Hearts for Vanessa Auction

Please, make sure you visit this wonderful auction on Hyena Cart. It is a fundraiser for Vanessa Giasi and her two young daughters. Vanessa recently lost her young husband. A great number of dollmakers and crafters have come together to support her family during this time of trial. So please consider bidding on the wonderful items donated by many artists.

Bidding on one of my popular trademark pocketdresses starts at only $10. The auction will last 3 days from today through Thursday. So please, go and make a bid. I am really hoping this auction will be a great success for this young family. Thanks so much for bidding and thanks to the people who organized this amazing event!

Coupons for my Fans

I love those coupons you can make on Etsy. What a wonderful feature. So I made one for my Facebook Fans. Are you a  Fan yet? Please stop by my page today and become a fan today. You never know when one of these coupons might pop up...

Have a lovely day!

Guess What Tool!

Have you ever seen this tool? I thought I share about it in my "Tools of The Trade" series on the NaturalKids Team Blog today. Hope you get a chance to pop over and check it out. I love this little tool. It's so pretty and useful!

Hope you have a great day crafting and making art! And if you are not a Maker of things, I hope you get to enjoy the art created with this beautiful tool!

The Wrapping Matters!

I just can't help it. I am a terrible fabric addict. I was almost out of this precious hearts fabric I like to use for my Valentine's Day dresses. So I went on an on-line hunt for it the other day. I was very happy to find more of the fabric in 3 different places. One on Etsy and two on Ebay. All sellers were very helpful and nice when asked questions. But I have to say I would order from one fabric seller again because it was a real joy to receive the package. The wrapping was so incredibly cute. The yardage was wrapped in a protective plastic bag and had the cutest little bow with heartshaped buttons.

I just don't get it when people carelessly stuff something in an envelope without a note or anything. I take great care when I wrap and ship my dolls out. I suppose I expect that people would take the same care when I purchase something. But often they don't...What is your on-line shopping experience? Worst and best one? Please, tell!

So thanks so much angl1952 on Ebay! You are doing an awesome job. I will definitely shop with you again.

Pastel Babes

Pastel Babes 1, originally uploaded by germandolls.

Just finished these cuties today. They look great tied to a baby shower gift. All kids love these in their pockets...

A Book you need a Hardcover Copy of...

On Mondays, Tuesdays, and often Wednesdays you can find me on the NaturalKids Team Blog. Please, take a minute and visit the NaturalKids Team where I regularly blog, and do read the book review I wrote about one of my favorite children's book. If you haven't read this book already you must get it. If you don't have kids, that's no excuse either.  Because of Winn-Dixie  by Kate DiCamillo is a wonderful book for adults and children above the age of 9

Little Lovelies for Valentine's Day

I could really use a new camera. I have not been able to get the perfect shot of my little ones arranged in a heartshape. There is always one little one who doesn't want to stay in line or the lighting is wrong. Good thing I have until February 14th to get my photo right....Any suggestions on how to improve my photo? Or what camera to get?

We Shall Overcome. Some Day!

For 3 years now I have been wanting to finish an African America Doll and post it on Dr. Martin Luther King's Birthday. This year it looks like I will finally make it. I have been working many hours last week to complete a set of 4 ethnically diverse dolls. Two of them are custom dolls that will be mailed out to their new homes on Wednesday. The two other dolls will be listed in my shop today and tomorrow. So take a peak and enjoy!



 It's been 16 years since I got my MA degree from the Free University of Berlin. I wrote my Master's Thesis on the History of Advertising and the changing image of African Americans in Advertising. In my thesis I discussed early ads for escaped slaves and ended with the hopeful ads from the Civil Rights period. I believe it was a pretty good paper. Back then I had hopes of publishing it some day. Well, I didn't. Hopefully somebody along the way found my work useful in their studies of the American society.

I named her Rosa after the famous Rosa Parks.

On this Martin Luther King Holiday one may ask have things really improved since the Civil Rights movement? Yes, the US has actually voted an African American into the highest office of the Nation. As a scholar of the Civil Rights movement I was elated when this happened.  But almost every day now I read about elements in society calling for acts of violence against the elected leader of this country. It makes me wonder will Dr. Martin Luther's Dream ever come true? I want to believe that some day we will be able to overcome all our differences and live in peace. I don't think we are there yet...

Happy Martin Luther King Day!

Doll Finished

I just finished this sweet little girl. Remember the discussion of hair colors from few days ago? Everyone agreed that the medium blond was the best choice. I named this little gal Mia. Mia has lovely mocha skin, blue eyes, and is wearing this cute dress with French phrases. I made her Pocketdress from an adorable Japanese fabric. I have precious little of this fabric - so she is a true treasure!

                                           I hope her new owner will fall in love with her!

Just working away...

It's been a while since I put a finished doll in my Etsyshop. I am kind of feeling sad about it. What is a dollshop without any dolls in it? Who will wear all those cute clothes in my shop? Maybe time to cut down on the doll clothing production. It's hard to juggle these decisions at times.

I have a number of custom dolls I must get finished and out to the folks who ordered them. I don't like to keep people waiting so long. I don't like it when I owe stuff.  Do you ever feel that way? Does it stress you out to owe people?  Whether it's money or a completed doll. I don't like that feeling very much.
So I have decided to cut down on offering custom items. I will order two custom slots per month  - at the most. Is that a mistake? On the one had I like to make custom dolls because it gives me an opportunity to communicate with my customers and find out what they like. On the other hand though I get frustrated not being able to created freely. I feel a bit like a dog on a leash not being able to run to the park...Does that make sense? LOL

Dolls in Progress...

Slowly some sweet babies are coming alive. In this picture you can see 4 different heads in the skin colors I offer. I have a pink flesh color, a yellowish beige color, mocha, and a dark chocolate brown. It's always interesting to me how different colored fabrics seem to have different stretch. Or is it just my imagination?

If you look closely you can detect that the dark brown fabric always ends up being a bit more lose and stretchy. Not sure why that is. I did everything the same.

Now off to decide what hair color to choose for a mocha doll. I have a request for golden mohair by a customer. I have never done this combination. I am not that daring a person. I usually go with black for brown hair for that skin color. But why not? There are a lot of blond children with darker skin out there. So tell me which of the two you prefer:

                                                           Is it the golden golden girl?

                                                               Or the medium blond girl?

When I first looked at the yarn I was sure it was the bright golden color. But now I am thinking the lighter color looks better...Decisions. Decisions.

Great Feedback

Nothing makes me happier than getting great feedback from a customer. Often receiving a nice comment will make me blush, smile, or even cry....Here is a comment I received on Etsy yesterday.

"I purchased the 12" custom Waldorf doll as a Christmas present for my two and a half year old daughter. The doll is truly a masterpiece. Made only of natural material she gives the feeling of warmth to the holder. She has a presence that is life like I keep waiting for her to speak. Her hair is beautifully curly and lovely to touch. I purchased the Rosepink Velour Nightgown and she looks perfectly dressed for say or night. My daughter loves holding her and sleeps with her tucked under her arm. At 12 inches she is the perfect size for little girls to hold and love. As my daughter said when she opened her Christmas box, "I'll take care of her Mommy. I love her". Overall I give her a 10 out of 10. I have looked at a lot of dolls and this one is very special."

Jan 7, 2012 Waldorf 2012 model custom doll, Dress Your Baby 12" custom doll, waldorf style doll by GermanDolls

Thanks so much for the wonderful feedback, Hanah!

Working on Some Doll Heads

After the Christmas rush I was quite tired and worn out. It was high time to clean up my little one-room studio and get organized. I could not see the workbench any more for the piles of fabric and notions hither and yonder. Then I had to do the pesky paperwork. I swear I'd rather be making dolls than keeping track of receipts...

Next I thing I figured I was all out of dollheads. Had to start some new ones from scratch. This is the perfect activity for the first week of year if you ask me. Here is how they all start those little lovely children of mine.

Each Waldorf style doll, small or big, starts out with a wound ball of wool. It looks so easy, doesn't it? But if you ever tried you might find that it takes quite a bit of patience and skill to get perfectly round globes of wool. Even the littlest of my babies has a tiny ball of wool inside their head - all handmade! So please forgive me when I get a tad impatient with people asking me for a discount. I know $10.50 for a tiny baby may seem a lot of money to some folks. But you must understand that each little one was created with care and lots of love - all wound up in this tiny ball of wool. You cannot put a price on that really. Unfortunately I must!

If was a rich gal I swear I would give them all away for free...I'd give one to each kid I see crying in the street. I'd give one to each adult too, just because...they are so darn cute, and we all remain children at heart.

It's New Dawn. It's New Day. It's a New Year!

I hope you all got off to a good start to the new year. 2012, imagine that. I remember being in highschool and thinking the year 2000 was so far far away...The older you get the more it seems like time is speeding up. Can somebody please stop pushing that fast forward button!
The time between the years is an odd time. I am feeling a tad melancholic and sad. So not inspired to write. Please forgive me for skipping a whole week of blogging. I had to catch up with taxes and all the not fun things that come with owning a business.

Slowly I am getting all caught up now. The little rascals are back in school. I miss them. But I am glad for the peace in the house.

I wanted to share a photo of a beautiful sunrise I took the other day. Oh, how amazing the sunrises are when you live out West. No picture can really capture it. But heck, at least I tried..

New Year's resolutions, anyone? Mine is to keep trying. Trying to do my best in everything I do. That's all we can do. And maybe sometimes we accomplish a little piece of that greatness...

                         It's a new Dawn. It's a New Day. It's a New Year!
                                        Happy New Year to all of you!