Tuesday Tutorial -- Dolls In Motion

I miss watching the Carol Duvall Show.  HGTV has even gotten rid of most of the archives from the show, so when I run across one, I like to keep it in my favorites.  This is only one of her segments on making art dolls.  She is the first person to show me what an art doll really is and I am indebted to her for it.  It's a shame that there are no really good crafting shows on anymore.  Carol Duvall certainly was a class act and obviously a hard act to follow.  We all miss her.


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Carol Duvall Show : Episode CDS-464 -- More Projects »

PDF Click the icon for figures 1 through 6.

Using a simple wire form and clippers, dollmaker Susanna Oroyan adds mobility to a doll by attaching moving parts. These kinds of doll forms bend easily and can be wrapped with any favorite fabric or ribbon. Oroyan's model may have a wooden head and a frozen smile, but she certainly looks and dresses smart enough to become a prized posession.

Materials:

20-gauge craft wire - for dolls under 12 inches
16 gauge wire (available in hardware stores) - for dolls over 12 inches
masking tape
wire-cutting pliers
batting
embroidery thread - nine skeins in desired colors
one-inch diameter wooden bead
silk ribbon 1/4 inch wide - 12 yards of flesh color, three yards for hair, six yards shoe color, assorted colors for clothing and trim beads, flowers, etc., for embellishments

Steps:

1. Make a "W" shape with the wire. The loop will support a head (figure 1).
2. Twist the ends of the wire together at the "neck" (figure 2).
3. Tape the torso below the neck and above the hip (figure 3).
4. Bend the wire to form the hips (figure 4).
5. Bend the wire to form arms and tape them at the shoulders (figure 5).
6. Wrap the armature with batting (figure 6).
7. Wrap the body with embroidery thread to build out and add dimension to the form.
8. Cover the wooden bead (which will become the head) by using a needle threaded with embroidery thread. Run the thread through center hole of the bead until three-fourths of the bead has been covered.
9. Create the eyes and mouth with flat stitches of embroidery thread.
10. Attach the head to the body by inserting wire into the bead hole at the neck.
11. Create a desired hairstyle from some curled silk ribbon.
12. Wrap ribbon around the doll to make the dress bodice.
13. For the skirt, gather the fabric and hand-stitch it to the doll's waist.
14. Embellish as desired.

Susanna's Tips:

• Figures can be built up more quickly by wrapping with two-ply baby yarn.
• Instead of using embroidery thread for the flesh, the figure may be finished with a layer of wrapped silk ribbon.
• Shoes may be created by wrapping the feet with an appropriate color of embroidery thread.
• Silk ribbons may be curled by pulling them over the scissors blade, just as you would create a gift package ribbon.
• Embroidery thread may be curled effectively by first dampening it with a 50 percent solution of craft glue and water, and then wrapping it over a metal knitting needle.

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More on Paper Beads

Paper Bead Art 

By: Diy maven Mar 13, 2007

When we were kids, my sister Joyce and I rolled paper beads; little did we know we were doing something girls a hundred years earlier had done. Although Joyce and I made funky necklaces with our beads, our Victorian counterparts used the fruits of their labor to fashion curtains for doorways. Nowadays, I like to use paper beads to create 3D art, including greeting cards.
↓ Continue reading

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Here's another take on this fun craft:


i rolled my beads onto a piece of wire, as you can see from the pic. you want to roll from the wide side, as tightly as you can, ending with the teeny skinny side and make sure that that end is glued down well. i put about a dozen beads per foot long piece of wire. they will come off pretty easily. i tried using wooden skewers coated in vaseline, but the beads stuck to that. no good. so that is it. you could leave them at that point as is,this is what they look like unsealed... or seal them with mod podge, as many coats as you want. or you could paint the beads, add sparkle or ink or whatever you like. at that point, i antique some of my beads, jacquard has really great sparkly pigments that can be put right onto the bead, or, in my favorite way, added to UTEE which is thick embossing powder and then the bead can be rolled in it and heated or heat the utee in a pot and dip your beads in. the more coats of this you put on, the thicker. this stuff is amazing. use different finishes to make the beads look like metal, gems, or pearls, even...these are a bit lumpy and bumpy, but you get the idea. head over to my flickr bead set to see some of the other ones, and new things will be added all the time.
once you are done, you can sand the edges a bit, or sand the whole thing for another look altogether. the options are endless. make small beads that are more plain, or big ones to use as pendents, and make them into any shape. if you wanted to just layer them, you can cut out a form and go from there, or decoupage over something and drill a hole later. so many options! oooh, and photos! you can make a photo bead or pendant. i am going to!

don't be afraid to try different things. this is inexpensive and fun. anyone can do it, and it is a great project for little kids. for those of us that save every little scrap, this is perfect. i am planning to try yarn and fabric, but keep an open mind and have no fear!
a couple of tips: use either a non-stick cookie sheet or some waxed paper so you don't get glue and paper and gunk all over your table or whatever you are using. also, if you use the utee, it can burn you, so be careful with it. baby wipes are a great thing to have handy so you can get the glue and smutz off of your fingers in between beads, as well as cooling off your fingers if your drip hot stuff. roll a really long bead and after it is dry, cut it into several smaller beads with a utility knife...read the entire tutorial

Tuesday Tutorial -- Flower Paper Pinwheel

Here is a lovely tutorial for making very beautiful paper flower pinwheels.  I found this on a blog called HELLOmynameisHeather.  Please drop by and let her know how yours turn out.  Click on the first picture and you will find the pdf download directions.  Click on the second picture to see a picture of the back of the pinwheel.  You can find her shop here.

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HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!!!!!!

Hope you have a safe and fun holiday.  Don't forget to think about our troops who cannot be home to celebrate the founding of our country.

Thursday--Spa Day--Bath Salts to make for gifts

Here is a fun and quick tutorial to make your own bath salts to give as gifts this year.  We all can benefit from easy gifts to make and give, so I thought I would post this here.  I will be making this to give to may bosses this year.  Great way to let them know that they may need to "chill out" without actually telling them so.
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Make it: coffee-cinnamon bath salts!

December 2, 2006 at 2:13 pm | Posted in I love to make things..., projects to do | 21 Comments I’ve been meaning to put up some how-to projects over here, and now that it’s December, well, there’s no time like the present! I originally posted this on craftster back in 2003 but I just made a batch and packaged it up differently so I thought I’d bring it back, new and improved…

Infused Bath Salts or Salt Scrub
Original how-to: I’ve made bath salts and used essential oils to scent them before, but I thought I’d try using kitchen stuff instead! It works really well, and it’s easy and pretty cheap to make a big batch. You can adjust the oil-salts ratio to your liking — use more oil to make an exfoliating salt scrub, less to make more traditional bath salts.
You’ll need:
1/2 – 1 cup extra-light olive oil
1/3 cup ground coffee
6 Tbsp cinnamon (or more if you really like cinnamon, mmm)
reusable coffee filter, or several paper filters, in a coffeemaker basket
3 lb. container of Epsom salts
1 cup baking soda (optional)
2 – 4 cup Pyrex measuring cup
large flat saucepan
mixing bowl
1. Warm the olive oil in the Pyrex container in a saucepan of boiling water. Mix in the coffee first, then the cinnamon, stirring to blend as the mixture heats. Continue to infuse for 20 minutes on the stove, stirring from time to time.
2. Pour the coffee-cinnamon-oil mixture through the coffee filter into the large mixing bowl, one-third at a time. Careful not to burn yourself here! Discard the grounds and keep the oil. Let it cool to room temperature.
3. Mix the infused oil with the salts (and baking soda if you’re using it). You’re done!
Update: Stacy mentioned that she infused her olive oil in her crockpot for two hours on high instead of on the stove, and it turned out really well — so you might want to try that. Great idea.
Variation: green tea-ginger. Substitute 1/3 cup green tea and 1/4 cup powdered ginger (cheaper if you buy it in bulk) for the coffee and cinnamon.
Packaging Ideas
I like to use recycled jars or flat plastic bags (very cheap at craft/scrapbooking stores) to package them for gifts. New idea for 2006: the button extravaganza you see here!

Just fill a Mason jar with your salt scrub and paint the lid a cool color (I used hot-pink enamel paint, but acrylic is fine too). When the paint is dry, hot-glue assorted buttons over it and on the sides of the jar. Add a piece of rick-rack around the side of the lid if you like, too. (I used my current favorites, glitter hot-glue for the buttons and Aleene’s Tacky Glue for the rick-rack.)
Of course, you could glue on rhinestones, game pieces, or any flat-backed bits and pieces, too. Or make a personalized label: draw or print out something you like on colored paper, and then apply it to the jar with a glue stick. You can seal it with Delta Ceramcoat Gloss.
If you want to ornament a plain plastic bag, just cut a simple flower shape out in two colors of felt — one 1.5 inches across with pinking shears, one 1 inch across with scissors. Glue them down as shown (Aleene’s again) and let them dry completely. Tie it with a ribbon (I wish I could reach into that picture and re-tie that one… it looks awful, sorry about that) and voila!
I’ll be publishing my December getcrafty column on Monday with tons more how-to projects, so stay tuned if you’re looking for ideas on gifts to make this year…

Here's the link to find the original article.  Let her know how these recipes work for you if you try them, won't you?

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Wordless Wednesday -- Gritty Jane

If you do any surfing for art dolls or any type of painting, you will no doubt come across Gritty Jane.  She has online doll making classes and is a very talented painter.  She has videos on YouTube where you get to watch her at work.  I love the texture and the subject matter in her painting, but I really love her art dolls.  I hope you do too.  Check out her site at grittyjane or at Gritty Jane. 

Here is just a peek at some of her work:

Tuesday Tutorial -- T-shirt rug

Everyone today is always talking about Green-this, or Green-that.  When I was growing up it was just repurposing out of necessity.   So, to show that I understand about greening and being frugal, here is a great tutorial about turning old t-shirts into rugs.  How recycled can you get?

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How to Crochet a Rug out of T-Shirts

It's easy to crochet a rag rug made from strips from old T-shirts.

Cal Patch

This is all you'll need to make your own upcycled rag rug.

Cal Patch

Begin cutting at the bottom hem of the shirt. I cut this part half as wide since it's two layers.

Cal Patch

It's easy to crochet a rag rug made from strips from old T-shirts.

It gives me a thrill to make something new, that's useful and beautiful, out of something old and unwanted. Oversized, corporate logo-ed T-shirts are a plentiful resource at your local thrift store or maybe even in your own closet. One of my favorite uses for them is to cut them into strips and crochet them into rugs, like your grandmother's old braided rag rugs but much easier to make!

You will need:

• T-shirts (anywhere from two on up, depending on size rug desired), the bigger the better
• Scissors
• Giant crochet hook (I used 15 mm)

This is all you'll need to make your own upcycled rag rug.

1. Cut the shirts into strips, approximately 1 inch wide. Starting at the bottom, cut in a spiral all the way up the body of the tee, and roll the strip into a ball. Stretch it out as you wind so that the jersey curls up into a cord.

Begin cutting at the bottom hem of the shirt. I cut this part half as wide since it's two layers.

Wind the strip into a ball as you cut.

When you reach the armpits, cut right across the seams until you reach the edge of the sleeves and can't cut continuously anymore. I also cut part of my long strip into some shorter ones so that I can play with the colors.

You can work with long strips, wound into balls, as well as short strips, which will be prejoined for quick color changes.

2. Join the strips. If you're working with long strips wound into balls, you can just overlap the two ends for a few inches when you're ready to join on a new strip or to change colors. But if you want to join lots of short strips for quick color changes, you'll want to join them first so you don't have to keep stopping. Here's how I do it: Cut a small slit in the ends of the two strips you want to join, about 1/2 inch from the end and about 1/4 inch wide.

Go here to finish the tutorial and please leave a comment if you try this out.