.  The gold nuggets she gleaned from the class were these:

1. Prepare the opening you are going to stuff through by taking a few seconds to baste down the seam allowance around the opening.  When you are ready to close the seam by hand it will be neatly creased and not stretched out of shape.
2. Ankles and wrists should be stuffed tightly like a drain so, for example, the stuffing in the foot wont migrate into the leg.
3. When you are stuffing body parts, close your eyes and feel the part with your fingertips.  You will be absolutely amazed how you can feel where you need more stuffing better than seeing it.