education – NaturalKids Team

Posted on April 7, 2013

BirchLeaf Designs a Farm

Playsilks and Swords and Shields, OH MY! We recently came across a photo of a boy who was not afraid to play. His imagination was wondrous!

Wondrous and amazing…very much like this mosaic shield. Made from a blank shield from our shop and then sold at an auction to help raise funds for the Portland Waldorf School in Portland, Oregon.

Mosiac Shield. Photo courtesy Portland Waldorf School.

The mosaic shield reminds me so much of our life…with the family in the center, the heart, the hearth, the fiery life-force. Then, branching off of the heart center are our many activities in which we are involved. Each day is filled with a bit of this and a bit of that…from eating healthy foods, to homeschooling, to farming, to making toys. These past few weeks have found us in the woods. Many blessings are upon us!

Maple Sap is flowing!

Pro Maple sap taster! — Pro Maple sap taster, Kiah.

Little baby chicks are healthy and here!

Baby chicks are a'peepin'. — Baby chicks are a’peepin’.

And little lambs have arrived!

It only gets livelier from here on out! Garden starts are ready to be planted. Piggies are due to arrive April 20th and bees shortly thereafter. Festivals and art shows are in the not so distant future…which brings us back to our shop…BirchLeaf Designs…Playsilks and Swords and Shields, OH MY…

Wendy, Mojo and their 2 children, Kiah and Milo live, homeschool, farm, and make toys off the grid near Marquette, Michigan. Please visit their shops at http://www.birchleafdesigns.etsy.com and http://www.northernchildren.etsy.com

Posted on April 1, 2013

~ It’s time for a new spring/summer wardrobe !!!

I don’t know if you are like me, but every time spring is near I’m anxious to go to my wardrobe and start wearing my little dress and skirt again ! Not to mention that I love to go shopping for a couple of new sets…I don’t know why but it’s not the same for fall…do you feel the same !? Spring is really a ”blooming” season, you want everything to look fresh, clean…all new !! Also it’s that time of the year we, as parents, need to find new clothes for our children…omg they grow so fast ! I think my daughter gained 2 inches more this winter !?? She is going to turn 12 soon, and shopping for her is now a bit of a headhache. She’s not an adult yet, but children’s clothing don’t fit her anymore…boy oh boy..I have to be really creative to find something decent for her ah!ah!

Sometimes I kind of miss the time when she was younger, to dress her up in little colored shorts and skirt sets, with bows and frills…you know what I mean !? I used to work as a fashion designer for children and I’ve always loved clothing…to mix and match them and not to mention to design them. I just loOoove designing clothes…sketching, drawing… it’s another passion of mine!

I’m now the creator behind FeeVertelaine, handmade natural toys and dolls. Lately I did offer myself a treat ! I started a project that I’ve been dreaming about for many years now…Creating my own paper doll !! As a little girl, paper dolls were one of my ABSOLUTE favorite things to play with! So I took my pencil away from the cobwebs, and started to draw Emilÿ…it so reminded me of my time in fashion school. I also loOove watercolor, so I told myself why not do the coloring this way…so I did ! Every little step of the creation of this project was a pure delight for me.

After many months of sketching, coloring, editing…she finally came to life. This was pure joy for my daughter, who was my assigned tester 😉 She and her friend had such a great time playing.. humm sorry testing…all the new spring/summer wardrobe that Emilÿ comes with. It was so sweet to watch them mixing and matching everything together…4 hands on one doll is a true test !! So I knew she was ready for the world to meet her !

My heart is filled with excitment to introduce her to you today…Emilÿ my first paper doll…all ready for spring with her new wardrobe !! Enjoy !!!

You can find her here in my Etsy shop.

This lavender dress reminds me of a dress that I sewed recently for one of my winter fairy dolls…a last glimpse of winter just before spring shows up at our door !

If you wish to see and read more about my creative process, I invite you to visit my Facebook page where I add pictures of my everyday work and things I cherish…. I will soon offer Emilÿ as a giveaway…keep an eye open !!

Happy spring !!

Warm regards,

~Julie xo

Posted on October 1, 2012

Sorting Jars For the Little Ones

My seven year old began first grade this year. She is the oldest and her younger sister, who is five, began her first year of kindergarten. We are using a Waldorf inspired curriculum which stresses a slow progress up to reading and other academics. While her oldest sister and I work on form drawing and learning numbers and letters, I wanted to give my kindergartener and the even younger sister, 2, a few activities that help them to feel involved when I can’t be one on one with them and challenge them just a bit. In Donna Simmons’ Kindergarten With Your Four to Six Year Old she recommends filling a jar with different kinds of beans and then pouring them out for your child to sort and then re-layer in the jar.
So I did that plus made a couple more for them. One jar holds a mixture of colored buttons. The girls enjoy finding different ways to group them and actually find this one a little challenging because there’s not always a clear answer for which group a button should go in. I also made a jar filled with seashells, mini pine cones, various nut shells, and acorn caps. And, of course, one with four kinds of dried beans.

We have four small, wooden sorting bowls that I found at a thrift shop and pour them out into a larger bowl.

It can be challenging to keep the little ones busy and happy while the older children are doing their lessons but I’m finding that having a few activities at hand that require just enough concentration from them helps us get from lessons to things that involve them more pretty smoothly. What kind of things do your little ones work on during your older child’s home school (or homework) lessons? Please do share in the comments!

Posted on May 30, 2012

Photo Tutorial: How to make a mei tai doll carrier

Children love to pretend, and do just like their parents. Seeing mommy and daddy with a baby on the back is something usual for my children, and soon enough my daughter requested for a ring sling so she can carry around Victoria, her waldorf companion doll. This spring, I’ve checked on my longtime to-do list one item I really wanted, a mei tai. Both children wanted one, their size. I made two of those while they were naping at the same time…It doesn’t happen often, but today they did so I’ve jumped on the occasion and thought you might like to see how I did them.

First find 2, 3, 4 fabric you like, your child like and that goes well together.

Cut two rectangle that would be around the size of your child’s front. The bigger the easier to carry a big 18″ doll, the smaller the easier to wear for a child. This one is smaller 9×12″, I suggest to go bigger. I have an easy trick for the top strap angles later.

Cut the straps. The longer the better. I first went with 20″. This is okay for the bottom ones, but I’ve added 16″ after trying it on my boy. They are about 4″ large, so I cut them 8″ and folded them. Right side facing, sew/serge on top and the side, and flip them right side up.

Take your rectangle and place one strap in a corner. Cut. Fold vertically (on the longer) and cut the excess corner.

Take one rectangle, facing right side up. Roll your straps, it’s so much easier. Pin your longer ones at the angles.

And pin the short ones at the bottom. Leave an inch or so at the bottom.

Place the other rectangle (right side must face!) and pin around. Sew/serge the sides and top, but leave the bottom open.

Flip everything right and unpin straps. Enter the excess fabric at the bottom in and over stitch it.

If you realize, like me, that the top straps are too short, here’s how I manage to add on without unsewing anything; make straps like you first did, and tuck in a half inch inside the strap.

Inside end of strap in and overstich.

There you go! A beautiful, playful doll carrier for your little person to take his/her doll everywhere!

My son’s been carrying Albus ever since I tried it on him. He only took it out to get in the car twice and promptly asked it back both times. He also took it out to sleep, but I’m pretty sure he’ll ask for it tomorrow.

Hoping I made some of you try to make some! It’s very easy and takes no time. It’s a really good way for your child to carry around his/her doll everywhere while optimizing the chance for it to stay clean!

Please come back and share if you make one, we’d love to see it!

Posted on May 2, 2012

sharing the work

the smallest things are not lost on our children. they have been watching our actions since the day they were born …how we talk, how we move, even the smallest blink of our eyes, they are taking note

with fresh eyes taking in all sorts of details to map out this new world of theirs

sometimes it strikes me as funny, that these little people play at what we call work…

if only we would grow and find the same fun, in sweeping the floor, dusting the shelves and hanging the laundry

alongside us they find their place to work and grow through the day and years….

now off to garden we two go to see what might have come up…

hello, I am Pamela of prettydreamer. I am mama to a lovely prettydreamer of my own. I am still in love with toys, storybooks and fairy tales of all kind. I love trees, rocks, maps and unknown places and stumbling upon ideas turned upside-down, folk hands and honest traditions that run deep and all the other friendly playful things that function or are simply made to bring joy

Posted on April 21, 2012

Helping Garden Friends For Earth Day

The celebration of Earth Day and the gift of Spring it is a wonderful time to focus on what I call “garden friends” with family and friends. These are the creatures that Mother Nature created to keep balance, health & harmony in our garden and yards and beyond. Learning about them and being aware of them fosters understanding and compassion towards the Earth we are all a part of.

Wild life such as the common songbirds, that can even be found in urban areas, and native toads found in more rural areas are tremendously helpful to all yards and gardens. And on the smaller side, lady bugs, praying mantis & dragon flies do their part in consuming harmful bugs and garden pests as well. Honey bees, native bees & butterflies pollinate our crops for us. It is always nice for children to learn about how helpful insects can be and to respect them and care for them. The experience of watching a pair of House Wrens build a nest, sit on the next and feed their young until they leave the nest is something they will always remember. They can watch how busy mother and father wren are, collecting insects to feed the young. When children learn about these creatures at an early age, to love and respect them and think of them as friends, it establishes a life long relationship with nature and a sense of being apart of this greater family.

To help establish this awareness and care, there are simple things families can do to participate in the support and longevity of these creatures. It is very important to find a balance of this kind of activity so that human intervention does not create a co-dependency of wild life on mankind, but rather encourages them to care for themselves naturally by supporting and protecting a healthy wild life habitat. A simple example of this would be feeding the birds. It is better to plant flowers and vegetables that are favored by the birds, such sunflowers, coneflowers, rudbeckias and elderberries instead of putting out commercial birdseed regularly. I only put out birdseed in deep winter when there is snow on the ground. Sometimes birds that should have migrated south & do not, like robins, need our help to get through the winter. Over all want to make wild life strong, but not dependent on us. We want to protect and create ideal habitat for them so they can prosper. Human development of homes and commercialization of land is one of the main problems for loss of natural habitat. Many common birds are what are called “cavity dwelling “ birds and their natural habitat is a hollow tree. As one can imagine, there are fewer and fewer hollow trees. We can help remedy this situation by putting up birdhouses, often called “ nesting boxes” or “bird boxes”, all being the same idea. This is a tremendous help to native bird populations and has helped bring back our native bluebird populations. The important note here is that the bird house is of the right dimension and design and mounted in the proper way. This information is readily available on line and in books. In a similar vein, nesting boxes can be put up for native bees, which are also called solitary bees. They are great pollinators and are very non-aggressive and do not live in hives. A native bee house can be hung in an orchard to great benefit of all. Houses and water can also be put out for our native toad population. Often referred to as the “the gardeners greatest friend” the common toad, harmless to all but the bugs— will consume literally thousands of bug a month. Native toads were once everywhere, have diminished from disease The toads diet includes all of our gardens greatest pests, such as earwigs, snails, slugs, squash and rose beetles, flies and many more!They feed mostly at night and only need a small water source for soaking in, such as a pot tray or crockery dish. Toads respond to human kindness in amazing ways, even learning to come when called for a bit to eat. They live 35 yrs or more in the same place and always come back to it after winter hibernation. To help toads we can create habitats for them with a water source, a house or place for them to dwell and lots of plants for them to find food around. My experience has always been that when I created a toad habitat, with water, vegetation, shady places, etc. toads would always come! Imagine the the excitement!

I will be going into more detail of how to create habitats for these garden friends in future postings! Please feel free to contact me with questions.

For further learning you can go here: Garden Toad Watch.

Lucinda Macy has been making delightful, functional & eco friendly homes out of found wood and recycled materials for many years…….time tested and loved by all. To learn more please visit her websites;

http://gardentoadwatch.blogspot.com/

http://elucinda.com/

http://willodel.blogspot.com

Posted on August 1, 2011

Horse Mentorship Camp…Thumbs UP!

Eva is just now seven….and a huge horse fan. She has been on a horse’s back since she was 19 months old and feels as comfortable there as she does sitting on a swing. And though she has never gone to any sort of camp before…when a friend told me about the Silver Horse Healing Ranch….I thought perhaps this was the summer to let her have some camp time. My instincts were right.

The ranch is nestled in the mountains of Topanga Canyon. There are several corrals in the midst of immense trees and lush wild brush. The horses who are cared for so lovingly here are all rescues…and the most relaxed horses I have ever seen.Diva and Laydee are large, gentle Percheron draft breeds. These were Eva’s favorites…They were rescued from their lives of misery, standing in stalls barely large enough to contain them, continually pregnant and tapped for their urine for the hormone replacement drug Premarin. (An acronym, I learned, for pregnant mare urine.)The ranch holds a one to two week summer camp and other classes all summer. They also have other programs, which are designed to help heal children and adults with ADHD, high functioning autism, depression and cancer survivors. The motto there is “Helping Horses Helping Humans.”

It is run by an English gal who, I am convinced is part cow girl, part shaman….and whose name happens to be Sara Vaughan…well I think she just changed it to Sara Fancy! She has such a love and respect for horses and all living things…including children. On her site it says, “Children are taught how to tap into the horse’s willing nature to gain co-operation and a reciprocal relationship. There is no pressure put onto the child or the horse to do things that are stressful to the child or horse.” The experience Eva had demonstrates how true those words are.

One of the things I love most about Sara is the matter-of-fact respect she had sharing with the children all her knowledge. From a Waldorf perspective, when a child enters first grade, as Eva will this year, she looks to a single point of authority and yearns to learn about the world of adults. Sara has that authority with humor, a straight forward approach, wealth of info and a spiritual perspective on her world that makes her a wonderful role model, for boys and girls alike.

The day begins in her yurt, (equipped with an outhouse and a compostable toilet.) There she forms a circle with the children and gives the ground rules and the plans for the day. She might tell the histories of the various horses and share her convictions about why horses and every living being deserve respect and how it is an honor to be on a horse’s back. Then they might play tuning forks together, learn to run in a herd around the room, or have a beautiful horse-related tale read to them, choose Indian names for themselves or discuss various animal encounters they had the previous day with a snake, or bee or coyote etc. Then it is out to care for and groom the horses. With just about one on one attention, which is easy to do because the camp is limited to nine children and Sara has two helpers, she shows them all the homeopathic medicines for the horses. “Nothin’ in ‘ere is toxic,” she reaffirms. And the children smell and look at all the various natural ointments as she tells them stories of how she healed this horse and that one from the various ailments they had when they arrived in her care.

Day by day, the children deepen their appreciation for the horses, guiding them on leads with halters (Sara never uses a bit), grooming them, tending to any wounds, feeding them carrots or handfuls of hay, molding their own horses from clay, and learning to understand how horses think and feel and how human behavior affects them.

“Where is the riding?” you might be asking. It is actually a special time reserved for the end of the day. The children ride one at a time on a soft pad, led by Sara or one of her two lovely assistants. Eva even got to canter for the first time, with Sara running along, huffing and puffing!

But this is not a riding camp, per se. It is so much more. When Eva arrived, she was tentative around the horses, around Sara, around these unfamiliar grounds. By the end of the first week, she was marching around (with quiet feet, of course, so as not to startle the horses), directing any newcomers, getting bits of hay and feeding it to her favorites, or just having a tete-a-tete with Hank or Diva. From her posture to how she discussed her various opinions with Sara or relayed the day’s events at home, her confidence, not just as a “camper,” but as a little person, was deepening and growing every day as her bonds with the horses grew stronger. She and all the friends she made there shared a beautiful and fun adventure none of these children will forget any time soon.

One very funny coincidence that topped it all off for Eva specifically was that Sara has a rescued chihuahua mix named Minnie…and so do we! Here are the two Minnies with our Minnie on the right! This delighted Eva and the other children to no end!

I can’t say enough to recommend the Silver Horse Healing Ranch‘s children’s programs. What a natural way to spend the day, what a relaxed way to spend the summer, what a very special experience that will touch my daughter for a lifetime. We will be back for more!

Thank you for reading!
Rebecca Varon aka Nushkie!

Posted on June 24, 2011

Interview with Oast

This week we take a close up look at Oast with owner and artist Rachel.

Tell us about you
Hi, I am Rachel and I am a Canadian living in the UK. I live in a small farmhouse in rural Kent. We don’t work on the farm but benefit from watching the seasons change in the orchards and the beautiful birthing that takes place with the cows and sheep in the spring. The mark of the land in this area is the oast houses, which are the buildings where hops are dried for making beer. We happen to have a group of them that I look at as I craft and others on the rolling hills beyond the farm. My environment is very important to me and my surroundings are the ideal place for my small family to live. I have one husband, one child, and one one on the way. Another child, not another husband… oh you.

Tell us about your business
Oast is a Waldorf Doll shop. I have focused mostly on dolls for children 0 – 3 years old. That is starting to shift and I am enjoying the process of making jointed dolls for older children but they rarely make it as far as the shop.

Where do you find inspiration?
I find inspiration in children. I love to watch how they connect with their toys and what they chose to attach themselves to. It is a powerful thing to observe, and often far out of the rationalization of adults. By this I mean, what we would chose for our children seems to rarely be what they would chose for themselves. Like the idea that children like the box a toy comes in more than the toy itself. I see that with dolls as well. Parents are drawn to the dolls with full heads of hair a bit more detailing while their young children are attracted to the simple faces and soft bodies. This helps me trust my craft and inspires me to see the special qualities in each developmental stage that corresponds to certain doll types.

What got you started in your craft?
As is the story of many Waldorf doll makers, I made my first one for my daughter and have been going strong ever sense. It is addictive to create something that a child will grow and share with. After seeing and hearing how children respond to the dolls themselves, I fell even more in love with the process. There is nothing like watching a child hug one of my dolls for the first time.

What’s your favorite thing you have ever made?
My daughter. Seriously the best craft project ever, and the most consuming.

How long have you been on Etsy and how has it been for you so far?
I have been on Etsy nearly a year and I have found it slow going. I sell a product that has a lot of competition and I am just slowly making my way. I enjoy the process of creating and know that as long as I maintain the standards I have set for myself, the rest the sales will continue to come.

What do you hope to gain or contribute to the Natural Kids group?
I am pretty isolated where I live. The UK has amazing fiber arts and a lot of natural crafts people. I don’t have access to them on a regular basis from where I live. I hope to continue to be inspired by the NK community. I love the process of creating and also the professionalism projected by the team. I work very hard at not only making a high quality doll that is safe for children but one that will make many journeys. The Natural Kids group follow this same ethos. The doll makers on the Natural Kids Team are all amazing and I feel so happy to be amongst them. I am hoping that I will be able to contribute to the team through my enthusiasm and love of community.

Share your links:
oast.etsy.com
oast.blogspot.com
http://www.flickr.com/photos/58465055@N05/

Posted on June 20, 2011

What’s new, and, well, natural from the Naturalkids Team on Etsy

Welcome! I continue my trek backwards through the alphabet to bring to you the most wonderful and imaginative treasures. They are all handmade with natural materials from…yes! the NaturalKids Team on Etsy! This week, we feature wonderful variety of artists who work in either wood or wool, bug and love working with sustainable, natural materials.

Friendly Skunk Toy

Woodmouse‘s Amber creates Eco-friendly wooden toys handmade from sustainably harvested USA poplar. All the wooden toys and figures in the shop are designed, cut, woodburned and sanded by her. Her water-based paints have been independently third-party tested for safety. They are AP Certified non-toxic and bear the ACMI non-toxic label. Amber seals with organic jojoba oil and beeswax from a local beekeeper. Here is her Friendly Skunk Toy.

Wood Phone Toy

The Wood Toy Shop is run by Mark, a stay at home dad, who just installed new solar electric panels to power the workshop! His toys are built to last from hard woods and are finished with non-toxic mineral oil. Most of the wood he uses are mill ends and scrap from cabinet shops. Here is his Wood Phone Toy.

Sea Horse Wool Diaper Cover

Angela, of Wild Child Woolies is a stay at home/work at home/homeschooling (I guess she’s HOME a lot!) mom of 5 awesome kids. In her shop you’ll find unique, top quality, handmade wool interlock diaper covers for cloth diapered infants and toddlers. Here is her Seahorse Wool Interlock Pull Up Diaper Cover/Soaker.

Wet Felted Pocket Mirror

Kim of Viltalakim crafts all of her household decor items, wearables and and other treasures, by the wet felting technique with super soft merino wool. She does this all by hand, without sewing/ knitting first. No washing machine, just her own hands… Here is her Wet Felted Pocket Mirror.

From imaginative wood toys for storytelling and play to natural baby necessities to wet felted wool treasures, these are just a few of the natural creations you will find from our shops hailing from all over the world.

Thanks for joining us this week! Please do return again next Monday as we continue to feature all the wonderful members of the NaturalKids team on Etsy. Until then, I invite you to browse all our wonderful shops.

Warmly,
Rebecca aka Nushkie
Nushkie on Facebook

Posted on June 7, 2011

How to Care for a Waldorf Style Natural Doll Baby

I wrote an article on Waldorf doll care on my GermanDolls blog previously. You can read it here. But since many people who own natural cloth dolls may have these questions, I wanted to make a renewed effort in giving directions for cleaning your doll babies and doll clothing on the NaturalKids Team blog.

Question #1: Can I wash my doll?

If you are the proud owner of a natural Waldorf style doll, no matter who the maker is, your doll should be stuffed with sheep’s wool. If you are not sure about your doll’s stuffing, you should ask the maker to be absolutely certain of it. My dolls are ALL stuffed with clean carded wool.

Being stuffed with real wool is of great advantage! Not only does the wool give warmth and softness, these benefits aside, sheep’s wool has natural antibactirial properties. Wool is less likely to pick up germs and dust to begin with. Wool stuffing means your doll is washable, and that it is okay to fully soak your baby in water and give her/him a complete bath!

Unlike polyester filled dolls, that will matt down and flatten, Wool stuffed natural dolls will NOT lose their loft. Though spotcleaning is preferable and less hard on the doll, if there should be an accident (bad fall in the dinner plate or puddle) your doll can go take a bath! Here are a few points you need to remember when giving your doll a bath:

make sure the water is lukewarm and NOT hot. Just as giving a bath to a sweet babe.
Don’t use harsh detergents or cleaning agents. Best is a product you would use for a wool sweater such Woolite or a gentle shampoo. You may even want to give your doll and your child a bath at the same time. Just make sure that the soap used at bathtime is colorless and a mild one. You can apply mild soap directly to a bad spot and gently massage that area.
Then rinse out the doll until all the soap suds are gone.After the bath you must gently squeeze the dolls’ limbs and mid-section to get most of the water out. Don’t sqeeze the head! Since it is formed and shaped with string it should not be squeezed or treated too roughly! Too much squeezing might damage the shape of it.

Set your doll on thick bathtowel for drying. If it’s summer time or you live in a warm climate you can put it outside. In the winter I dry my dolls on the radiator. Depending on the climate you live in drying time may vary. Where I live (Colorado) it’s really dry and my dolls dry within a day. In a humid climate you may have to wait a couple of days…

Question # 2. What about haircare? Can my child brush the dolls’ hair?

A Waldorf dolls’ hair is usually made of worsted wool, mohair yarns, or combinations of natural yarns. Sometimes dollmakers use the loopy curly kind, known as boucle yarn. You should NEVER EVER brush your doll’s hair with a real hairbrush. It should only be styled using fingers. Rough brushing of the hair will thin the hair out and destroy the loops of the mohair.

Maybe this has already happened to your dolls’ precious tresses. Don’t get too upset. It is fixable! The great thing about Waldorf dolls is that you can repair them!

Dollmamkers use varying techniques to sew on dollhair. It kind of depends on the make of your doll. My dolls usually have a crocheted wig. If the doll has long hair the hair is sewn onto this wig. If the hair is damaged you can remove the layers of damaged hair and sew on a new layer. Just search for the tiny stitches and gently undo them. You could even get creative and give your doll a whole new look and different haircolor.

I will write another article on this topic to help you out! So keep watching my blog!

Question #3 What about the doll clothing? Can it be washed?

I recommend hand washing all little doll clothes. Why? Because most US washing machines I have come across are quite violent and have ripped my own clothing – even when set on a gentle cycle – to shreds. If you absolutely don’t have the time and energy you could put your dolls’ clothes in a protective net and wash them on cold in a machine.

I would never do this to items made of felt though. Felt might pill or react in some funny unexpected way…

General tips and Suggestions:

If the blush on your dolls’ cheeks has faded, a wee bit of red beeswax crayon can be applied. If you don’t own such a crayon, you can use a non-toxic red pencil to gently rub some new blush on the dolls’ cheeks. Don’t overdo it though! But also don’t be afraid. I believe the true beauty of these dolls lies in the fact that they can take some loving and still be adorable.

My daughter has a Hispanic doll I made her long time ago. The dolls’ hair is matted, and she got some spots from “eating strawberries” but my child would not have me change a thing about her. I’ll never forget the trauma when her American girl doll lost an arm a while ago. How do you put a plastic arm back on? My clothdolls have never lost a limb…

But since natural dolls are made of cloth, small holes or tears can be fixed. Don’t be afraid to take a needle to your doll! You may even find you enjoy it and decide to make a doll of your own!

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Please, let me know if you have any other questions about doll care. I’d be glad to share my kwowledge to help you keep your baby clean and pretty looking! If you are a dollmaker I would love to get some of your cleaning tips and suggestions, too!

Ulla Seckler is a dollmaker who was born and raised in Germany. She lives in beautiful Colorado with her husband and two kids. You can find her Notes by a German Dollmaker on her blog where she shares some great German recipes, pictures of her sweet dolls, and life lessons learned. Don’t forget to stop by her Etsyshop and take a peek at her wonderful doll creations.