Flip Dolls Pattern Hop and Link Up!

Happy Bright Week!

The Flip Dolls Pattern Hop starts today! Join us each day this week as we see a new flip doll made from the patterns in my book Flip Dolls and Other Toys that Zip, Stack, Hide, Grab and Go. Each blog will be offering a free book to one lucky reader, so be sure to check out all five. I can't wait for you to see the lovely dolls made by each of these bloggers. You can see my new chameleon right here (or maybe you won't see him, eh?) as I kick off the pattern hop, and be sure to sign up for the giveaway! The rest of the schedule is as follows:

MONDAY 
Chameleon Flip Doll at WeWilsons

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TUESDAY
Batman Flip Doll at Our Family Four

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WEDNESDAY 
Butterfly Flip Doll with hexagon wings at Wild Olive  

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THURSDAY
Super cute Super Hero at Pink Cheeks Studios

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FRIDAY 
A smiling Butterfly Flip Doll at Happy Brown House

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If you're sewing from the book, be sure to grab the full size printable templates from Lark's website, and if you haven't gotten a book yet, check out each of these blogs for a chance to win a copy!

Want to show off your flip doll, too? We'd love to see! Add your link below by clicking on the blue "Add your link" button below before May 4th.

Flip Dolls Pattern Hop and Link Up

Flip Dolls Pattern Hop

Psst! Join us in April for the Flip Dolls Pattern Hop. Four lovely bloggers and I will be making Flip Dolls using the patterns in my book, which includes tips for making your own characters with my pattern. I'll be making a new variation of the flip doll, and I can't wait to see what else (or who else!) turns up. 

Want to participate? I'll add a linky widget on April 21, so you can link to your own flip dolls. So get sewing! Take some pictures of your doll, post them on your blog/Flickr/wherever, then add the link after April 21. Can't wait to see what you're doing, too!

If you haven't got your copy yet, my publisher is offering a book giveaway on each blog, too. So come sew with us, win a book, and enjoy some clever flip dolls with me!

Flip Dolls in Stop Motion: a book trailer

I always wanted to make a stop motion movie from my toys, but never got around to such a project. The lovely folks at Sterling put one together for the book. Eek! the cuteness.

Find Flip Dolls and Other Toys on Amazon, and don't forget to grab the printable templates for the book on Lark's site.

Flip Dolls and Other Toys that Zip, Stack, Hide, Grab and Go [and printable templates]

My book will be officially released next Tuesday, August 6! (Although some eager friends pre-ordered through Amazon and got their copies weeks ago.) Click on the book image to find it on Amazon. Some fun reviews are trickling in from around the craft scene. I love hearing how others are responding to my toys and illustrations, but I especially love seeing the toys being made from the book! I'll keep up a list of reviews here.

I'm also really glad to share the full size templates available for printing so that you don't have to worry with enlarging. You can find the pdf here.

Below are some of my photos of the actual book - laid out beautifully and full of my favorite colors. I've added a few comments about some of my favorite details.

my toy illustrations on the endpaper - I love it!

This alter-ego may look like Clark Kent, but he's really inspired by John: Super Librarian.

I love the beautiful layout by the design team. I was squealing with delight when I first saw the lovely fonts and color, and oh, the lightning bolts!

These little birdies are probably my favorite toy, and the photographs are so lovely!

I did the illustrations throughout the book, which was great fun!

Both the photographer and design team had a great sense of color and storytelling with these serial photo layouts. 

The Show and Tell chapter is full of my favorite toys: the Bright Ideas Computer, the Plucky Ukulele, and the Perching Birds.

The Knotty Frog was fun silliness to make. 

The Flip and Turn chapter has 8 flip doll patterns, plus instructions to customize the pattern to make your own characters. 

Printable Merit Badges: you earned it.

Merit badges really appeal to my need for external validation. I can just picture Ed Chigliak wrestling a little green man in a trailer park, right now, on my behalf.

What, didn't you watch Northern exposure?

While I was working on my book Flip Dolls & Other Toys That Zip, Stack, Hide, Grab & Go, I spent one particular evening sewing at least 8 zippers without swearing or injuring myself or even breaking a needle. Not too long ago, I'd buy extra needles, expecting to break at least 2, when working with zippers. I'll admit - I was feeling pretty proud. I've come a long way since I started sewing, and gained quite a few skills.

I'd say, I finally earned my zipper badge.

Later, when I was doing the illustrations for the book I remembered that feeling of accomplishment, and I drew merit badges to go with the skills taught in the Getting Started chapter. I've been wanting to make some in some sort of practical and share-able format ever since. Today's the day!

So, if you're collecting new skills (or refreshing old ones), and you need a little motivation - here's a treat for you! 12 printable merit badges for some essential sewing and softie making skills. Most of these skills are included in my book, but these will apply to lots of sewing skills. The pdf below includes the merit badges, along with some suggested accomplishments for earning your badge, and a "Sewing Skills" sash. Once you've earned your badge, print it, cut it out, and paste it on the sash to display for a little External Validation.

I think these definitely need to be uploaded to spoonflower and turned into Sewable Merit Badges. But I'm not there yet. What fun these will be to encourage the little ones as they start learning to sew! Download the files below, and be sure to let me know how you're using them!

Sneak Peek [with Embarrassing Photos]

I don't usually have much trouble designing with the kids around, but the actual sewing, with pins and projects spread out on the floor and the dining table, the hot iron steaming - that can be a bit tricky.  So during the months I was working on Flip Dolls and Other Toys, my dear husband gave me many weekends home alone to put in some serious hours sewing. He and the kids would go visit the grandparents for a weekend, and I would have 48 uninterrupted hours to make a huge mess, assembly line stacks of projects, and do my hand stitching with a line up of cheesy movies. It was fabulous.

I would keep in contact with John and the kids with a quick skype over breakfast, and loads of photobooth shots of me, cheesing for the camera with the projects I was working on. I was giggling over some of these photos this evening, and thought you might enjoy a peek into my working process. Be warned: there's quite a bit of goofiness, some failed prototypes (read the captions for the details!), a bit of bed-head (with a surprising number of hairstyles over the last two years), and lots of coffee!

Unfortunately, this female super didn't make it in the book, because I made her shirt from the same fabric as her SKIN COLOR. Sheesh. Let's keep it clean, folks.

Coffee, and cheerful first morning. 

Coffee, a drafting ruler, and a frantic second morning.

The productive mess in action - can you spot the three different projects laid out here?

Not pleased with this square bottomed ukelele with floppy strings.

Sharing secret plans with one of my crocodiles!

Many months, and many ukuleles later... shape and string success!

Sitting pretty with my first finished birdie.

Prototype and finished Bearded Ladies - no more nubby arms, simpler hair, and a scale that matches the other flip dolls.  And I'm still totally sane. No really.

Prototype and finished Conjoined Twins. The bigger one is better, right? Wait, is something missing?

Blue Birds and Robins keeping me company. 
Nothing goofy here, just my favorite little toy. :)

Many months and a move later: 
doing book revisions with my cheering squad present this time.

The book arrives in the mail, and we can't keep our hands off it!

That's me! 
Wait, I'm flipped, too...

Thanks for reminiscing with me. Quite a lot of fun over the last two years! My only regret is that I didn't take pictures of all my mistakes - although the topless super hero is definitely a favorite. I think toy design may be one of the most fun jobs ever - at least one of the most playful, eh?

How about you? Do you mix work and play?

Flip Dolls & Other Toys that Zip, Stack, Hide, Grab, and Go

I have to say, publishing a book feels very surreal. I always feel a little goofy telling people I wrote a book - because, really? Did I do that?

Most of my contact with my editor Thom at Lark Crafts  has been by email, with a few phone calls and letters - but never in person. So, occasionally, I've wondered if I'm really like the guy in A Beautiful Mind: anxiously working on projects I can't show anyone, spending hours writing and editing, and mailing away my work in large cardboard boxes; only to one day discover that I've really been corresponding with spammers and all of my plush toys have been stuffed into a hollow log in the woods.

But then yesterday, the UPS man, who seemed to be quite real, delivered an advanced copy of the book, right to my door. And then I saw that Flip Dolls & Other Toys is available on Amazon for pre-order already! And let me tell you, its slick and beautiful, with gorgeous photos and bright colors, and a layout that makes me giddy.

Don't worry, you'll hear more about it soon. It will be officially released in August, and I can't wait to show you all the fun projects in the book!