CRAFT CORNER
By Kiki Clark
I’m a craft
dilettante. I like nothing more than to find some dirt-simple,
relatively cheap activity that makes pretty things without a lot of
work. Today’s feature is long, because there’s so much potential.
Welcome to the wonderful world of…
Jointed Paper
Dolls
The odder the
materials, the cooler your doll will be. Look through your junk
drawer and your neighbor’s recycling bin. For example: cut out the
front of a soda can with tin snips and make your doll’s dress out of
that (bending the edges under or folding clear tape around them, so
they’re not sharp). Or make a doll with your photographed head,
dress her in shocking lingerie and stick it in an envelope to your
sweetie.
The
March/April 2004 issue of
Somerset Studio magazine featured an article on paper fairy
dolls by a woman who put a “fairy mail box” in her daughter’s
bedroom. She puts new paper fairies and letters from the fairies in
there on a regular basis. How cute is that? Very cute, because her
daughter is only nine. Don’t try this with your twenty-year-old.
She’ll have you committed.
What you need:
Paper Doll
Template
Mini Brads
(for attaching her little legs and arms)
Cardstock (so
she’s sturdy)
Scissors (for
cutting stuff)
Glue, with
which to adhere your doll’s clothing (hot glue for bulky things, a
glue stick for paper)
1/8” (3 mm)
hole punch, to punch holes in her body parts for the brads to go
through.
If you’re
thinking, “Paper Dolls! I’m going to make bunches of them,” then I
recommend you buy a sturdy plastic doll template, available at the
site below for $6.50 plus shipping. This site won’t give the URL for
the specific page, so you’ll have to search (on the yellow banner at
the top) for paper dolls template.
http://www.addictedtorubberstamps.com
This is a
durable template that makes tracing the pattern very easy and quick.
Also, it makes three sizes of dolls, with your choice of optional
angel or fairy wings. If you don’t like the hair, it’s easy enough
to trim off that part of the shape and leave her bald. Now search on
mini brads and pick a color. And could they call the hole punch a
“hole punch”? They could not. Search on
Hand Punch, Circle, 1/8".
I do this work so you don’t have to. And just so you know, most
craft stores sell cheaper brands of hole punches. You could
stick the brads in without punching a hole, but the doll’s limbs
wouldn’t move. If you have some small beads, you could thread some
dental floss through the limbs and torso and affix a bead on either
side.
You can find
the same doll template for 25 cents more (but with examples to click
on) here:
http://www.stampington.com/html/terrific_templates.html
Maybe you’re
thinking, “Huh. This sounds cute, but I don’t want to spend money
until I try it once.” Oh, yeah? I got yer free paper doll
template right chere.
http://www.ruthannzaroff.com/mirkwooddesigns/paperdoll.htm
This is one
size and doesn’t have wings. If you use the free template, I suggest
you go to your local craft store for mini brads and a punch and save
yourself the shipping cost. The above link also includes general
doll-making instructions, so I won’t repeat them in this article.
Plus, my cat could put these things together.
Speaking of
which, here’s a fun alternative – doll shapes you stamp on paper and
cut out, including cats and dogs! I have to tell you, this is from
my favorite paper-crafts catalog on the Web. Sign up for the
newsletter, which is fun and has special sale codes. Don’t be
intimidated by that text-heavy home page. Just type doll in
the search box in the upper left.
http://www.rubberbaby.com/
Click on every
purty picture you see and you’ll get related items, instructions,
maybe even the secret of the universe. I tell you, this site is
HUGE. You can make the body of your dolls out of anything you can
stamp: shrink plastic, old newsprint, pastel wrapping paper, copper
sheeting. If you’re stamping on a weird, hard surface, use StazOn
ink pads, available at many craft stores or the Addicted to Rubber
Stamps link up above.
Here’s a
special tip for the Rubber Baby site. You can buy all their stamps
for cheap if you get them unmounted – as a bendy sheet of rubber.
You cut out the individual stamps, leaving maybe a 1/16th
inch (2mm) margin around them and cutting the rubber at a 90-degree
angle to the surface - not on a slant. Buy some kind of clear,
acrylic picture-frame box. I got one for a buck at Michaels. Stick
some double-sided tape on the box, stick your unmounted stamp to the
tape and Voila! Your stamp is mounted and you can see right where
you’re putting it. Peel it off, put a new one on and go again. And
the best way to clean ink off rubber stamps? Baby wipes. Who knew?
If you’ve
visited all the sites I’ve listed, you’ve seen examples and
instructions galore. Here’s a recap.
1) Cut the
doll shapes out of the material of your choice.
2) Punch holes
in the limbs and body in the anatomically appropriate places (or
not) and attach all the pieces. Now you have a jointed doll. Isn’t
she CUTE? Make her dance around a little.
3) Give her
some features if you didn’t get the stamps or free print-a-doll,
which already have faces. Paint or draw one on, or use a face from a
magazine, photo, vintage post card or wanted-criminal flyer, for
variety.
4) For hair,
glue on some yarn, curly wire, a macaroni noodle, embroidery thread,
pet hair, a cotton ball dipped in India ink and left to dry, the
many, many bug legs you have been saving (freak!), dried grass,
multicolored twist ties, paper cut in the shape of a tiny wig,
pieces of one of those copper kitchen scrubby things, opalescent
Easter-basket grass…
5) Dress your
doll in feathers, the Sunday comics, window screen, silk flower
petals or leaves, origami paper, felt, leather, paint, collaged
magazine bits, fabric scraps from that baby quilt you still haven’t
finished, bits of tissue, colored cellophane, foil candy wrappers,
drinking straws cut lengthwise… You get the idea. The sky’s the
limit!
Final, random
tips:
If you want to
make your doll’s body out of some cool paper that happens to be
thin, just draw or stamp the shapes, glue the thin stuff to a piece
of cardstock, and then cut the doll pieces out. If you’re
going to use paper or cloth for the clothes, you may find it easier
to lay your doll’s torso on the back side of your material and trace
the clothing shape before you put the doll together. But I’d
put the clothes on after the doll is assembled. That way you can
keep from gluing things in ways that interfere with movement of the
legs and arms. And when you’re all done, you can attach a loop of
thread to her back and hang her somewhere. This is particularly cute
with the winged ones. One thing – don’t ask me how to dress both
sides of the doll. I’m sure it can be done, but I’m too lazy to
figure it out.
Next issue:
Obscene Gingerbread Men! Just kidding. It’ll probably be weird
bookmarks.
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THIS MONTH’S
RECIPES
By Colleen
Gleason
Colleen’s
Asian Summer Grill
This is a
great meal for eating outside during the summer months. It’s fancy
enough to serve for guests, or perfect for an easy family meal! Even
my three kids love it--and so does my mother-in-law!
This will
serve four-five people comfortably.
Menu
Grilled Pork
Tenderloin
Spicy Asian
Pasta Salad
Ginger Green
Beans
Grilled Pork
Tenderloin
One pork
tenderloin, boneless (4-6 lb)
12 oz Apricot
Nectar (you can find little six-pack cans on the juice aisle, or a
large bottle)
3 T Apricot
preserves
4 T Teriyaki
sauce
2 T Fresh
ginger (or use the kind that comes in a jar)
2 T Fresh
garlic (or use the kind that comes in the jar already minced)
Marinade the
pork tenderloin by poking it all over with a fork, then putting it
in a large plastic bag or bowl. You’ll want to let it marinade for
at least an hour, but up to six hours is fine.
To make the
marinade, mix the other ingredients and pour it over the tenderloin.
When you are
ready to cook it, and the grill is heated, wrap the tenderloin in
heavy duty aluminum foil and pour as much of the marinade in with it
as possible. Wrap it tightly. Cook the tenderloin in the foil until
its internal temperature at the thickest part is 130 degrees (if
your grill is hot, it will only take 20-30 minutes).
Remove the
foil, and continue to let the tenderloin cook directly on the grill
(turning so that all sides brown nicely) until its internal
temperature is 155-158 degrees. (When you remove it from the heat,
it will continue to cook and reach that safe temperature of 160
degrees.)
Allow it to
set and cool slightly, then slice into half- or quarter-inch thick
medallions and serve with Asian Pasta Salad and Ginger Green Beans.
Spicy Asian
Pasta Salad
If you can,
make this ahead of time.
16 oz Angel
hair or spaghetti pasta noodles
Teriyaki sauce
(for less spice), and/or Thai peanut or Szechuan spicy sauce--in a
bottle
6 green onions
Sesame seeds
Sesame oil
Make the
pasta, drain, and run cold water over it to cool and keep it
separated.
Cut the white
part of the green onions (and part of the green part as well) into
quarter-inch strips lengthwise (not circular).
Mix, to taste
(i.e., depends how spicy you want it) 2 tablespoons sesame oil, and
a total of 3 tablespoons of teriyaki sauce and/or spicy sauce.
Toss green
onions, sauces, and sesame seeds with the pasta and serve chilled.
The tenderloin can be served on top of or next to the pasta salad.
Ginger Green
Beans
2 lb fresh
green beans, washed and cut to desired size
2 T fresh
ginger
2 T fresh
garlic
Olive oil
Sesame seeds
Heat olive oil
at medium heat in a sauté pan. Add ginger and garlic and let it cook
just until you can smell it start to cook, then add the green beans.
Saute for approximately 5-10 minutes (depending how crisp you like
your beans), then remove from pan.
Sprinkle with
sesame seeds and serve.
Enjoy! Let me
know how you liked the recipes!
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