Doll Artist and Teacher: Preserving the art of making dolls and Artist Member of the Original Doll Artist Council of America (ODACA).
Finally, Cooler Days!
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Hello Reader, I can't believe we're nearly halfway through September! This summer was gone in the blink of an eye. I published my last newsletter in July, right before the UFDC Convention / ODACA Day. I'd hoped to send another before now, but life conspired. My husband and I caught COVID in Kansas City (or on the flight home) so we lost a week, followed by three weeks of babysitting grandchildren. So on weekends (when the upstairs studio temperatures were tolerable) I worked on my {secret} souvenir dolls - an exercise in time management. No waiting until the last minute on this one! That being said, I've decided to work assembly-line style for efficiency, and will divide the project into small groups of finished dolls. Yesterday I completed the first group of six. In between these groups of souvenirs, I'll be working on other dolls in preparation for next year's ODACA Day. This one will be in Norfolk, Virginia and the theme is "Shiver Me Timbers, PIRATES!" How fun! I've already got some ideas. Check it out: https://www.odaca.org/odaca-day-2025 As I look through my patterns, I think I'll make a Santa doll next. The holidays will be here before you know it, and I haven't made an Old World Santa in years. The stores will probably start displaying Christmas decor before long, and ornaments make great accessories for dolls (like the red lantern below). https://www.etsy.com/shop/blueherondolls
*Have you missed any Tips or Tutorials?* Tip #1: Sewing with Freezer Paper
Tip #3: Sewing Stripes Tip #4: Realistic Fingernails
Tip #6: Drafting a Clothing Pattern Tip #7: Pleater Board Tutorial
Deanna Hogan
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Deanna Hogan, Blue Heron Dolls
Doll Artist and Teacher: Preserving the art of making dolls and Artist Member of the Original Doll Artist Council of America (ODACA).
Hello Reader, Autumn is my favorite time of year. It was sprinkling a little as I let the dog out to do his business, and immediately noted the nostalgically distinct and comforting smell of petrichor. When I informed my husband, he had to look it up (yay, finally a vocabulary he didn't know!) I spent last week sewing the Old World Santa I mentioned in my last newsletter. He's essentially done, though he's holding a temporary lantern (I think the scale is just a little too large for him), so...
Hello Reader, It's down to the wire now, as ODACA Day is fast approaching. I've selected the dolls traveling to Kansas City, and have begun tagging and carefully wrapping them in tissue paper and bubble wrap. I'm more fortunate than some of my fellow doll makers, as my dolls are primarily cloth. Those who make porcelains or sculpt in the polymer clays have a more precarious job of it. ODACA Day is under the umbrella of the annual UFDC Conference. ODACA's theme this year is "All That...
Hello Reader, I'm making slow but steady progress on my schoolgirl doll, and the end is almost in sight. I'd decided on dressing her in a school uniform, with a plaid pleated skirt. I don't have much experience making pleats, so as I worked out the process I decided to create another quick tutorial for you: Pleater Board Tutorial Maisie Now I'm nearly finished with her jacket. And honestly, those tiny lapels really threw me for a loop! I'm also hoping to include some some sort of school...