Sweet Julie Arkell

Well I have managed to completely miss the work of British folk artist, Julie Arkell - probably because she does not appear to have her own blog or website. She is however, prominently featured on other people's blogs, at least one wonderful Pinterest board, and in several online galleries especially Earth Angel Studios.

Most of her art dolls are woodland creatures like rabbits, and humans, made from her trademark paper mache and scraps of reclaimed fabrics embellished with hand embroidery. She also makes pins and other mixed textile small pieces. If you look up whimsical in the dictionary, you will find a picture of any one of her sweet figures, in delicate, slightly faded pastels. Her paper mache makes the text of old books part of the beauty - and you know how much I love text in art. She also hosts workshops and inspires many others to discover the joy of paper mache figures.

Paper Doll Printables

Happy Holidays! Here's a nice gift - Paper Thin Personas - a website with oodles of sweet graphic free paper doll printables for your doll play and mixed media pleasure. There are also some tutorials. There are dolls in full color, dolls in black and white begging to enlivened, dolls that work as magnets.

Also on the blog are articles about antique paper dolls and collecting, and antique reproduction costumes so you can go ahead and get your Jane Austen on too.

And a Happy New Year to all.
 

JAMIEshow Alert

Tomorrow, November 27th, mid-morning, Angelic Dreamz will be releasing their Holiday Collection of resin ball jointed JAMIEshow dolls and accessories. They really are a beautiful fashion doll, and they are manufactured from a more environmentally (and health) friendly low VOC resin. The accessory collection ranges from shoes, wigs and differently posed hands to fantasy death's head masks and grim reaper zombie hands.

"Tis the Season

The Holidays are just about upon us. I plan to do a hand made and electronic Christmas, with most of my shopping being online, and much of it being being gift certificates. My daughter who has grown out of play dolls wants mostly computer gaming stuff for her gifts. I love the ease of downloads.

I am also making dolls for the holidays, including completing some commissions for Wish Dolls - so it's nice to know others are buying handmade.

One previously featured miniaturist, L. Delaney, has sent me a heads up about her upcoming Black Friday through Cyber Monday (Nov 23-26) sale at her Etsy shop, with a 10% off coupon for blog readers.

Not only are Laura's products adorable, I want to point out what a savvy marketing move it is to contact a blogger who has featured her in the past (ie me) with this information. Good work.

New Resource for Doll Makers

I have just received notice about the new Handmadeology Market. It is not a storefront, but it is a promotional opportunity to showcase your art works that are for sale at other online storefronts, like Etsy or Meylah, or directly from your own website.

From the email:
"The Handmadeology Market is not another selling venue, it is a live market place to show off your items.  Items added to the market are only live for 90 days, so the content it kept fresh! Sellers from across the web can list their items and link back to the items in their shops and websites. We welcome sellers from all sites and ones that have their own site.  There are no transactions happening here in the market.  Potential buyers can click through to your items and even contact you through the contact form.

Our new market is directly connected to Handmadeology and we will be utilizing our social media network and readership to get exposure for the sellers that list their items. "

I plan to put my dolls and paper crafts on the marketplace, and hope to see an uptick in traffic to my store. I'm not sure I'm very happy with the new "Browse" search paradigm on Etsy, which seems to favor jewelry and handbags, so anything that brings new eyes to my products is welcome. I plan to try the free version first, but closer to holidays, when I have some new pretty dolls, I may opt in to the $5 advertisement.

Has anyone listed yet? Have you noticed any increase in traffic?

Blooming Peg Dolls

Author and puppeteer, Margaret Bloom, hosted a peg doll trade. She documented the dear little dolls and sweet stories from all over the world on her blog. You say "peg doll", I see Kokeshi. There are gnomes and geisha and fairies, oh my. If you click on "puppets" in her tag cloud, you will see the sweet puppets and stories she has made.

She also has a book about making peg dolls. She describes them as perfect for children to make. I agree.

Etsy Paper Doll Workshop

There is a cool doll related Etsy Lab coming up: Etsy Hands-On: Letterpress Puppets. It's printing, then decorating and embellishing articulated paper dolls. Unfortunately for me, living in California, the event is in Brooklyn, NY. on Tuesday, October 23rd. The good news? There will be a livestream demo.

The lab is being facilitated by Etsy seller, Crankbunny.

Doll Essence

Tatiana Tofeneto of Doll Essence has a gorgeous website. I especially love her lengthy pictorial description of her process for creating her ball jointed porcelain doll design from a polymer clay pure sculpt - under the About tab. You can click the images for a slide show, and it is all very efficiently organized. The dolls are delicately painted and beautifully costumed.

Sandi Mastroni Creepy Cute

This month being Halloween, it seems apropos to features some creepy/cute and witchy/goblin type doll artists. One of these, who has a lot of cute along with her creepy, is Connecticut folk artist, Sandi Mastroni.

She has a blog (scroll down to see some pics of her cat with an array of dolls displayed behind) and a nice Etsy store that features Mermaids, creepy clowns and pumpkin paper dolls. Her cloth dolls don't have hands and they don't have necks, but they do have highly detailed hand painted faces and a lot of personality.

If you like it, Pin it.

Treasury Round Up

There are some delicious dolls, toys and miniatures related treasuries on Etsy:

Here's the sweetest - Looks Good Enough To Eat

I also like Childhood Re-visited.

The Ideal Doll is all about Tammy dolls.

Get into the spirit of Halloween with Dolly Heaven.

Here's an aptly named eclectic collection, Beautiful Dolls.

We do like Happy dolls :) .

Visit My Miniature World, and then discover that Less Is More.

Here are a couple that I made - Blythe Spirit, about the pretty big head girl, Paper Doll Art(ticulated) filled with jointed paper lovelies, and Exemplary Doll Photography, the subject of which is self explanatory.

Please visit, favorite, Tweet, Like on Facebook and if you like it, Pin it. Let's keep encouraging folks to make more gorgeous doll and miniature themed treasuries.

Pink Diamond

Here is a pretty spectacular Barbie doll event: the original one of a kind pink version of the Pink Diamond Barbie by the Blonds is being auctioned at Charity Buzz to benefit Mac Aids Fund. As of today, the bids are at $7500, which is about half the estimated value. The regular Blond Diamond, Gold Label but wearing silver is available for sale at Barbie Collector.

One to watch: Kelly Salchli

Here is the Etsy store of doll artist Kelly Salchli, Higher Delights, who makes delicate and beautiful porcelain ball jointed dolls with ethereal costumes, and also draws paper dolls, in her studio in Kentucky. You can see more of her process by visiting her Facebook page. Kelly hasn't been making dolls all that long. Looking at the skill level after just a few years, makes me expect great higher things from this artist.

Remember: If you like it, Pin it!

October Effigies

Kerry Kate is preparing early for Hallow'een. In addition to her hand painted one of a kind dolls, Kerry also has printed stuffies based on her creepy beautiful designs, timely and perfect for your Hallow'een/Day of the Dead decor. Visit her Etsy store! These are a great way to get a gorgeous art doll for a remarkably reasonable price. More news on her blog.

Barbies of the Caribbean

Royal Caribbean Cruise line has teamed with Mattel to create a Barbie themed experience on cruises. For an extra fee, the passenger can sleep in a Barbie themed stateroom and participate in other events. They are aiming the package at girls, but I can see some adult Barbie lovers being interested, can't you? You can start booking in October for cruises setting sail in January.

Walter de Rycke

I want to feature the extraordinary sculpture of Walter de Rycke, who makes paintings, mixed media pieces and stone and clay sculptures that celebrate "the archetype of sacred paganism". They are basically weird and wonderful creatures, but they have a lovely balance and liveliness. I especially enjoy seeing his new works on Facebook. Unfortunately his own website is a bit slow loading and buggy - but it is worth loading and waiting for the panoramic view of his wonderful studio, which shows how prolific he is.

Classes for doll makers

There are a lot of classes for doll makers going on, both online and live.

Adele Sciortino is offering classes through her A for Artistic group. She is hosting the registration for live classes with the incomparable Ankie Daanen in Fort Lauderdale, Florida in April, 2013.

Also on the website are many other wonderful classes (pictured: Armatures 1 with Deb Wood), as well as a tutorial for making a doll wig from Tibetan lambswool. The information about how to cut the hide, applies to any kind of faux fur as well by the way.

Doll Street Dreamers online doll club offer numerous classes and downloadable patterns. You do not have to be a member to take the classes or buy patterns, but membership allows earlier notification, and the opportunity to post in the forums and participate in club challenges.

Seeking Dolls for Auction

Skinner Auction House is seeking antique dolls for consignment to auctions. They are offering a free auction evaluation online.

From the email:
"We are seeking 19th and early 20th century bisque dolls, fashion dolls, china head dolls, as well as cloth, wood, wax, and papier-mâché dolls for our October 2012 Discovery auction."

American Made Awards seeking nominees

Martha Stewart is looking for American crafting and design entrepreneurs for the Audience Choice American Made Awards. Nominate a friend or yourself by August 25th with photos, info and a video. There is a teddy bear artist, a knitted toy maker, and previously featured artist, the beautiful Keri Joy Colestock in the list of nominees so far.
We will be able to start voting September 7th.

Spoonflower Contest

Not exactly dolls, but certainly tangential ...

Have you heard of the ongoing Spoonflower textile design contests? Spoonflower is a textile printing company where you can have your own textile design printed in any quantity, for $15.75 a yard.

The contests have a number of different themes, and currently one of the contests is for a "Crafty Cut and Sew" design that will fit on a fat quarter (21 x 18 inches). I'm thinking that pancake doll patterns are perfect for this contest. I plan on entering, and I hope you will consider it also - but be quick.

The deadline is August 7th!


By the way, have you filled out my Craft-It-Easy survey about crafty school projects yet? My new site is up and running, although I'm still working on my first couple of titles. I will be using the info I glean from my survey in product development and as I seek funding down the line.

Pei Li Miniatures.

For some reason, I'm constantly finding the most gorgeous food miniatures. Here's the scrumptious site of Pei Li's miniatures. One reason I love the site is that the country prim/shabby chic aesthetic of the products, is beautifully reiterated by site design itself. It's a delight for the eyes.

As well as highly detailed 1:12 scale food items, the store also has dollhouse miniature decals, pictured! These remind me of the life size decals my mother got to put on my plain painted furniture when I was a little girl in the 1960's, with look of hand painted images.

My only issue, as usual, is the lack of a scale item in the photos, but in this case Pei Li includes detailed size information in the descriptions - in both inches and centimeters to cover all bases.

They also make miniature food jewelry that is cute.

Found Objects - Assemble!

Here's a round up of some terrific mixed-media assemblage and found object doll artists on Etsy.

Recent find Bitti Bots by Cheri Kudja - these are delighful and witty (pictured). Love, love, love 'em.

Ebryk uses doll parts assembled with found objects for whimsical result.

AppleArt adds custom made components to the assemblage for dolls with finesse.

The beautiful mixed media dolls at Kate's Kreations by krodenbach are also well photographed.

Finally the strange little creatures at Altered Found Objects make me smile.

Find more items that I like by checking out my treasuries on Etsy. I often do doll inspired ones, and you can follow me there if you like.

Remember, if you like it, Pin it!

NJD Miniatures deliciousness

I'm excited to have found, via Twitter, the comprehensive website of UK miniaturist, Vicky Guile of NJD Miniatures. She makes sumptuous miniature food, and other things, from polymer clay - and also offers supplies and tools, like a cool bread loaf mold and texturizing powders. A big plus are the tips on her blog.


Also on the site are a list of useful links, and her free project page offering some useful tips for creating your own miniature foods, while her store and flickr page shows completed foodstuffs mostly in 1:12 scale. The only issue - and you know this is my particular peeve with hyper-realistic miniature photography - the very rare use of anything to show scale. As someone with limited experience in that scale miniature making, it's tough for me to visualize 1:12. The magnificently tiny pears shown with a coin, and carrots shown on a finger tip are the exception, and are mind blowing. 

Conchy Gem

I've been enjoying making treasuries on Etsy, in great part because it gives me a chance to search by theme, for things I wouldn't have seen otherwise. I recently discovered Conchy Gem Dolls Etsy store.

This is the store of therapy doll maker Sherrie Meyer of North Queensland, Australia. They are sweet cloth dolls many with a needle felted animal companion or accessory. They have a gentle feeling.

Remember, if you like it, Pin it.

Miniature stitching

One of my new friends creates the most amazingly detailed, tiny, tiny embroideries, cross stitch and needlepoint for doll's houses. I also love that she will use pennies for scale. Counted cross stitch is hard enough full size, but these are like micro-stitching.

However that is not all. Marlene also decorates doll houses with gorgeous detail, and makes other miniature and micro dioramas.

Dolls cover contest

DOLLS magazine has announced a Facebook contest to get your doll artistry on the cover!

Submit a photo and a few other pieces of information on the DOLLS Facebook wall. I'd be as proud as punch if one of my followers here won!

Note the dates: between July 3 and July 31, 2012.

From the e-mail:

Give your one-of-a-kind doll the exposure it deserves by having it featured on the cover ofDOLLS magazine! Starting July 3, submit a photo of your best one-of-a-kind doll to our Facebook wall for a chance to get featured on the cover and in an article of a 2013 issue of DOLLS magazine. 
Contest Rules - Photo submissions will be accepted between July 3 and July 31, 2012. Contestants are only allowed one submission each. To be eligible for the contest, your submission to our Facebook wall must include the following:
*    the verbiage "Entry for Discover a Dollmaker Cover Contest" 
*    artist name
*    name of doll
*    material used 
*    photo credit identifying the photographer

Pocket Zombies

... miniature figures from American Science and Surplus. $15.95 for 10 assorted zombies. That is all.

Upcoming Doll Auction

The estate collection of long time doll collector and restorer, Kathy L. Hipp, is being auctioned without reserves on July 14th by Auctioneers John McInnis in Amesbury, MA. You can set up absentee phone bidding. 

On the website is a lovely slideshow of just a few of the over 700 items that will be available. The doll manufacturers included is a who's who of fine doll making. Her eclectic collection spans French and German antique dolls, Madame Alexander right through to Barbies, G.I. Joes and Star Wars figures. Also included are miniatures and accessories. I should think just visiting the previews would be like attending a doll museum.

New Classes from Ankie Daanen and friends

Received from Ankie Daanen - lots of new classes both online and IRL. 

New on-line class: How to make and costume a Heartbreaker.

Host: Adele Sciortino: adele@adelesciortino.com

. Four day class in Rye Brook, NY.

Class: How to make a ´Ballwalker´.

Dates: Sept. 22, 23, 24 and 25.

Host: Barbi Kantor Goldenberg: dollart29@aol.com

. Two day class during the NIADA Conference in Stamford, CT.

Class: How to make a ´Jack out of the box´.

Dates: Oct. 1 and 2.

Info: www.niada.org

.Two day class during the ARTIS...YOU conference in Stamford,CT.

Class: How to make a ´theatre´.

Dates: Oct. 4 and 5.

Info: www.art-is-you.com

.Dutch Touch Class in Sanford, FL.

Dates: 2013: Febr. 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15.

Host: Annie Hesse: anniedolls@cfl.rr.com

.Four day class in Chapel Hill, NC.

Class: How to make a ´Cute Girl´.

Dates: 2013: Febr. 18, 19, 20 and 21.

Host: Lynda Baddour: lyndabaddour@gmail.com

.One day class during IDEX, FL.

Class: How to make an ´Innocent Dollface´.

Dates: April 11.

Info: www.idexshows.com

.Four day class in April 2013 in Fort Lauderdale,FL.

. Four day class in April 2013 in Mount Vernon,NY.

.Four day class in May in Rye Brook, NY.

Info: ankiedaanen@hotmail.com

Cat Copter

There is a creepy liveliness to the face, that I suppose is the mark of a good taxidermist. I have nothing more to add really. Just go see.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/gallery/2012/jun/04/orvillecopter-flying-helicopter-dead-cat

Cool Article in Dolls

Just in passing here is a terrific article  by Stephanie Finnegan in the current Dolls digimag about the use of mini figures and altered dolls in stop motion animations. Very cool - lots of nice links.

ProSculpt Winners Announced

Jack Johnston Originals has announced the winners of their most recent ProSculpt one of a kind art doll contest. All the entries and the winning group may be viewed at the website.

There are three categories, Beginners, Advanced and Professional. I'm not going to list all the awardees here, but I do encourage you to look, and to pin them. I'm in awe of the level of skill and work, not just in the sculpting but also the costuming. Some are all clay, others have fabric costumes. Even the so called "Beginners" are amazing. Pictured is "Mad Hatress" by second place Beginner, Jen Lewis.

I wouldn't have wanted to judge the pieces (and I might have put the placegetters in different orders).
What do you all think?

The next contest will begin in June and run until December.

Art Doll - Sample of type - The White Maiden OOAK Polymer clay, wire and cloth - $275.00

If you are looking for a completely unique gift, perhaps for a wedding or for an artist, a one of a kind commissioned art doll would be a beautiful and different gift. Always a talking point, perhaps a spiritual focus or inspiring archetype, I will consult with you on the character of the doll you wish made. You can give a figurative sculpture.

Perhaps she can be made from a loved one's clothing or other meaningful fabric.


Click Here to Visit My Etsy Shop!

PBS Idea Channel

Thanks to Heath Fradkoff at Goodman Media for the heads up about the PBS online video series about pop culture, Idea Channel. This week the feature is about Hello Kitty, and there are also thought provoking episodes about Mario and an anime musician, among others. Who knew there were Hello Kitty coffins?

BTW, they are asking for ideas for future fortnightly videos. What can we come up with about dolls? The prevalence of elves amongst BJD afficianados? Something about upcycling as an aesthetic for fine art figurative sculpture? Toys or totems?

"Hello Kitty is one of the most recognizable characters in the world and has sold billions of dollars worth of merchandise since her debut in 1974. Host Mike Rugnetta wonders if  Hello Kitty’s popularity may be tied to minimalist design, while some equate her looks with the Superflat postmodern art movement, founded by Takashi Murakami, or modern Anime. In either case, it’s fun to look at this completely commercial character in the light of high art."


Remember, if you like it, Pin it.

Mini green and red Wish Doll with musk fragrant sachet - $12.00

This poseable mini Wish Doll wears a green and red geometric print dress and comes with a musk oil fragrant sachet pillow. Her sash is red and pink, her hands pale yellow beads, and her feet are amber colored glass beads.



I was inspired by Guatemalan Worry Dolls to make these flexible wire and bead dolls. This one is a miniature 1.5 inches tall, but very cute. I wrap the wire body with fabric remnants ...

Click Here to Visit My Etsy Shop!

Purple and orange Wish Doll with lavender scented sachet - $15.00

This poseable Wish Doll wears an orange and purple printed dress and comes with a lavender scented sachet pillow.



I was inspired by Guatemalan Worry Dolls to make these 3 inch tall flexible wire and bead dolls. I wrap the wire body with fabric remnants or ribbon, and use more to make the dress, sash and braid. I sew seed beads to the braid and sash. Each is slightly different, with different combinati...

Click Here to Visit My Etsy Shop!

Hummingbird Miniatures

Oh my gosh, these are so delightful and I love, love, love the use of the hand in the photos to actually give proper scale. These are magically detailed.

I've been reading and watching a lot of marketing tutorials and how-to videos recently. The Hummingbird Miniatures blog seems like a case study, with the lovely, consistent aesthetic, and a very simple and clean visual.

I love the items in the Etsy shop which include miniature foods, miniature food jewelry, and tutorials! Also visit the sister shop Pixie Dust Miniatures.

If you like it, Pin It!

Orange and purple Wish Doll with musk oil sachet - $15.00

This poseable Wish Doll wears an orange and purple dress and comes with a musk oil fragrant sachet pillow.



I was inspired by Guatemalan Worry Dolls to make these 3 inch tall flexible wire and bead dolls. I wrap the wire body with fabric remnants or ribbon, and use more to make the dress, sash and braid. I sew seed beads to the braid and sash. Each is slightly different, with different combinations of f...

Click Here to Visit My Etsy Shop!

Blue and pink starry Wish Doll with lavender sachet - $15.00

This poseable Wish Doll wears a blue and pink starry print dress and comes with a lavender scented sachet pillow.



I was inspired by Guatemalan Worry Dolls to make these 3 inch tall flexible wire and bead dolls. I wrap the wire body with fabric remnants or ribbon, and use more to make the dress, sash and braid. I sew seed beads to the braid and sash. Each is slightly different, with different combinatio...

Click Here to Visit My Etsy Shop!

Best Cleaner Ever coupon

This is a great cleaner for inks and glues on your hands, your rubber stamps, your cutting tools - and your makeup brushes. Go to the site to see videos of it in action. It will wipe off your hands with a damp cloth.

Perhaps of more interest to doll makers, it will clean polymer clay off your pasta roller nicely, and is not drying to your skin like alcohol can be. It also takes stains and marks like ink, out of fabric. It is non-toxic, vegetable oil based, and fragrance free. It works to lift sticky residue like Tea Tree oil, only it's not so volatile and it won't hurt your skin.

Celebrate Earth Day 2012 with a coupon. 

Get $2.12 off the Best Cleaner Ever!

It’s safe for the environment  AND safe for you.

This solvent is safe for skin and has NO harmful fumes and cleans almost anything from and spray paint off your hands and permanent marker off your table, to solvent ink off stampsadhesive off scissors. It seriously works like magic (without the hocus-pocus).

 

Use coupon Code:  BestCleanerEver4EarthDay2012 

Go here!

Native American Traditional Dolls

From the Smithsonian Museum comes the Smithonian in the Classroom series of educational posters. I've just found one about Native American Dolls which features profiles of several doll artists making traditional dolls from their tribal nations. Perhaps skipping the classroom exercises, the profiles are definitely worth reading start to finish.

Here's more about one of the featured artists, Clara Begay, whose doll is pictured.

Little Miss Matched contest

Go here to Dolls Magazine to enter a drawing to win all four of Tonner's Little Miss Matched play line collection of dolls. Very poseable, many reversible outfits, cute.

Doll Project tutorials

Very excited to see that Jessica Acosta Hamilton of Doll Project is now offering a selection of beautiful tutorials in her Etsy store. Some of the more unusual lessons include Tiny Shoes and Collage Dolls, as well as a tutorial for her signature item with the following eyes - Pin Dolls. 

If you like it, Pin it. 

Kerijoy Wall Dancers and More

It's been some time since I featured Keri Joy Colestock's wall dancer dolls. In the interim her Etsy shop has exploded in a riot of color and new sculptures.

The Wall Dancers are still delightful and have that signature Kerijoy "joyful whimsy" look. But there is also an intriguing collection of found object, mixed media, figurative and surrealist sculptures. I've been Pinning like crazy.

Oh and my new motto is going to be "If you like it, PIN it!" Pinterest boards really do seem to be the simplest way to bring new eyes to all of our work. I'm constantly getting notified of repins from people I don't know - and that is awesome! Every pin becomes a link back. Every repin becomes a new strand in the enormous web of appreciation. Please Pin - Etsy makes it super easy.

Some of what I've been up to lately

Another pretty, fresh Dream Star doll made from vintage Indian printed cotton - brought over by my mother-in-law in her travels in the '60's and '70's. This time I've decorated her 8.5 inch form with an assortment of vintage and new buttons in coordinating earth tones. Some are wood, bamboo, plastic and mother of pearl. I just love old buttons. She's also embellished with many glass beads, and...

Click Here to Visit My Etsy Shop!

I love discovering a new store on Etsy. L Delaney, maker of gorgeous realistic vintage style miniature doll house accessories, is having a BIG miniature raffle for the month of April. For every $20 you spend at the store, you will be entered into the raffle to win a miniature item. For every 10 entries into the raffle, L will add another prize.
Here's a page about the raffle that you can tweet and link to help spread the word.

But the miniature items are beautiful. Many are made from recycled and upcycled elements, then aged and worn. Truly wonderful additions to your doll house - or miniature stop motion movie set.

Froud classes in France

Wendy and Brian Froud will be teaching master classes in sculpting and drawing at medieval Chateau De Belcastel in Aveyron, France. There are three sessions over August as well as other activities around the historic castle and local village.

At last a chance to answer the age old question - does being somewhere amazing and beautiful make creativity blossom? Feel free to take up a collection for me to go and advance this valuable research. Sigh.