From the movie Dark Shadows:  “What sorcery is this? Reveal yourself, tiny songstress!”

Why do you make dolls?

My simple answer: I am obsessed with tiny objects.

I remember it clear as day. I was about 3 or 4 years old and my sister and I asked our dad how the stereo worked. He informed us there were tiny people who lived inside and they sang. We peered through every crack in the stereo we could find, but there was no sign of the tiny people inside—they were quite shy. Thus began my pursuit of all things tiny.

But it isn’t as simple as that. Doll making aligns with many of my core values and beliefs. I believe in Innovation, Individualism, Autonomy, Creativity, Knowledge and I relish Problem Solving.

As doll makers, we are mad scientists concocting beautiful Frankensteins in our own tiny laboratories. Doll makers are not just jewelers, sculptors and tailors—we are doctors, chemists, scientists, physicists, explorers, historians, engineers and designers.

We determine strengths and weaknesses in designs and modify accordingly. We make sure an arm fits into a socket just so or that the fibers used in the hair meet the proper ratios in proportion. We remove eyes, ears, scalps, limbs and other parts and then reattach them seamlessly. We develop impossible designs for balance and armatures to defy gravity and fool the eye. We take raw materials and reinvent them. We become chemists in testing for the right glues and pigments for the best reaction on a surface. We collaborate and assemble to share doll discoveries and technologies.

It is a remarkable process involving complex problem solving and doll makers do it all the time. It’s no wonder doll makers love what they do!

As a side note, perhaps teaching doll making may seem counterproductive to my value of Individuality. I don’t see it as such. My tutorials are project based, but they rely heavily on the demonstration of techniques and innovative ways to use materials. I share what I discover and it is my hope that doll makers take what they learn and build their own voices in their work and that they solve more problems.

Why do you make dolls?

This past weekend I gave my tiny models a little much needed attention. The dolls in my home work hard! This was my first time doing full faceups (stripping and repainting faces) and I have to say I really enjoyed it! But it was very scary cracking Blythe's head open and pulling apart her eyes! Here are some before and after shots of the girls I worked on.

Bleuette

This is a resin BJD Bleuette from Ruby Red Galleria. I ordered the doll with changeable face plates Bleuette/Charmette, but I didn't really like the Bleuette face plate she came with. 

Before:

After: I sanded down and reshaped her chipmunk cheeks, widened the width between her eyes (carving and adding apoxie sculpt to the resin). I used pastels, sealant and acrylics to add the coloring.

Here is a side view so you can see the cheeks better.

Before:

After:

I still need to bevel her eye holes so the glass eyes fit a little more flush to her face. 

Lati Yellow Lea (Ether)

Ether was my first resin doll and it was really starting to show--her original factory face paint had become so worn and faded, she barely had color left. Plus I had never liked her angry blocky eyebrows. 

Before:

After:

She has lips again :]. And eyelashes... Here you can see her new sad eyebrows :]

Blythe Nicky Lad

I have seen some amazing Blyhte makeovers and I knew I wanted to try it, but I was afraid to jump in as I didn't want to ruin her! I found many helpful articles through google searches ie "removing Blythe's eye mechanism" and they really helped boost my courage when I was prying Blythe's head apart with full body weight. I stood on a chair leaning onto her head to separate the face plate--the cracking sounds were scary, but she made it through!

Before:

After:

She had some carving/sculpting done with a file, matte sanding to remove the shinies, all four sets of eye chips have been replaced, sleep eyes enabled, new eyelashes, lids painted and pigments added :].  I forgot Blyhte doesn't usually have eyebrows when I made them, but then I kind of liked them, so they stayed.

Now she needs new hair :]. 

I am sure I will keep fussing with these guys for awhile, but for now, they seem to be feeling much more colorful :]. 

A special thanks to the beach peep ladies for your support during my projects--hugs to all!

Eliana (4" Amelia Thimble from Wilde Imagination) would like to share her new room/carry case with you! The room began life as a Paddywhack Lane Cottage like this:

I stripped it down with sandpaper and paint and then built it back up with new fabrics and papers more to Eli's liking. If you right click on the pictures and open in a new tab, you can see the images in more detail.

The room is filled with cream, beige and aqua. Those little 'jars' along the top are bead tubes I shortened. They contain tiny treasures Eli has stolen from my workroom. Eli has an affinity for tiny shinies. (Don't we all?)

Below: This is how the project began--a sanded blank canvas. I left some of the original print showing through because the cottage was already done in a sort of shabby chic style--the white paint just mellowed the shiny plastic look a little. The pillow inserts are actually a cheap sponge I cut up. This project cost very little as most of the fabric and paper scraps were lying around. 

These are some of the fun bits I used. The filigree bobbypins were painted and added to the drawers--the drawers are wrapped with silk ribbon. The 'knobs' need to be flat so the case can still fold. The little girl painting is a picture from a catalog. I used Matte Acrylic Gel Medium to add brush strokes for a canvas look. The little window is a resin scrapbooking/collage accessory from the local craft store. 

Eli says 'Take your shoes off and come on in!' This project wasn't difficult--just a little time consuming. I highly recommend it :]. 

I still need to finish the outside and add a new handle. Eliana is almost ready to travel in style! The little bed folds up into the box. I am going to use the hollow underside of the bed to create a sealable pouch for Eli to ride in safely. 

This ship decoration was made with frosted shrink plastic using the pattern below along with colored pencils. You can make most any design or embellishment for your doll using shrink plastic. 

I added a small peg to the bottom of the pattern to make it easier to permanently affix the ship.

Use Crafter’s Pick the Ultimate tacky glue to glue your ship embellishment into place (you could also glue a clip or barette to the backside of your embelishment if you want it to be removable):

Here are addtional miniature doll accessories made with the same frosted shrink plastic:

Learn to make your own original clothes pin doll with my new tutorial: Clothes Pin Art Dolls available on etsy!

I am a bit embarrassed to admit this, but I haven’t made a doll in 7 or 8 months! So what happened? Well, dolls happened. I have been making tiny shoes and clothes and kits! What started out as a side project for me in my Doll Destash etsy shop has really taken on a life of its own.

That’s not all—you now know a fashion designer! I have been contacted recently by two different doll companies to design and produce lines of clothing for their dolls. The little preview picture here is one of the pieces I am working on for the fast approaching Valentine’s day launch. If you are curious, I will talk more about the companies and projects in the coming months. I can tell you I am designing a new pattern almost every day right now. My work room has spilled into the hall and right now it kind of looks like Valentine’s day threw up in here. ;]

So what are your plans for 2012? Aside from clothes and more clothes, I will be working on some new doll designs, new kits and brand new PDF tutorials including (finally) one to teach you how to make my clothes pin dolls—to be released this January or February!  I have pronounced this year to be a year of experimentation and learning—don’t be afraid to try new things.

In the spirit of learning and sharing, I am having a Buy one, Get one Free sale on all my PDF tutorials in my dollproject shop! So you can save up to 50% and learn twice as much! To take advantage of this special sale visit my shop here and follow the instructions in the listing you select. This sale is only for January.

Happy New Year! I hope you try many new things, or at least get to that project you’ve been itching to do—even if it’s painting the bathroom (that’s on my list!). 

So, if you have a Blythe doll or have held a Blythe--you know her body is quite rubbery in texture. When you are dressing Blythe, fabrics tend to get caught up due to friction and it can be a challenge to put a tight or slim garment onto her limbs. (Think fat toddler foot vs tiny shoe.) 

Here is a simple, frustration-free method to put long stockings of any material onto your Blythe doll. You will need two tools--

1. Bic pen style barrel with both ends removed

2. Small rod or dowel that fits inside the barrel of the pen

Step 1 Turn both stockings inside out--To do this, feed the stocking all the way onto the pen barrel and then push your dowel into the toe end of the sock while sliding the fabric up and around the dowel. Next pull up the remaining sock up so that it is completely turned.

Step 2 In a similar fashion to step one, reinsert the pen barrel into the stocking and then push the toe area inward with the dowel. This time, only push until the sock is turned about 1 inch, as you see below. 

Step 3 Now slide both tools out of the sock and put Blythe's rubbery little foot into the 1" sock 'starter hole' you made. 

Now you should be able to slide the remaining stocking onto Blythe's leg, turning it right side out as you push it up the leg. Yay! We won the battle.

Oh, Merry Christmas too :]. This is my westie, Emma.

Tiny Doll dress Christmas ornaments

(This is a scented dresser art sachet for your dresser)

Happy Dot Doll Socks -- I now offer made to order tiny doll socks in over 50 different fabric patterns! And I have hand sewn over 1000 tiny pairs of socks...and I still love making them! That is love people. ;]

Original boot designs and patterns I developed for my ongoing tiny doll shoe workshop. Working on dress shoe designs now....

A custom party bird for a little one's birthday!

Wig size is the circumference of the doll's head above the ear line. The circumference is measured at an angle, starting at the top of the forehead and moving to the base of the skull--just like where you would place a hat. Wig size is measured in inches and often includes a slash rather than a hyphen to denote a range of size. For example, a Lati Yellow doll has a wig size of 5/6--this is 5 to 6 inches. Wig size can also be hat size, though you may want to get a slightly larger hat if the hat needs to go over a full wig.

Shoe size is the actual size of the doll's shoe in millimeters—the length is measured from the outside of the shoe, so it is larger than the actual length of the doll’s foot—usually by about 6mm, give or take. Shoes for dolls with tiny feet and big heads (Blythe, Pullip...) are often oversized to help balance out the doll's proportions.

Black & White 'Earbits' hat is available in my Doll Destash clothing & supply shop. :] I am working on a gigantic master list of doll shoe and wig sizes--so far I have logged over 100 dolls. Which dolls, if any would you like me to include in my research?

Tiny Zippers

Whether you sew or not, you have to admit that teeny tiny real working zippers are pretty darn cool. I love to use them for things like doll bodices (above)--they can be dyed, cut, altered, enhanced.... Purchase them in a wide range of colors from Zipper That Doll (they also have a huge selection of other tiny & hard to find things like micro buttons).

Pulp Lace

This stuff is weird. And wonderful. It is cotton netting with bits of paper pulp blown and fused into it. It's a paper and a fabric at the same time. Pulp lace makes awesome collage backgrounds, doll clothing and such. It is also fun just to ball up and crinkle. It dyes and colors beautifully too! Get this from Loose Ends.

Glass Doll Eyes

People often ask where I get the glass eyes for my dolls and art busts. I get these from Mini World Dolls--I love the quality and the price is great too! My favorite eyes are the third section down--the oval 'realistic glass paperweight' eyes--I buy these in all different sizes. My favorite colors are the green and hazel, but I also like the blue and violet--My favorite real-life eye colors are actually grey and brown, but the grey and brown for this brand and type of eye is just too dark. The hazel is a great substitute for brown. Get these from Mini World Dolls.

Twisted Opal Wire

This wire is another Loose Ends product. It is a beautiful, shiny iridescent twisted wire called 'Neon Wire' in the color 'Opal.' This wire bends and coils and looks fantastic. It makes a super base for fairy wings and crowns--in both doll and people scales. Also excellent for sprucing up a collage or wrapped gift. Get this here from Loose Ends.

Prosculpt Polymer Clay

In honor of my newly released workshop, Face Cabs Tricks & Techniques, I am including my favorite polymer clay here. This clay is fairly familiar to many doll makers, but I am always surprised by the number of people who have never heard of it. This clay is hands down my favorite for sculpting. It conditions, blends and smooths unlike any other clay. Don't let the higher-end price talk you out of it. You will more than make up the cost difference in the time you save with faster smoothing and blending :]. Get this from the Art Dolls Supply website. Get on the mailing list, as sometimes the company offers great deals on clay!

Do you have any special secret supplies?

So, it is probably no surprise here, but I am not a very trendy person. I cut my own hair--mostly just pull it back into a pony tail-like structure and then snip off the ends with scissors (apologies to any stylists reading this). My work wardrobe consists of lounge pants and yoga pants because I spend most of the work day alone in my home working out of my studio. Not very fashion aware.

Trends aside, I am fascinated by color and the Pantone color forecast is no exception. These are specific shades of colors put out once a year or once a season--the colors designers have deemed will be 'in' that season. As artists and crafters we cannot ignore the colors that shape the design industry.

This is the forecast for Fall 2011 and Winter 2012--I combined the colors from Pantone's website and from the color assistance documents found on Fire Mountain Gem's website. I actually made this image into my desktop wall paper as a reminder of the times ;]. Feel free to nab it--give it a click to make it full size.

Lots of rosy hues, neutrals and a few bright pops of color. Many of these colors kind of remind me of lipstick. The current color of the year, Honeysuckle might have something to do with that.

I am very set in the colors I like to use--grays, browns, cream, greens, peach, orange, yellow--mostly colors in variations of those shades. So how does a stubborn palette limited person (like me) follow color fashion trends? By being picky and choosy ;].

Go through your fabric, your beads and art and selected colors that seem to fit the forecast well. Concentrate on making additional art in those shades or rebranding existing art as fitting those colors--all on your own terms.

There might only be a few colors in this color set you use for your main body of work. That is okay! You can use a dash of another color to accent or detail your work without losing your sense of you. For example, you can make a pair of earrings in shades of nougat and then add 2-3 beads in bamboo or emberglow to add pops of color.

Additionally, if you look over fashion designers' inspiration for these colors, you will see many of them use variations of the colors or pair them with colors outside of the forecast. There are no hard set rules.

Here is a new line of Lati Yellow dresses I have created using color trends without compromising personal style. See if you can spot some of the colors. You can see more new dresses in my etsy Destash shop.