Wordless Wednesday

Tulip festival

Dancing With the Stars

I'm happy to announce the new online class I'm teaching on Doll Street. If you've never made a doll before, begin here. If you've never taken an online class, begin here. How it works: you download each lesson, which is chock full of photos showing each step of the creation of the dolls. There's an online group, where you can post all your questions and I'll be there to answer them, everyday! You can't go wrong, can you? Click the picture to go tot he registration link:

Dance With The Stars as we learn to make these two cloth dolls - yes, two dolls from one pattern! Explore male and female characteristics as we take this class step by step together.

Read all about it -

Dawn Quixote and Sancho Samba have been dancing partners for seven years. Specializing in the Latin American dances, they have danced their way to the top of many competitions, including the National Championships in Guadalajara. By day, Dawn is a hairstylist in Twickenham, while Sancho devotes his life to the dance and training of young dancers and wearing fabulous hairstyles created by Dawn. Join Dawn, Sancho and me as we create their fabulous look! 

In this class, you will learn how to create a simple armature figure, how to make a moveable head, how to needle sculpt and paint the head, how to work with clay over cloth to create imaginative shoes and creative options for hair and costume treatments.

This class begins June 29th, 2012 and costs just $35. 

Wordless Wednesday

Tulip Festival, Ottawa

Bears, oh my! On sale two more days!

This past week, I've been busy with needle felting stuff. It's always so relaxing to get back to poking away with my needle. There's a challenge in Cloth, paper, Scissors, which I must enter. One of my flat pieces needs finishing for the occasion.

New Tutorial

But I digress, I was going to talk about my Bears. I made some new ones and wrote a tutorial while I was at it. Once you understand the techniques, you can make these in a few hours. The tutorial has step by step photos, loads of them!! You'll be needle felting tiny Teds in no time!! Click the yellow Ted to see the tutorial.

Kits on Sale

To help you along, I've had the kits on sale this month. All kinds of kits, not just bears. Two more days, if you want a kit with 20% off!! Click the picture to see the kits.

This guy is so funny. I love the patches on his eyes and his paddy paws. All added with wool fiber and needle felted on. You can customize these in so many ways! I taught this as a class and one of the ladies made one in the colors of her favorite hockey team, complete with logo on his chest! Just think who you could make such a bear for!

Newsletter

Don't forget, if you sign up for my monthly newsletter, you get this free pattern tutorial! Why don't you join me? Just click the image to go to the site.

Wordless Wednesday

London's Monument

Vogue Knitting Show

I'm very excited to share my news with you. I have been invited to be a feature Gallery Artist at the Vogue Knitting Show in Chicago this October. Details are not up on their web site yet, but check with Vogue Knitting Live to see the updated schedule soon. I will be one of 8 gallery artsits showing my work. I plan to take along some felted vessels, needle felted dolls and my cloth dolls too. It's going to be fun!!

Wordless Wednesday

Petite palais, Paris

Paper dolls

The April meeting of our doll club included a play day in the morning. About 12 of us gathered to play with paper and glue. The idea was to use the technique to costume a simple doll. Some people had a basic doll shape, some used a bottle, I used a paper mache mannequin and mounted it on a styrofoam cone.

We covered our bases with tissue, used white glue, to form the foundation of our work. I covered the torso with dark reds and oranges . It set the theme, as I had this lovely gold and red paper picked from the pile.The tissue paper works well with the white glue and soon it was dry.

Here you can see the costume coming together. I made sleeves in a heavier paper, streaked with glitter. It took the glue really well. The danger was in over wetting the paper and having it tear. You coat the whole sheet with glue, then drape and mold it to shape. The skirt had  panniers added with scrunched tissue to support the skirt. You can see the white tissue peeking out on the right hip above.

I used a napkin to create the shoulder draping. I let them dry first, before mounting them on the dress. The gold and red paper was  specialty paper Roberta brought in for us. She learned this technique at a Jean Bernard and Sherry Goshon class. I was thinking it was similar to Paverpol, which would make the whole thing more solid.

Still, I was pleased with the result. I didn't have time to glitz it up, but that comes next! What do you think - glitter or ribbon and trim? She's very regal, after all.

Wordless Wednesday

They also serve, who only stand and wait.