Craftside

How to sew two tone arms from the book Cloth Doll Workshop

If you like to sew anything, I bet this technique from Cloth Doll Workshop for sewing two pieces of fabric together first before cutting out the shape could come in handy.

Click on this page from Cloth Doll Workshop to enlarge to read the full tutorial on how to make a two toned doll arm.

More about the book:

Cloth Doll Workshop

By

elinor peace bailey

Patti Medaris Culea

Barbara Willis

Patti Medaris Culea, elinor peace bailey, and Barbara Willis are three of the leading doll artists and teachers in the country.

elinor peace bailey is a trained artist and discovered stitchery as she was raising her family. She travels and teaches, has designed fabrics, and has worked as a creative consultant for several companies. She has self published books, quilt patterns, craft projects, and dolls, which she sells online and through quilt shops.

Patti Medaris Culea combines her love of silk and dyes by creating extraordinary fairies, mermaids and other one-of-a-kind dolls. She has a full-line of cloth doll patterns and her work has appeared in books, magazines and galleries. In demand as a teacher, she travels throughout the world.

Barbara Willis is a doll artist and teaches doll making in many parts of the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and England. Barbara's work has been widely published in magazines and her dolls have been included in special exhibits, galleries, and books. She resides in Northern California in the San Francisco Bay Area.

  

Jeannine Stein teaching her Booklace project at the Book Art Workshops in Los Angeles

Our very own Jeannine Stein, author of Re-Bound: Creating Handmade Books from Recycled and Repurposed Materials and Adventures In Bookbinding: Handcrafting Mixed-Media Books, will be teaching two classes at the Book Art Workshops in Los Angeles!

She will will teaching her Booklace project:

and her Romanesque Stitch Journal project:

Pop on over to the Book Art Workshop's site for all the information for the Los Angeles Book Art Workshops, including info on the classes, all the other teachers, and registering.

Book Art Workshops
May 7 - 12, 2012
1250 Long Beach Ave #322
Los Angeles, CA 90021
Held in an artist loft close to the 5, 10, and 110 freeways

With all this "book" news, I thought I'd share my latest book project. I have made a few projects that include recycled doll parts, my latest being my mini scissor holder "Edward Scissorhead," and last week I scored a new doll at the thrift store for another project I have "in mind" (you will get it when I post about it) as it uses the head again. So I have some doll limbs available for spare parts (or in my case, craft supplies). I decided after flipping through Adventures In Bookbinding that a doll arm might make a cool book closure.

So I pulled the doll apart and cut down the arm part at the joint so it would glue flat to the surface of the journal cover.

When I glued the ribbon, I thought I'd try the diagonal present ribbon wrapping style instead of the traditional mid-section.

I cut a tiny slice in the doll's hand so that the ribbon would be snugly secured in the hand. I also added a black heart sticker that I cut down the middle in a zig-zag pattern, thus transforming it into a "broken heart" appropriate for a severed doll arm.

If you like making books out of old and unusual stuff, check out Jeannine's books:

Adventures In Bookbinding:

Handcrafting Mixed-Media Books

by

Jeannine Stein

Each project in this book combines bookbinding with a specific craft such as quilting, jewelry making, or polymer clay, and offer levels of expertise: basic, novice, and expert.  Illustrated step-by-step instructions and photographs demonstrate how to construct the cover pages, and a unique binding technique, easy enough for a beginner to master.

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Re-Bound:
Creating Handmade Books from Recycled and Repurposed Materials

By

Jeannine Stein

Re-Bound shows you how to take every day materials from around the house, flea markets and thrift stores, and hardware and office supply stores, and turn them into fabulous books. Instead of saying, What can I make a book out of, you'll be thinking, What can't I make a book out of? In Re-Bound, a vintage souvenir wallet becomes a photo album. Last year's trendy sweater becomes a takealong journal. Even potato chip bags get a second life as a handy pocket notebook. This fun pursuit is economical as well as ecological. A variety of attractive, uncomplicated bindings, how-to instructions, and step-outs bring each project to life. 

Jeannine Stein has been making books for more than fifteen years, exploring bindings, mediums, and techniques. In addition to teaching book-binding, she is an award-winning journalist, and she has written extensively about paper crafts, including artists' books, scrapbooking, rubber stamping, and letterpress.

 

How to paint on fusible web from the book The Complete Fabric Artist's Workshop by Susan Stein

Today I have a terrific tutorial on how to paint on fusible web from the book The Complete Fabric Artist's Workshop: Exploring Techniques and Materials for Creating Fashion and Decor Items from Artfully Altered Fabric.

Click on these pages from the CPi book  The Complete Fabric Artist's Workshop by Susan Stein to enlarge and read all about painting on fusible web.

 

If you like this step-by-step painting on fusible web tutorial and want more fabric art fun, grab yourself a copy of:

The Complete Fabric Artist's Workshop:
Exploring Techniques and Materials for Creating Fashion and Decor Items from Artfully Altered Fabric

by

Susan Stein

The Complete Fabric Artist's Workshop is a comprehensive source of all the newest and most popular fiber art techniques! Watch spontaneous designs develop when you try lasagna painting, monoprinting, splash and puddle, and other unique techniques. Burn your silk, rust your cottons, and distress your felt. For each technique, Susan has designed a project that makes the most of your newly crafted fabric. Fuse Angelina fibers into a colorful collage to wrap around plain jars or vases. Send your friends one-of-a-kind fabric postcards made with painted fusible web. Give the dining room cozy ambiance with gossamer silk candle covers and monoprinted placemats. The possibilities are endless!

Check out Susan's store and some of her work at http://www.colorfulquiltsandtextiles.com.

 

Author of 365: A Daily Creativity Journal, Noah Scalin is a doll - literally!

Total giggle! Noah Scalin is a doll! Read all about this mini him and its creator over at this post at his blog Skull-a-day.

And if this wasn't enough to get your creativity cookin', try this page from his book 365: A Daily Creativity Journal: Make Something Every Day and Change Your Life! to point you in a direction today!

 

I took my creative direction from #170, which talks about making something unintended out of existing instructions. My favorite instructions are clothing patterns and I have a stash just for crafting with. I haven't made an ATC in a while so that is what it was going to be.

I simply cut a piece of cardstock the size of an ATC and then glued a fun bit of pattern onto it.

Then I added my current favorite Jay-Z quote. I attached it to a greeting card with some gold photo corners so I could store it in my Card Album and most likely trade or gift it in the future.

Want to get in on the "make something daily" band wagon too? Then grab yourself a copy of:

365: A Daily Creativity Journal: Make Something Every Day and Change Your Life!

By

Noah Scalin

The concept of Noah Scalin’s "365 method" is simple but inspired: Choose a theme or medium, then make something every day for a year. Noah made 365 skull-themed projects... now he invites you to choose your obsession and get creative! The book offers 365 project prompts to kick start your creativity, plus plenty of room for journaling, sketching, and jotting down ideas. Learn how to choose your subject and document your work, and see examples from other artists and crafters who took the 365 challenge. In addition, master new techniques to incorporate into your projects, including quilling, clay-making, paper pop-up engineering, and more. Share your progress with other 365-ers at www.MakeSomething365.com. With 365: A Daily Creativity Journal you’ll get charged up, get messy, and get inspired, and you’ll see how making something every day can change your creative process—and change your life forever!

In 2007, artist Noah Scalin came up with an ingenious idea: he cut a skull out of orange paper and posted it on his blog with the note, “I’m making a skull image every day for a year.” His year-long art project became an award-winning internet sensation that resulted in the book Skulls, as well as landing him in the New York Times and on the Martha Stewart Show. He lives in Richmond, Virginia.

www.noahscalin.com

www.skulladay.blogspot.com

 

How to make pretty doll hair with yarn from the book Cloth Doll Workshop

This page from Cloth Doll Workshop shows a great technique on how to make doll hair. I have lots of pretty yarn and it got my wheels turning on how I could use it to make hair, specifically wild plumes of fun on my plushies.

Like this tutorial on how to make doll hair with yarn? Well then I bet you will love:

Cloth Doll Workshop

By

elinor peace bailey

Patti Medaris Culea

Barbara Willis

Patti Medaris Culea, elinor peace bailey, and Barbara Willis are three of the leading doll artists and teachers in the country. They are also friends. Each of these artists has her own distinct approach to the design and development of a cloth figure. In this book, each artist's process comes alive through their choice of fabrics, sketches, simple patterns, and skill-building variations. The book is oriented toward beginning doll makers, but offers unique variations and embellishments to please even more experienced doll designers. Two introductory chapters cover basic materials and techniques. Each artist's chapter includes step by step illustrations, instructions, and patterns to make a complete doll, plus variations that create completely new figures. Readers are treated to full color photography and a look inside of each artist's workspace. A gallery of additional creations by each artist, along with commentary on each work completes the collection. This is a must-have book for any aspiring or experienced doll making.

elinor peace bailey is a trained artist, and discovered stitchery as she was raising her family. She travels and teaches, has designed fabrics, and has worked as a creative consultant for several companies. She is the author of Mother Plays With Dolls, and The Rag Doll From Plain to Fancy.  She has self published books, quilt patterns, craft projects, and dolls, which she sells online and through quilt shops.

Patti Medaris Culea combines her love of silk and dyes by creating extraordinary fairies, mermaids and other one-of-a-kind dolls. She has a full-line of cloth doll patterns and her work has appeared in books, magazines and galleries. In demand as a teacher, she travels throughout the world. She is the author of four books on doll making, all by Quarry Books.

Barbara Willis is a doll artist and teaches doll making in many parts of the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and England. Barbara's work has been widely published in magazines and her dolls have been included in special exhibits, galleries, and books. She resides in Northern California in the San Francisco Bay Area. She is the author of Cloth Doll Artistry (Quarry Books, 2009).