COLOR MY WORLD

Color, glorious color!

One of the joys of working in the studio is the daily sight of riotous, joyous colors. Here at Dancing Rain Dolls we opted for visual inspiration over fiber conservation, displaying our materials on open bookcases on the grounds that soon our balls of hand-dyed mohair and boucle, roving, plush velour, handcrafted felts, and other colorful goods will soon fly out the door to you.

Yes, this easy access does have its hazards, the least of which is exposure to daylight. We're talking about the temptation to stop everything and enjoy color playtime!

What is color playtime, you might ask?

It is setting aside some time to just have fun pulling out fabrics, changing up the combinations of colors and textures of various fabrics in our stash here in the studio. Believe it or not, we can easily lose track of hours if we are not careful, caught up in the visual adventure.

What would that wide brown corduroy fabric look like as pants, with a striped shirt of pink, sage, and brown, combined with a vest with pockets out of that funky rose material? Or how about that retro look fabric with tiny polka dots? And would these colors look better with a doll with golden skintone and moppy, warm, brown hair?

Color playtime is all about giving yourself permission to simply experiment without fear of failure. It is a relaxing, creative time to explore possibilities.

Too often as adults we lead hectic lives. Studio time might be a stolen hour in the dead of night once the little ones have finally fallen asleep. We rush to make a little headway on a project that sometimes seems to gather more dust than stitches. Under the pressures and demands of raising a family, working, cooking, sewing, feeding the goldfish, picking up the toys, remembering we ran out of peanut butter two days ago and the oatmeal will run out tomorrow, we often forget to schedule our own playtime.

So, here is your reminder. Make a play date with yourself. Or invite a friend... Better yet, put out a basket of an assortment of colorful fabrics and let your kids play along with you. No pressure to make anything. Just have fun in the world of color!

Tips: Want to see a quick visual quide to solid color combinations with good contrast? Check out this Random Color Contrast Video!

And for more inspiration, take a peek at Dancing Rain Doll's Ten Tips For Working With Fabric.

THE CURE FOR BALDNESS --- Doll Wig Tutorial Lesson 1

Alright, I confess I don't have a cure.

But, I do have a remedy if you have been on the verge of ripping out your own hair after trying to figure out how to crochet a cap for your Waldorf Doll.

Here at the Dancing Rain studio we often get questions from crochet newbies on how to untangle that ball of yarn and get hooking. There are some written instructions and tips on our website. But, since a picture is worth a thousand words, we now also have a visual resource for you. As promised at the start of the new year, we are rolling out a few video tutorials.

Our first homegrown, studio production shows you the basic crochet techniques used when making a wig cap for a Dancing Rain Doll.

I hope this will make your doll making a little less hair raising and a lot more enjoyable!

If you have any comments or further questions, just drop us an email.

And if there are other topics you would like to have us cover in future videos, don't be shy! We would love to hear from you.

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DANCING RAIN DOLLS CROCHET TUTORIAL lesson one from dancingrain on Vimeo.

Dancing Rain Dolls Crochet Tutorial from dancingrain on Vimeo.

It's A Small World

It is 7,439 miles from Seattle to Bangkok. A long way for our dollies to travel. And yet, you never know where you may see their smiling faces!

The six degrees of separation apparently also applies to the world of dolls.

Recently we received an email that an orphange in Thailand could use some loving support. And so, here at the studio we have been thinking about ways Dancing Rain Dolls can assist.

Around the world childen turn to dolls for comfort, forming lasting bonds with their beloved dollies.

Did you know that dolls have been a source of joy for thousands of years?

A fragment of a doll from Babylonian times still exists.

Dolls constructed of flat pieces of wood, painted with various designs and with "hair" made of strings of clay or wooden beads, have been found in the arms of children in Egyptian graves dating back to 2000 BC.

Considered cherished possessions, dolls were also buried in Greek and Roman children's graves.

And after girls from Greece and Rome were too "grown-up" to play with dolls, they dedicated their dolls to goddesses in appreciation of their sacred value.

In Africa Yoruba-Ere Ibeji memorial dolls were carved upon the death of one or both twins in a land where the infant death rate is heartbreakingly high. These figures were kept, "fed", washed, clothed and cared for by the mother as if they were still living. This was done to ward off misfortune for the surviving children and to provide some comfort to the grieving mother.

When you stop to think about matters of the heart, 7,349 miles is not too far from home. We are glad there is no distance too great for Dancing Rain Dolls to travel.

It just so happens that Anne, our studio assistant, has a son whom is currently teaching English in Bangkok. The universe moves in mysterious ways. And so, there are plans in the works for her to visit the orphanage in Thailand in March to discuss how the mamas at Dancing Rain Dolls can help. We will keep you posted.

Ding Dong the Witch is Dead

Ding dong the witch is dead.....     

Ok well maybe not the witch, but it is definitely a time to cheer. After weeks of working on getting things pulled together so that I would be able to go through the compliance testing for the CPSAI laws, the law has been revised.

Once again it is still completely ambiguous in what they are going to require, but they have pushed everything back a year to 2010. I am sure we will still be faced with the daunting task of some sort of redundant testing, but hurrah for 2009!

Why not join me in celebrating! Take a look at some of the wonderful things that have been saved this year:

http://flickr.com/groups/986590@N23/ 

Keeping it American Made

It's hard to believe that yet one more obstacle has been put in front of the cottage industries of America. But this year, Congress passed the ill-conceived Consumer Products Safety Improvement Act, a law which goes into effect in 3 short weeks and will absolutely decimate the small toy manufacturers, independent artisans, and crafters who have already earned the public trust.

As of Feburary 10th this new law will cause all product that are for children 12and younger to undergo testing for lead and phthalets. This law is needed to protect our children of the pollutants that are being imported  from South East Asia. However,  when this blanket law goes into effect, it will cause all American-made items to be tested as well.

This may not be a big deal for the larger companies who still mass produce items, but cottage industires that make items one item at a time it will find it  close to impossible to comply with this law.  What will become of  "made in America"?

The number of people this will be affected are countless; Moms who sew beautiful handmade dresses for the local boutique, grandpa who  hand-carves  trucks and cars out of natural woods in his garage, that guy at the craft show who sold you the cute handmade puzzle--even larger US companies who employ local workers and have not once had any sort of safety issue will no longer be able to sell their goods.  

American small business owners can't afford to invest tens of thousands of dollars for  third-party testing and labeling just to prove that toys that never had a single toxic chemical in them still don't have any. Now is the time to speak out and ask  our elected officials in Congress to re-think this legislation.

Here at Dancing Rain Dolls we will try to figure out some way to go on. Yet, it's sad to see that so many other owners of cottage industries, the mom and pop entrepreneurs who have made this nation strong, will be left without any other option except to close up shop.  And ironically, soon all that will be left on store shelves will be Chinese imports from large companies who violated our trust and got us into this mess in the first place.