It all started with a Sizzix machine. Today I finished a cute display of stuffed dolls for my barn studio. I worked on the project here and there over several days never really knowing where it was going. I guess I sort of let it lead me, do you ever do that? It all came together nicely and I am pretty tickled with the final results that represent how much fun it is when not only craft, but craft together. That’s exactly the whole premise behind the upcoming workshop feature of my new barn studio. Every day is one step closer to a grand opening. Currently, we are working on the ever necessary ladies room. Please be sure you are on my newsletter mailing list and follow JSIM on Facebook to be the first to know when the workshops launch!

Recently my nice friends at Sizzix sent me a Big Shot Machine to try my hand at die cutting. Would you believe before this I’d never so much as cranked the handle on a die cutting machine before?

Being a newbie, I thought I would start with something simple, like cutting out letters. Everything Brenda Walton designs is spectacular, so I chose to work with her beautiful alphabet, Antiqua.

I spent an afternoon getting to know my new Big Shot by cutting lots and lots of letters and numbers from my stash of scrapbook paper. I found a shadow box at the craft store that works perfect for organizing all of them for future craft use.Once I had cutting paper figured out, I wanted to give fabric a try. I used a darling print from the Lauren+Jessi Jung Hideaway collection and ironed it to Pellon Heavy-Duty Wonder-Under transfer webbing, which turns your fabric into iron on material.I ran fused fabric sections through the Big Shot to cut out letters.I then ironed those letters onto five 7-inch stuffed fabric doll blanks I picked up a few years ago at Michaels for a very ambitious project I never got around to. I guess the dolls were waiting for Sizzix to arrive.I used red embroidery floss to stitch some whimsy around each letter.My dolls needed hair, so I referred to this nice how-to illustration from a vintage craft book I have, Marionettes by Edith Flack Ackley (1929).I gave each doll different hair color and styling.I stitched little mouths of red and french knot eyes onto each.I joined each doll together with needle and thread at the shoulders and elbows.This helped keep those long, lanky arms under control.To support the dolls and keep them sitting upright, I joined two pieces of scrap balsa wood with hot glue. The long piece to support them and the short one to keep them from tipping backwards.I hot-glued their little hineys to the long piece. I also added a touch of hot glue to the backsides of their bent knees, this allowed the feet to dangle nicely downward over a ledge when the dolls are sitting up.The dolls needed craft projects to hold, so I made some little ones: jewelry, floral, Christmas, sewing, and collage. I hot glued or pinned those to the dolls’ hands.Here are the final Craft Together dolls. (Click to enlarge.) They’re going to be lots of fun to place about the studio. Here they are atop my vintage hardware cabinet.And here among my buttons and scrap ribbon jars.Thanks Sizzix!