Reviews

"Hello Dolly " by Lin Metcalf for Design Originals (March, 2002)

This 18 page, full colour book is full of doll patterns based on the use of the Emaginations doll punch and various other punches on the market.

The first couple of pages show how to add texture to you dolls, cut the doll punchies down to create various "ages" and how to use the three dolls clothes punches (Romper, Dress, Overalls) to create over 15 styles of cloths (shorts, tops, coats, vests etc).

Once the basics have been covered, the next 10 pages have up to 8 dolls each covering a huge variety of topics:

• Babies, Princes, Chefs, Cowboys, Artists, Pilgrims
• Fairy, Cupid, Easter Egg, Animals, Uncle Sam and many, many more.

This is followed by two pages of designs for a A, B, C made up of paper dolls in various situations to represent letters of the alphabet (a bee boy for B etc).

All the dolls are made using a variety of punches from a number of leading punch manufacturers. Beside each doll is a small box which contains examples of all the punchies used to make that doll. For example it shows how to use a large circle, small circle, dress, heart, oval, and dolly body punchies to put together a Cinderalla doll.

An interesting and VERY useful inclusion is a two page spread that includes images of a large selection of punches, listing the size and company that makes them. A great general reference for anyone who uses punches. If there is one punch in several sizes, they are layered on top of each other.

The final two pages of the book include 3 more complicated designs using a large number of punchies (cheerleader pyamid, train with several wagons and Cinderalla's coach).

The patterns are easy to follow and show how to layer and put the designs together. Because these designs are based on a doll punch that is 1 3/4" high, the end results are fairly small and would require a certain amount of dexterity and ALOT of patience to put together. But they results as seen in this book would be well worth it.

Overall, a great book. If you are one of those people who have managed to accumulate a large punch collection and have had trouble putting it to good use, this is THE book for you! You will be amazed at what can be produced using such basic punches as hearts, daisys, balloons and flowers. The only drawback for this book is that it does require access to a few punches.

ISBN: 1-57421-197-8

Rating: 9/10

Details: "Hello Dolly " by Lin Metcalf for Design Originals (2002)

Price: approx $30