Category Archives: Tips & Techniques

Faux Leather Clothing for Small Dolls
by Susan Scogin
Here’s a neat trick when you can’t find the right scaled fabric for tiny clothing!
Even old soft glove leather is not workable for a 1/12 figure so here’s a way to achieve the look of leather — and it’s easy.
First sew the garment as you usually do. I strongly recommend using 100% cotton Swiss Batiste Nelona for its high thread count.
Although this is not a sewing tutorial I will show you how I get some of the detail effect in my 1/12 scale clothing. Continue reading →

How to Organize Your Studio
by Ankie Daanen

This method ensures that the environment in your studio is calm and quiet,
and ready to start working on your masterpiece. Continue reading →

Creating Patterns for Shoes to Fit Any Doll
by Heather Maciak
This method of making a pattern is a simple one- you wrap a piece of aluminum foil around the foot of a shoeless doll, draw the shoe of your dreams with a marking pen, remove the foil and flatten it out. Voilà — you have a shoe pattern, or at least the beginnings of one! Continue reading →

Mold Making Reviews on two products
by Leslie Molen
KNEAD-A-MOLD: I have found that my old faithful plaster and pour able resin-paper maché are not quite mass-produced viable. I need to find a product that requires less finish time! The cost will be more on the front end but hopefully less time will be used to finish.
AVES CLAY SHAY: I am trying this product out for my face forms in lieu of Activa’s “Liquache” with plaster molds. Continue reading →

Sculpting directly into Porcelain
by Marlaine Verhelst
Porcelain for handsculpting has been used for centuries by ceramicists in sculpting their “objets d’arts”. It is a material for experienced sculpters. I use the German brand “Hutschenreuter” or the French brand “Limoges” and fire it only once on 1220 or 1240 degrees Celsius. After firing I paint the porcelain with watercolour and I cover this with a varnish as a protection. Continue reading →

Creating Fabrics with your Computer, Scanner, Camera and Printer
by Kathryn Walmsley
It’s easy to create fabrics of your own design if you have a printer and computer. A scanner and digital camera expand the possibilities!
Prepare the fabric you plan to print. I like to use unbleached, non permanent press muslin. The inexpensive kind you get at chain fabric stores. I’ve tried nicer muslin purchased at quilting shops but it tended to be a little heavier and so caused more printer problems. You can use bleached muslin if you want white in your finished fabric and light weight smooth silks. Avoid any fabrics with slubs or thick and thin places or very course weave. Continue reading →

ONE TWISTED TREE
Instructions by Forest Rogers
In case anyone is in need of a 24” twisted tree, I’ll summarize my approach to making one. For me, this tree helped consume those feverish days (and nights) before the New Orleans NIADA conference. It was an experiment, and better ways are likely out there… but, here’s the story: Continue reading →