The bookmark tutorial is done

I actually made the time to write this - and before I wrote that online class on altered CDs and domino art too! Free stuff before paid stuff - what am I thinking? LOL. Anyhow - there's 3 pages and you can print it out and link to it. Just no copying it. Have fun and send me photos if you make any.

You'll learn to make packing tape transfers in this tutorial. These bookmarks will make great gifts so make lots!

Button hanger tutorial

This is pretty simple. Take a button - figure out how much wire you need based on your project and where the button will attach. I used 20 gauge wire. Insert the wire through the buttonholes to the back of the button. Use your pliers and twist the wires a few times. Bend the wires so they sit flush against the button. I put glue all over the button (including under and on top of the wires) and clamped it to the heart overnight. I love clamps. I even told my hubby to buy me clamps one Xmas - got 'em too! I suppose if you're a purist you can sew it on! Ta da ....

Nice and tight and secure

Oh - the photo is deceiving - the wires don't go from the button around the heart. It's 2 separate pieces.

Posted by judi at 4:00 PM | Comments (12) | TrackBack

Finger turning tutorial

I've been thinking of making this video for a while ... although I have discovered that I can't turn fingers, think, and talk at the same time...

How to use beaded trim

This may not be new to anyone but me! I have a lot of beaded trim and the ribbon is usually so wide that I haven't found a good way to use it on dolls. When I was searching for trim to use on my Stump Sister I found some pre-beaded trim that was perfect. So I played with it until I figured out how I could reduce the size of the ribbon without cutting it. Twist, twist, twist! It's all in the wrist.

Start with your standard beaded trim


Start to twist and pin the end. Keep twisting. You can either twist the whole thing or twist and sew as you go. You have to sew the twists into place - I used a running stitch.


Place your piece on your doll and sew into place. Make sure you sew one fringe to either side of the center ribbon.

Posted by judi at 2:43 PM | Comments (15) | TrackBack

How to create an illusion of a hat

As promised, here is how I made the 'hat'. First you need to cut an oval of material larger than you want the finished hat to be. You could use pinking shears or a wavy rotary cutter blade for a neat edge effect. You could even sew a gathered lace around the 'brim'. Sew three little circles of gathering stitches a little higher than center, each one 1/8" away from each other. Pull fairly tight. This will create the 'crown' and gather the material into the pretty folds. Next you need to cover the doll with some plastic wrap. Take some fabric stiffener (like Aleene's Stiffy) and pour onto a paper plate. Lay the hat in it and spread it all over - both sides. Push off excess glue. Put the hat on the doll and adjust the folds. Pin in place. Let dry. If you're like me you will let it dry for about half an hour and then hit it with the heat gun to finish it up. Add decorations like silk flowers and bows. I used corsage pins to secure it to the doll's head. Easy!!!

How to make a lightweight quilted fabric shelf

My local quilt shop has a design wall that is used for class samples. For wearable art or quilts it’s quite easy to display the sample, but for dolls it’s another story. They either get put inside a basket that is tacked to the wall or, horror of horrors, the doll itself gets pinned to the wall. I didn’t want my mermaid to face that fate so I decided to design a lightweight fabric shelf that could be pinned to the wall. This is what I came up with ….

I wrote a 3 page tutorial that you can download. This will work for little lightweight objects. My mermaid is 10" so that's a guide of sorts, I suppose.

Altered charms for charm bracelet swap

I'm involved in two charm bracelet swaps. This is the first set of charms that I've made. They are pretty simple but I'm happy with how they turned out. Here's the scoop:
Materials:
1" wood disk
Various collage images
Crystal Laquer (made by Sakura Hobby Craft)
14K Gold leafing pen
Ultimate Glue
Dremel w/tiny drill bit
20 gauge wire
Various beads/charms
Acrylic paint/varnish

First drill a hole near the top (on the face of the disk) big enough for a jump ring. Then drill a hole on the side of the disk - in line with the top hole. This is where you will add your dangle. Paint the entire disk in your choice of color. Cut a collage image to fit the disk (use a 1" circle punch if you have one - I don't but I'm going to buy one soon!). Glue it on. Cut out your words - glue them on. Color around the edge of the disk with the 14K gold leafing pen, also color the edges of the collage image. Squeeze the Crystal Laquer around the edges of the disk then proceed to fill in the disk wiht the laquer. Let it dry for an hour or two. Take your 20 gauge wire and cut a piece about 1 1/4". Bend the very tip over and squish it. Dip the tip into the Ultimate Glue and then 'screw' it into the hole on the side of the disk. Let dry for a few minutes. Add beads and bend wire into a spiral or a design. Make a jump ring for the top if you don't have any on hand.

Make a studded wristband for your doll

These are quick and easy and look pretty good. You can make studded wristbands, studded collars, or whatever you want to be spiked. First take a piece of scrap leather and cut it to the length and width you want. Now take it out to the garage. Put it on something solid and hit it with a hammer. I used an anvil but most people don't have one hanging around their house.
Angle the hammer so you get some rough edges. Be careful not to hit it so much that it breaks into little pieces when you try to pick it up. Keep checking on it as you pound. You could probably use a rock instead of a hammer too. If you don't want it distressed - then just leave it as is or sew a little hem on each side. Then take a 3D paint (like Scribbles) and make little spikes.
Hold the little bottle upside down and squeeze a tiny bit out, pulling up on the bottle as you do. You can go over it with another layer after it's dry but I find it hard to get the succeeding layers looking good. Sometimes they get droopy but don't worry about it, because as it begins to dry you can stand it back up with a toothpick. You can also paint over them - see how the spikes are silver in the second picture? I didn' t have black 3D paint. So I just painted acrylic over it when it was dry. Once everything is dry you can glue or sew the band around the doll's wrist. I first used this spike method around a dragon's eyes, it was taught in a pattern by Melinda Patterson (Smallworks). But works great for studded accessories, LOL.

Super simple frame

I've been working like mad making another troll and writing the pattern as I work but decided I needed a break. When I was in JoAnn's yesterday they had scrapbook papers 5 for $1. I need more paper like I need a hole in my head but I had this idea .... well, you know how that goes. So I bought a plain wood frame ($1.99) and 4 coordinating papers ($.80). This morning I gessoed and painted the entire frame pink, added strips of the scrapbook papers, varnished it, added rick-rack and buttons and ta da ... a lovely present for my mother! I think this is a perfect Grandmother present, as she has a wall of frames with all the grandkids photos. Probably cost $4.00 and a little bit of time. I think these will make excellent presents for all my friends - just a change of paper and embellishments and it can be personalized. You should make one too!

If you want step by step on how to make this .. just continue on ...

1) Paint entire frame with gesso. Let dry.
2) Paint entire frame with a craft paint that coordinates with your papers.
3) Cut strips of your papers the width of the sides of the frame. You only need one strip of each paper for a small frame. Think how you want the paper to look if you have stripes or other designs before you cut it.
4) Spread glue/modge podge on the frame - one side at a time. Lay your strips of paper on the sides of the frame. It's okay to overlap.
5) Cut 2 strips the width of the inside edge of the frame. Glue the paper to the wood, snipping and folding it to the back of the frame if needed.
5) When dry, turn over and using an exacto knife, trim away excess paper.
6) Add small strips of paper in random places to break up the long strips of paper.
7) Varnish the entire frame. Let dry, do a second coat.
8) Embellish with rick rack, buttons, bows.
9) Be pleased with yourself - you've made a lovely piece of art.

Pattern making: How to make illustrations when you can't draw

On one of my doll lists we've been having a big discussion on what people like in their patterns. A big point of contention was whether it was better to have photos or drawings. All the designers said it is just too expensive to put photos in your patterns - at least it is if you want to charge a competitive price. I've seen patterns go for $16.00 when it is a 'photo' pattern, others are usually about $8.50 or so. I am getting ready to make my troll into a pattern and this has been on my mind. I'm not very good at drawing so how was I going to get my ideas across. I worked it out ... here's how to do it ...

This first example would be for explaining needle sculpting. Print out your photo (if you're like me and just store the things on the hard drive) and cover it with a piece of tracing paper. Light boxes come in handy here. Then take a good dark pen - I used an extra fine point Sharpie - and trace the outlines of the features. Then you can add little dots and numbers at all the needlesculpting points.

Step 1: Print your photo

Step 2: Trace the shapes of the face

Step 3: Add your teaching details

I wondered if you could do this for other things too. I thought about how to show finger turning. I actually sat and sewed a hand so I could do this. Sometimes I obsess over my ideas, LOL. Anyhow - set up the shot so it will be easy to trace later. Print it out and trace the outlines. Get totally carried away putting little dots on your picture to indicate sewing lines (or not) and draw in your turning tubes.

Step 1: Set up and take photo (duh)

Step 2: Print out photo and trace shape

Step 3: Add details - but maybe not this much, ha ha

I think this is going to work for me and my troll !!

Miniature clutch purse

I am working on a piece that seemed to call for an evening bag. I wanted it to be durable rather than soft like a quilted piece would be. So this is what I came up with ... a black velvet clutch ... photos and instructions follow.

To decide what size purse I wanted I just took a little piece of paper and folded it in thirds. Decide how big you want to top flap to be and adjust the top fold of your paper Trim until you get the size you want. That will be your pattern size.
Step 1: Get hold of some stiff double-sided fusible (I used the Pellon brand Peltex 70 available at most craft stores). Cut a piece about 1/2 inch bigger than your paper pattern. Follow instructions and fuse fabric to both sides. Square it up and trim to the proper size.

Step 2: Satin stich the inside edge of the purse.


Step 3: Fold the bottom half of the purse up. Satin stitch around all 3 sides. This will sew the bottom half of the purse together and finish the edges of the top flap.



Step 4: I don't need this to be a useable purse so I am going to sew the top closed. The edges might curl open a bit so you can sew them down too. Or glue it down if you want. You should also sew a button or some beads in the center of the top for a faux closure.




Simple, simple, simple!!!

Memory Coasters - Tutorial

My friend Sherry has been making coasters for presents - she is making them from scratch with polymer clay. They are wonderful but clay and I just don't get along. The other day I was in the dollar store and saw a pack of cork-backed coasters. Hhmmmm ... bet I can do *something* with these! My parents use coasters so I decided to make Memory Coasters - using family photos. But first I had to get rid of those horrible pictures on the coasters.

I gave each coaster a single coat of gesso. The gesso prepares surfaces for paint - might not be necessary on these but can't hurt! You can still see the pictures through the paint. Not my style at all!

When that was dry I gave the coasters a base coat of a light rose color. I just used an acrylic craft paint. My folks are pretty conservative so I used conservative colors but you could go crazy bright with this too. When that was just about dry I took a piece of bubble wrap that I cut in a square and painted it a contrasting color. Then I placed the painted bubble wrap face down on the coaster and just patted the color on. I love using bubble wrap to paint with!

Yeah, I know, it doesn't look so hot, but we're not done! Now we'll tone down the dots. Take a third color and squeeze it onto your palette. Then take a piece of tissue paper and wad it up. Tap the tissue paper into the paint and then tap it onto a piece of paper towel to take a bit of the paint off. Now tap it onto your coaster. Tap until you feel the dots are blended in a bit.

Getting better. One more step for this background. Grab a texture stamp - I have one that is a cube with a different squiggly texture on each side. Now paint a contrasting color onto the stamp and stamp the coaster. Since my stamp was smaller than the coaster I basically divided the coaster into 4 and stamped each section. Clean your stamp immediately - don't let the paint dry on it.

Okay - now just let it dry. See how the dots add depth? Print out your photos (I print onto card stock) and cut them to shape. I used a PVA bookbinding glue to attach my photos to the coasters. Remember that any embellishments need to be flat if you are going to use these as coasters. Meet my folks ....

This one cracks me up .. it's my niece in her car seat wearing her Dad's shoes ...

I guess this is like miniature scrapbooking! To finish these I sprayed them with workable fixatif because I plan to coat them with marine varnish (as soon as I go to the store and buy some). I will probably give them a coat of spray urethane before I paint on the varnish too. I want my Mom to be able to wipe these down - gotta get rid of those coffee cup rings!

Altered Magnet Tutorial - UTEE

I went to the dentist yesterday - something I'm sure everyone just LOVES to do! On my way out I picked up a little magnet for my refrigerator - you know, those magnetic business cards that companies use for advertising. Well, when I got home I found that they were SO thin that I had four of them, not one. I wasn't going to return them and I sure as heck don't need four of them so I altered the extras.

Want to learn how to make these? Just keep reading!

Now I'm not going to tell you to steal some magnets from a local business but you might already have some. I mean magnetic cards someone gave you not that you stole. Sometimes I get these in credit card solicitations, this would be a good use for that trash. Anyhow - get hold of a magnet or two.

Supply list:
Thin paper, glue, paint, clear embossing ink pad, Clear Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel (UTEE) , Gold Ultra thick Embossing Enamel, Pearl-Ex powders, black ink pad, stamp, embellishments, heat gun.

The UTEE is found in jars in the scrapbook section of craft stores. It is like embossing powder but in bigger particles. You can get it in different colors but I only have two.

Step 1: Obtain a magnet. This one's cute, huh?

Step 2: Glue some tissue paper or mulberry paper onto the magnet. Paint the paper (I forgot to take a photo of that step). Pretend this paper is painted Lumiere Halo Blue Gold. Trim paper.



Step 3:
Once the paint is dry, pat the magnet all over with the clear embossing ink pad. Then pour some Clear UTEE on it. Shake off the excess and melt with your heat gun. Melt until the crystals turn clear.



Step 4:
The clear UTEE should be pebbly looking. Pat the embossing ink pad on the magnet again and add another thin layer of the clear UTEE. Shake off the excess. Now take a few different colors of the Pearl Ex powders and sprinkle it on the magnet. I just put a toothpick in the little jar, picked up a tiny bit, then tapped the toothpick so it fell off onto the magnet. I used a pink, a copper, and a gold.



Melt the UTEE. I use a low temperature heat gun so everything doesn't fly everywhere. It doesn't have much of a fan.



Step 5:
Take your stamp and ink it up with the black ink. If you use a pigment ink it won't dry out so fast. Then take your clear embossing pad and ink the middle of the magnet. Take the gold UTEE and pour some in the middle of the magnet. Make this fairly thick because you're going to stamp into it.



Step 6:
Start to melt the UTEE. Make sure the stamp is nearby. This is going to take longer than before. Starting to melt ...



Melted all the way. Looks pretty, eh?



Step 7:
Take your inked stamp and press it down into the **HOT** UTEE. Leave it to cool.



Step 8:
When it is cooled off, remove the stamp.



Step 9:
Embellish! I wrapped some wire around the magnet and glued a butterfly to it. I used E6000 glue because I'm not sure what else would stick to the UTEE. Don't bend the magnet much or you might crack the UTEE. You'd never know this little piece of art started out as a silly little tooth washing it's 'hair' . That will be our little secret!

Feel free to share this tutorial. Just be sure to give me credit ...
copyright 2006 - Judi Wellnitz

Fancy background tutorial - paper art

This is for you Kai! I was influenced by the current issue of Cloth Paper Scissors - but did my own thing. Click on 'continue reading' to see the tutorial.

Start with a piece of shiny paper. The stuff I'm using is by The Paper Company and it was notecard sized - about 6"x9". I found it at Michael's a long time ago. I cut it to ATC size - 2 1/2" x 3 1/2". Pick two colors of ink (I used dye ink - pink and purple). Take one ink pad and put it directly on the paper and twist it. It will make a swirling design. Do this a couple of times - moving the ink pad each time.

Now take your second color and dab some ink on with a makeup sponge.

Next - take some text and glue it down to the paper.

Take your first ink pad and color the text - direct to paper.

Take a large stamp - one that will cover the entire surface - I used one with Italian poetry - ink it with black ink. Remember a big stamp should be inked by patting the stamp with the ink pad - not patting the ink pad with the stamp. Stamp the paper. When dry take your second ink color and blend the text in with the background a bit more.

Easy! Now just collage over it or whatever!

How to make a fabric leaf

I've been making fabric leaves for the past couple of days. Part of the setting for the doll I'm making for the Alaska Fiber Festival. Here's a quick and dirty tutorial on how to make them ....

These leaves are made in two parts - the top part is your 'fantasy fabric' which you make from scratch and the bottom is wool felt. I used felt because I wanted them sturdy. You make the top piece by taking a piece of heavy water soluble stabilizer (I used Badge Master from OEM) and you use a Sharpie marker to draw out your leaf. Then take various colors and textures of yarn - the fancy stuff - and cut pieces so they overlap the leaf you drew. Lay the pieces down side-by-side on top of the stabilizer, covering the outline. Now take some Angelina fibers, some thread snippets, maybe some fabric snippets, and sprinkle them over the yarn. Then take a piece of fine tulle (I used green) and lay that over the whole thing. Pin it down in spots - outside of the drawn leaf. Or, if you use a light stabilizer put it in an embroidery hoop. Now - flip it over and slide it under your sewing machine needle. Sew around the drawn outline a few times and then sew a grid pattern so it holds everything down. You are sewing on the stabilizer. You want your grid pattern to sew into the outline so it all holds together. When that is done - flip it over so the tulle is on top and free motion embroider to flatten everything down and add more color. I used a variegated thread. When you decide that’s enough - change colors to a dark green and sew your vein lines. Great! Now just cut the leaf out (cut around the sewn outline) and soak your leaf in water to dissolve the stabilizer. The first two leaves in the photo are what I’ve described up to this point - you can see the yarn on the back side of the first leaf.

Is your leaf dry? Good - now place it on some felt - I used wool felt. Put it on a piece bigger than the leaf is. Take some floral wire (no thicker than 20 gauge) and bend it to fit the curve - cut it to size. Don’t try to use one piece for the whole thing - make each side separately. There are two ways to sew the wire in - one easy, one hard. The easy way is to zig zag (satin stitch) the leaf to the felt leaving an opening at the bottom to slide the wire up into. Slide the wire in and push it against the side. Use your zipper foot and sew a straight stitch next to the wire - the foot will push up against the wire. It will look like a casing on the back side of the leaf. The hard way is to use an open toe foot and a short zig zag and sew over the wire. I did this and broke lots of needles because you can’t see where the wire is - you have to guide it by feel. But I like the look of the back better. The bottom leaf in the photo is finished this way. Whatever way you sew it - when done - trim off the excess felt around the sewn outline. It's done.

I imagine you could make two pieces of the fantasy fabric and sew the wire between them if you didn’t want a solid background. Just make sure one piece is much bigger than the leaf. You could also make fairy wings this way.

Fire on the Mountain

I decided to experiment with puckering fabric by shrinking craft foam today. Sounds strange, eh? Sew News magazine had an article about fabric bowls that were made this way. The easiest way to explain what I did is to show you.

Step 1 - I drew a little landscape on some craft foam and used 505 temporary adhesive to attach some white fabric to the foam. Then I free-motion embroidered the outline of the landscape. That just means sewing with the feed dogs down.

Step 2 - Use Dye-na-flow fabric paints to color it in. I wet it down pretty good first so the colors would run into each other. Kind of looks like something a grade schooler would do! LOL.

Step 3 - The fun part! Pre-heated the oven to 300 degrees, put the picture face down on a piece of foil on a cookie sheet, and baked it for about 2 minutes. It curled up pretty good. Took it out and flattened it. You can see that the fabric puckered pretty well on the green. It didn't pucker as much as I hoped in the other areas though. I wonder if that's because of the fabric or because my sewing was too dense. Will have to experiment further.
Click to enlarge

Step 4 - Finish it up with more free motion embroidery and some beading. Put a back on it and finished the edges. Oh - guess I forgot to say that this is a postcard. I'm calling it Fire on the Mountain. I would like to send it to the big quilt show at Houston to be sold in a fundraiser for the American Cancer Society. My favorite aunt just got diagnosed with breast cancer and this is dedicated to her. Would you pay $30 for this?
Click to enlarge

Refrigerator Art and Fabric Beads

No kids at home? No grandkids yet? So what do you for refrigerator art? In my case I'm doing a magnet swap with other artists. My original thought was to use some junk jewelry and do some wire and bead work on the pieces but nothing was too inspiring when I went through my junk jewelry box. So I got the bright idea of making wire pin dolls and turning them into magnets - we had learned how to make them at doll club. They were fun to make and here's their picture.

Click on image to enlarge

I really like the one with the pink bead on it so I'm going to keep it (always a prerogative!). The others are okay but kind of strange. One has alphabet beads on it that say ART but it's kind of hard to see. They are all wrapped with a variety of fibers and threads. All except one have fabric beads for legs.

Fabric beads are fun to make - take a straw and cut it into, oh, say 1" - 2" lengths. Cut a little strip of fabric just wider than the straw piece. Put a dab of glue on the straw. Wrap the fabric around the straw and glue it to itself. Now tie some fancy threads or fibers around it. Ta da - fabric beads. The straw helps them keep their shape. I suppose if you don't want the straw in it you could soak them in Stiffy (you know - that fabric stiffener stuff) - they'd be hard as a rock then! Think there's an article on making fabric beads in Quilting Arts.

But, back to the little dudes. One reason I think they look strange is because the proportions are off - one has short arms, one has long arms- but, hey, they're wire figures - so I guess they don't have to look right!

They leave for their new home tomorrow (or at least the swap coordinator's home) ... along with the Faces ATCs, the Alias Flat Stanley, a gift for Mimi Kirchner (who sent me these awesome 1970s fashion and home magazines) and probably a couple of bills too (ugh!). I guess you could say the bills are kind of a swap too -but definitely not a fun one! LOL.

Make your own finger turning kit

Thought I'd tell everyone how to make your own finger turning kits. See if you have a hobby store in your town. A hardware store works too but their tubes will be way too long. The tubes at the model train type hobby stores are usually good, they are only about 12" long. Okay, so I've said tubes like three times now- here's the dope on them ... look for a display of brass tubes - some are hollow and some are solid. Buy a hollow brass tube in 1/8 inch diameter, 3/16, 5/32 and 3/32. Then put the smallest one back (I know one was so small it's useless but I can't remember which - I suppose it would be the 3/32). Then you can buy or you might even have these already, wooden skewers like you would use for making shish-ka-bobs. You get these at the grocery store. Blunt the tip of the skewer by banging it on something, clipping the tips with scissors, sanding it, whatever works - the idea here is to get rid of the sharp pointed end. You can also cut it shorter to make it easier to use - then sand the end. Voila - your own finger turning kit. You put the hollow tube inside the finger and use the skewer to hold it in place and then push the fabric up the skewer. Like my earlier tutorial says. If you can only find the really long ones at a hardware store maybe someone can cut them for you. Keep reading for instructions on cutting and cleaning.

My husband does metal work so I have access to a multi-speed grinder and other tools. I usually use a dremel tool to cut the tube to 6 inches. I have a tube cutting tool too but a couple of the tubes are just too small to use it on so I just use the dremel. Then I use the grinder to even out the tubes and I bevel one end. First hold both ends flat against the grinder - this will smooth and level them out. For the bevel, you hold the tube at an angle to the belt. You do have to clean out the end with the bevel though, because it will get burrs. To do that I use a triangular razor edged arrowhead. I just run it gently around the inside of the tube. Sometimes I have to hit it on the grinder again if I make the edges too sharp from the arrowhead (I know - strange tool - but it works). Then I take a scrap piece of fabric and, using the bamboo plunger, work it in and out a few times to clean it and give it a bit of a polish. Oh - nearly forgot - I blunt the tips of the skewers on the grinder too.

Here's how to make your own stuffing fork .. take a long thick doll needle and clip the end of the eye off - just the very tip. That leaves you with a fork. Take the pointed end and stick it in a cork. Wrap the bottom part with electrical tape or something. That should hold the needle in the cork. You should try to use the longest needle you can find, it doesn't have to be a doll needle, just something at least 10". The only needles I know of that long are doll ones. Not sure where you'd find these though except on the internet.

Crackle Head

Rivkah, a doll artist in Israel, asked me to share how I made this crackled head. I was taught this method by Christine Shively when she came to Alaska for a doll class. It's been a while since I made this but I'll try to remember what I did.


Click on the photo for a larger image.

First I painted the base layer, which is a peachy flesh color. You need to make this the color you want to have show through the crackles. Let this dry.

Then I painted the crackle medium on. I put one layer of crackle medium on, fairly thick. My friend Sharon told me to paint the crackle on in one direction only. Then it needed to dry. If I remember rightly Christine said to leave it dry overnight. The bottle of crackle medium said to let it dry an hour. I think I left it for a couple of hours. I'm always impatient when it comes to letting things dry. Next thing was to paint the skin color, which in this case was a brown tone. I painted the face last.

The face crackled up nicely but I got a little crazy and rolled it in my hands to see if the crackles changed. Made really big cracks in the face which probably wasn't the smartest thing to do. I think if I was to do this again I would buy the stuff that makes really fine crackles. It's a two part product and it says on the package that it's for fine crackles. In my Michael's Crafts you find it with the decoupage stuff. I haven't made another one since but it was a lot of fun and I was pretty pleased with it. Just remember that if you crackle the face .... crackle all the skin that will be showing or it might look like something out of the Twilight Zone. Hit by an aging ray. In the head.

Finger Turning Tips

AARGH - turning hands - the bane of doll making! We've been talking about how to turn fingers on one of my lists. It's definitely something that takes practice when you're learning on your own. Thought I'd post the instructions that I put inside my turning tool kits. It can be pretty frustrating the first few times you turn them but with practice it'll get lots easier! Here ya go ...

1. Stitch hands with a very small stitch, 20-25 stitches per inch.
2. Make sure you have at least 2 stitches between fingers and that the area is straight across, not in a 'v'. I will make my stitch length even smaller at this point to make sure I have 2 or more stitches.
3. Make sure the fingertips are smaller than the base of the finger or you'll probably never get the fingers turned.
3. Trim and clip seams as closely as possible. Cut a 'v' at the notch between fingers. Hold two fingers (which are next to each other) apart and see if the notch opens wide, if not, clip some more.
4. Insert the largest tube that will fit into the finger without stretching the fabric.
5. Open the seam at the tip of the finger with the bamboo plunger and gently push the fabric and plunger into the brass tube. You just want the tip inside the tube - don't push the whole finger inside the tube.
6. Slide the finger UP the bamboo plunger. Work it gently, pushing and rolling the fabric up the plunger. At this point the brass rod is just a holder.
- It helps to hold the brass rod against your tummy. This gives you a good angle to work the fabric, leaves both hands free, plus it holds the tube steady.
7. If a finger is stubborn and does not want to turn - don't worry at the fabric, you will end up with a hole or a blown seam. Go to another finger and try again later. If that doesn't work - try threading a sculpting needle with a long piece of thread, no knot. Go UP through the finger leaving a tail showing outside the hand, go DOWN through the finger and take the needle off. Now you have 2 tails that you can pull to turn the finger.

... Although I have to admit I've tried that needle and thread method once and it didn't work for me. That one finger was so stubborn that I ended up making a whole new hand. Sometimes ya just gotta suck it up and admit it's just not gonna happen!

Fabric ATC Tutorial

So you want to give making Fabric Artist Trading Cards (ATCs) a try? It's easy and it's a lot of fun. But be careful - they can be really addicting. This tutorial will show you how to make a collage style ATC using raw-edge applique methods.

First things first ... supplies
You need a stiffener like Timtex, Vilene, Craft Pellon, or sturdy canvas
Scraps of fabric
Different threads and yarns
Embellishments (images, stamps,etc)
Double-sided iron-on fusible (like Wonder Under)
Temporary fabric adhesive (like 505 spray)

Fabric ATCs are made up of three layers, just like a quilt. The top layer is where you do your artwork, the middle layer is your stiffener, and the backing is for signing your work. Some people like to use quilt batting for their middle layer but I think it's too flimsy so I prefer to use Timtex.

Here's a few things I gathered to work with ... a black and gold fabric for my base, a fuchsia scrap, an image I printed on muslin and then applied Wonder-Under to, a grey scrap left over from cutting out the image, some gold glitter thread (Superior Halo Gold), and a piece of Timtex.

The first thing I did was cut the Timtex to 2 1/2 x 3 1/2 inches. Then I sprayed it with 505 Temporary Fabric Adhesive. You can also use an iron-on fusible instead of the spray. I prefer the spray, it's quicker. Make sure to use a spray box so it doesn't get all over everything. I use the top of a box that came from a ream of copier paper. The idea here is to have your base fabric attached to your stiffener one way or the other so it's easier to work with.

Lay the Timtex, sprayed side down, on the wrong side of your base fabric and trim to size.

Compose your design. Here I cut down the fuchsia scrap, and trimmed the grey scrap into triangles. If you don't have images to use you can always use a stamp with acrylic paint or pigment dyes. Just make sure to heat set as needed. You could also fussy cut a motif you like from a piece of fabric.

Didn't like that at all. Looked like an ice cream cone with ears. So I took out the fuchsia scrap and put a white one down instead. Cut another triangle too. Getting better.

Took away a couple of the triangles and now I'm pleased with the composition. I ironed some Wonder-Under onto the white strip, then ironed that down to the black/gold fabric. Next I ironed down the image and triangles, which had already been treated with an iron-on fusible. Now it's time to take this over to the sewing machine.

I dropped my feed dogs and free-motion embroidered a starburst around the image, stitched down the triangles, and made some triangular shapes on the base fabric which echo the triangles on the white strip. The thread I used is a wide metallic sliver made by Superior. It's called Halo and it's really strong so it rarely breaks. Expensive though!

I decided that I wanted a bit of color on the ATC so I switched to a red Halo thread. Set my machine up for a blanket stitch and sewed along the edges of the white strip. Then I zig-zag stitched around the center image. Even though I used the iron-on fusible on the middle pieces I like to stitch them down too. It finishes the edges and adds color too.

Well, I'm pretty happy with this. Think I'll stop now. I took a plain piece of muslin out of my scrap bag to use as a backing. I wanted something light colored because I'll write on it. I sprayed the back of the ATC with 505 Temporary Fabric Adhesive and then placed it on the muslin and trimmed the muslin to size.

Now it's time to bind all three layers together. I tend to use a satin stitch for this, although you could bind it in other ways. You could hand couch fancy threads or yarn around the edge, bead it, use a blanket stitch, whatever you can think of. Although I would at least straight stitch close to the edge before I did any of those just to make sure the 3 layers are attached to each other. I set my machine for a narrow zig zag, set my stitch length to near zero, and then just sewed around the whole piece. I left the red Halo thread in the top and put white in the bobbin. I wanted a lighter color on the muslin back. Once it was bound I took a gel pen and wrote my particulars on the back of the card. You could always print your information on fabric and fuse it to your backing before you attach the muslin to the ATC if you don't care for your handwriting. Mine's not the neatest but I figure it's not the backing that will be displayed (at least I hope not!).

Finished ATC ... I'm happy with this and it was a lot of fun to make!

Wigged Out

I've had a beautiful piece of white tibetan lamb skin for nearly a year but haven't used it because I was afraid of wig making. The piece was perfect for the doll I'm making for my art final so I took a deep breath and plunged in.

I had done some research on wig making before and the attempts I made at just making the wig form were awful. Tried wetting buckram and molding/darting it to the head - looked terrible and, boy, was it ever sticky! But I found an interesting picture/tutorial on Mimi Kirchner's blog (she's got hair) which I adapted for my doll.

What I did was take the basic measurements of my doll's head (hairline to nape) and cut out a piece of craft felt to size. Then I pinned it front and back to hold it in place. Using Mimi's technique I then took my little binder clips and pinched in darts - I only needed four - two by the temples and two by the nape of the neck. Took the felt off and drew lines where the binder clips were and then sewed the darts in. To draw the lines I took my trusty old tracing wheel and some wax-free transfer paper (you know - the stuff you used when you marked darts on clothing. First attempt fit but wasn't long enough in front after I sewed the darts - so I cut another rectangle of felt but added 1/4" to each measurement. Now to be absolutely honest this method makes a very strange, skewed pattern because the darts aren't even with each other. So I got kind of anal and made a paper pattern using the felt as a guide but I made this mathematically correct- making the darts opposite each other, same size, etc. Made another cap from this pattern and it fit fine. I then trimmed the felt piece while it was on the doll head so it was even all the way around. This then was my final pattern.

So then I needed to make a pattern from the felt piece to transfer to the skin. Felt is kind of flimsy to draw around - it moves. I scanned the felt pattern and printed it out on card stock.

I"m happy with this method and now I will start using that big bag of fur scraps that I have had for ages also!