Have you checked out the Tutorials section on the IADR (International Art Doll Registry) yet?  We got your back plus other parts of the anatomy for reference or learning tutorials are available there.  ​This is just one of the services we offer to our Members of the IADR.

Members can log-in to the site and then click Tutorials. Because we have so much information I created a couple of sub-categories too.  By clicking on Tutorials (whether it's in the heading or the beginning of the sub-category section) there will be a wide range of doll making tutorials to see.  We have doll tutorials, costuming, and a couple of other wonderful informational lessons that our IADR members have generously shared with us.

Plus why might you like to share your tutorials with us? Because NOW with our new setup, if you offer a tutorial or lesson that might be on your personal webpage, Youtube or any place you have created a file/link -- we will create on our website a link back to the information.  You have then just doubled your opportunity of someone visiting your page if anyone finds it on our website.  To see how this works, go to the Tutorials section, and then simply click on my free tutorial on how to paint eyebrows.  

The artwork of Amanda Parkinson is exciting and I certainly love hearing and seeing it through her eyes.  

Besides thinking outside the box in creativity, it is also amazing how, as dollmakers, we often are required to figure out other ways in order to create our dolls.  We may not get the exact thing we wanted for our piece but we don't let that stop us. We simply move forward.

What is pix-a-lated?  There are many stories and legends of the unexpected traveler being pixy-led and arriving home disheveled often following the revels of a village fair.  They would insist that the pixies were to blame for heading them from the path with their flickering lights resulting in them being lost or very late.

Well, that is what I feel like now that here in the USA we have Sprung forward an hour.  We are suppose to be enjoying an extra hour of sunlight but I am still waiting for the sun to show up for that too.  Here in the USA we are also out of step until others go through this stage.  

So what does that mean?  For those of us planning on attending the Shylock Doll Gathering this Wednesday the 15th, please check your time zone as to not miss out on this fun gathering of dollmakers.  We are looking to explore the different ways (or the easy way) to make fingers for our characters.  

​I am excited to see the Rainy Days entries showing up soon.  How will you see it and what you use for inspiration are all good things to be thinking about when building your creations.  

But also keep in mind those thoughts when filling out your submission form when submitting it.  Remember to explain how your creation is connected to the theme is very important.  Click here if you want to read the blog again on how I explained the scoring in an IADR juried show "Why-is-the-theme-important".

So when you go into to fill out that form where it asks your interpretation and theme, this is one of those times that more is better than less.
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If you were inspired by "Dancing in the Rain" with the actor Gene Kelly, say so.  Or if a traditional Raindance by a native tribe inspired you... say so.  Or another way of filling out this part is when describing your character you can say that they are carrying an umbrella to protect them from the rain.  Or the little fairy is hiding under the leaf to protect herself from the wet rain.