A sock doll swap is an exchange of dolls made from socks. In this 2010 Wild Art Dolls exchange, the dolls had to be made from socks and three of them had to fit inside a flat-rate Priority Mail envelope. Three of us participated. Here are some of the dolls: My dolls were almost identical….
Month: July 2010
24-Hour Zine Thing – What I Learned
Concluding yesterday’s 24-page, 24-hour zine, I learned a lot. (Here’s the link to the printable zine: 24-hour zine download.) I’m still not sure if I’m going to try a second one for this challenge. Probably not. (If I had more time, I might. With just two non-weekend days left in the month, it’s probably not…
Zines – My 24-Hour Zine Thing Diary
Today, I’m starting the 24-hour zine thing. (Yes, that’s what it’s called.) This may be quite a challenge! What is a 24-hour zine? If you’re not familiar with it, here’s the basic idea: Go from concept to completed/printed-and-bound 24-page zine in 24 hours. My general plan is to start it around 1 p.m. today. I’m…
Choosing Fabric for Your Cloth Doll
The first rule of cloth doll making is: BREAK THE RULES! Nobody said the skin fabric has to be pink. Or muslin. Or brown. Or whatever. Your doll’s skin can be purple. Or green. Or paisley. Or white lace over silver lame that you’ve fused to muslin. Nobody said that your dolls’ legs and arms…
Cloth Dolls – How to Choose the Best Doll Stuffing
Not sure how to choose the right cloth doll stuffing? Here’s the punch line: Buy the best doll stuffing (ex: fiberfill, polyfill, batting, cotton wool) that you can afford. The cheap stuff may look the same in the bag. It may even feel the same if you squeeze it. You may think, “I’ll bet this…
Cloth Dolls – Should You Preshrink Fabrics
Should you preshrink fabrics (or prewash them) before making a cloth doll? Yes… and no. It depends upon what’s important to you. Why not to prewash or preshrink fabrics Fabrics, especially cottons, never look quite so “fresh” after prewashing. The sizing* and surface finish wash off, so the fabric doesn’t look as smooth. In most…
Swaps and Documentation
Some swaps say, “Documentation will be provided,” or something like that. Here’s what that means: The person organizing the swap will provide a list of everyone who participated in the swap, mailart call, or whatever. In some cases, that list may be just people’s names. In others, it’s each person’s name and address. (If you…
Swaps and Postage
When organizing an art swap of any kind, postage can be a Very Big Headache. Here are some tips to keep the postage problems to a minimum. Different people send items that are varying sizes and — more importantly — different weights. Even in a cloth doll swap, you never know who’ll embellish their dolls…
Art Swaps – How the Numbers Work
When you’re participating in an art swap through an online group or community, the numbers may confuse you. Here are some tips to help you understand them. There are three kinds of art swaps: Equal-for-equal, Number-for-number-minus-one, and Number-for-number-minus-X. Here’s how they work… EQUAL-FOR-EQUAL Art Swap When a swap is 3-for-3 or 10-for-10 or anything…
Art Swaps – How the Numbers Work
When you’re participating in art or crafts swaps through an online group or community, the numbers may confuse you. Here are some tips to help you understand how swaps work. (These tips apply to swaps exchanged through the postal mail. For a typical digital swap example, see my article, Artistamps – digital swaps.) EQUAL-FOR-EQUAL When…