Portrait-Style Child Doll Tutorial by Victoria DiPietro

My friend Victoria has just finished a wonderful project, which she has made available on a CD. Her instructions are very clear and comprehensive. She's been able to incorporate a clay face using my Viola Ruth pressmold. Below is a description of her CD tutorial, which is available at Dollmaker's Journey.

Dollmaker's Journey: "Get ready to learn some amazing new skills as Victoria guides you through the sculpting of a child's face from a drawing or photo. You will receive 196 pages of comprehensive instruction along with 426 photos and drawings that will expertly guide you through every step. The CD comes with printed pattern pieces for a 17" – 19" child's body made of craft velour that can be made poseable or in a fixed position. As an added BONUS the CD includes a tutorial for EIGHT different wig designs to include wiglets, wefts and cornrows. If you don't want to make your own face DEANNA HOGAN'S "Viola Ruth" pressmold may also be used.  (Click HERE for Pressmold) Victoria's always innovative techniques are sure to provide endless hours of artistic satisfaction!"

Zip Line Fun

There's nothing like a bit of spontaneous fun to brighten your day. My friend Allison and I decided we'd try ziplining today. There's a new business just 10 minutes from home - called High Life Adventures.

After our "8-line tour" we spent the afternoon doing crafty stuff - painting glasses, vases and dishes with glass paint, followed by a barbecue.

Back to the Old Grind

I'm back home after an absolutely wonderful weekend. The Doll Party Gala was the first away-from-home conference I've ever attended. The resort was lovely, my students perfect, and the event itself was very well organized. Members of The Doll Gatherers doll club did so much work to make the conference a success. That the weather was spectacular made it even more enjoyable.

I took some photos during the conference and of my class, which I have posted on my Picturetrail site. You can find the album HERE.

Photo by Kathy Hudak, during Friday's vendor sales.

It was fun visiting with the other teachers - Lillian Alberti, Susan Barmore, Arley Berryhill, and Cyndi Mahlstadt.

NEW RELEASE ~ Suffragette Sally

Finally, I'm releasing my Suffragette Sally pattern and pressmold (for polymer clay face with cloth-over). 23 pages of instructions include a full-page color face insert. The cost is $38 plus actual postage. You can purchase this pattern and mold on my website HERE.

Up to my eyeballs...

I've finally finished my fourth Suffragette Sally sample doll for class, and I think that's sufficient. This one ended up being just a little shorter than the others (15-1/2 to 16 inches tall) - the difference in fabrics used, I guess. I really like the green print for her dress. It has a kind of vintage feel, I think, and it goes well with the red hair.

Tomorrow I begin packing in earnest. I'm so fearful I'll forget something. And I keep having those airline lost luggage dreams. Not at all restful!

A Call for Hoffman Dolls

It's time again to start thinking about this year's Hoffman Challenge. I've had the challenge fabric for a couple months, but have hardly had a moment to think about it. The print this year is rather large, so I might experiment with some different fabric manipulation techniques.

For the past 10 years or so I've been hosting pages on my website dedicated to Hoffman doll entries - as many as I can get. Visit my webpage to see some of the past challenge fabrics. On that page are links to some of the challenge dolls - not all of them (there are many more), but just those sent to me by the dollmakers themselves. Not everyone gets to travel to the Hoffman exhibits, so this is my way to see as many of the dolls as possible.

I encourage participants in the doll category to send me photos of their dolls for inclusion. Remember, it's all about challenging yourself and not comparing yourself to others. Please consider entering this challenge (I'm not affiliated with Hoffman Fabrics). Take photos of your doll (ideally with an uncluttered background so we can better see your doll), and send them to me: blueheron61@charter.net. I include links to your blogs and websites if you have them. Please let me know the name of your doll and the source of your pattern (your original design, or patterns by other dollmakers) and inspiration.

Discounted Amity patterns still available

I spent some time reorganizing my pattern supply today, and found a few more discounted Amity patterns. The sale price is $7 plus postage. Here's a link to my pattern page, which will have the discounted price built into the PayPal button there. Just scroll down until you see this yellow pattern cover. Be sure to click on the discounted sale button.

Amity is one of my earlier patterns, copyright 2003. She's about 21 inches tall, and is suitable for all skill levels. This is also a doll that would be appropriate for gentle play. Her clothing (dress, bloomers) are removable. She holds a little dolly, which is also included in this pattern. Here's a link to my Amity page on my website.

BOM ~ May

I just finished the May set of blocks for Amy Gibson's free Block of the Month class on the Craftsy website.  They went pretty fast. This months blocks were variations of the Log Cabin. I messed up a bit on the wonky one on the right, but it's all a learning experience for me. 

I'm using fabrics from a fat quarter bundle called "Fresh Flowers" by Deb Strain for Moda. Again, here are all the blocks thus far in no particular order.

COMING SOON! Suffragette Sally Pattern

Only a couple more weeks until May's conference in Ohio. I've been doing prep work at every opportunity, and I think I have finally finished the instructions for my Suffragette Sally pattern.

Now I'm just waiting for the cover prints to arrive. The pattern and pressmold will be available for sale at the conference, and then on my website when I get home.