It works!!!! Don't ask me what I did originally, but the link now works for the free pattern. Boy! What fun. I've checked it in Firefox, Safari and Internet Explorer. All work. Firefox requires Adobe Reader, but Internet Explorer and Safari do not.
Have fun making Natania. Now that I know, kind of, how to add free patterns more will be uploaded over the next few months.
Thanks for your patience.
As soon as I get a response from TypePad I'll let everyone know. The "free" pattern I posted didn't work. I did everything the way I was suppose to, but when you try to download the pattern it doesn't come up. And, someone has hacked into my blog and is asking for your social security number, etc. Please do not respond to that message. It is not from me, nor TypePad.
As soon as all is fixed, I'll be posting here. It should be within the next few days.
In the meantime, here are some pictures of my recent visit to Wisconsin and Illinois. I met our daughter, Heidi, in Chicago and we spent a week visiting relatives. Heidi lives in Brussels, Belgium and flew home for a visit.
This picture is Heidi with our god-children Andrew and Katie. We are at Allerton Park in central Illinois near my hometown of Bement. The Sun Singer is a statue Mr. Allerton purchased for his estate grounds in the mid-twenties. It is a bronze statue that has recently been restored. He faces the rising sun.
The photo on the right is the Dying Centaur bronze sculpture. He's not been restored and we hope they keep him as is. Allerton Park was created by Mr. Allerton as his home in a wooded area. He cleared paths to various pieces of art. He collected art from all over the world, including Rodin's Adam. It is a favorite place for those of us who grew up in the area.
One of the favorite "Medaris" pastimes is putting together jigsaw puzzles. Heidi helped my Dad and Uncle Duane put together a Thomas Kinkaid puzzle. His puzzles are beautiful, but difficult. The two brothers were very happy Heidi came to help finish this one.
In Wisconsin we visited our cousins in Mequon. Shelly took us to Milwaukee to their art museum. If you ever get to Milwaukee don't miss this amazing place.
The architecture is breathtaking and created by the same designer who designed the Sydney Opera House. Inside are works of art from all over the world. The roof is designed like a sail boat and the "sails" open and close.
We hated to leave both Wisconsin and Illinois. Visiting family is the best. This photo is Heidi with Jim, Shelly and JD Culea in front of their home the day we were leaving Wisconsin.
The upside of flying on to San Diego is Heidi's fiance, Raphael, was soon to arrive from Brussels. Those pictures will be posted here soon.
In my first website I had the ability to have a newsletter in which I included free patterns. Blogs have pretty much taken the place of those newsletters and websites seem to have become more complicated. Not sure why.
What I'm going to start doing here is adding some of my older free patterns, plus creating new ones. Recently I've had requests for Natania, a Name Tag Doll. 
She's only 4-inches high, not including her hair!. The name tag can be beaded, or make a fabric name tag. Meaning, the part she's holding with your name on it.
The doll herself is quite easy. You'll find the instructions and pattern pieces on the link in the Sidebar. It's in .pdf format so you can easily download the pattern.
As with all my patterns you can make as many of these as you want. Sell them, give them away, keep them. Most importantly, have fun.
Do send me photo's as I'd love to see what you come up with.
We are having more fun getting ready for Heidi and Raphael's wedding. Raphael is flying to San Diego in July and we're planning a Banns of Marriage Reception.
I found a great place to create all kinds of fun favors to scatter around. And, they are a terrific place to have business cards made:
http://www.vistaprint.com
For those who don't know, our daughter, Heidi, lives and works in Brussels, Belgium Raphael is a Belgian, so we've lost her to Europe. Which gives us an excuse to go there more often.
Soon I'll be in Albuquerque at the Enchanted Doll Artists Conference. My class, Deowyn (shown below), isn't going to make it, but I will be there on Thursday, July 17 for our Queens and her Closet day.
What is the Queen and her Closet Day? elinor peace bailey, 
Barbara Willis, Betts Vidal, Sally Lampi, Gloria McKinnon and I created this day several years ago while teaching in Sydney, Australia. We each create a flat doll and during this special day we show how we went about creating the doll. Each participant receives the pattern from each of us, and the afternoon is spent playing with stuff and creating a flat doll of your choice. In Albuquerque it will be elinor, Sally, Betts, Barbara and I. I'll post a picture here soon. Each year we create a new "flat doll" The Queen and her Closet will debut in Albuquerque and be repeated at the Long Beach Quilt Festival July 24-26, 2008. http://www.quilts.com
The cruise is almost filled. I think we have 9 cabins left. I've been working on the pattern Gail Wilson created and here she is with some of the beadwork I'll be teaching. Really simple beading techniques, but I am creating some beaded flowers for those who want more of a challenge. Most of the supplies are included in the price of the cruise.
The doll pattern is wonderful to work with. After I get the mermaid costume finished I'll be creating a deck outfit for Chrissy. I want my doll to be a traveling doll. She'll have a wardrobe to change into as she travels about the world. And, part of my pattern will include a travel journal so those making her will be able to document their dolls travels. Contact Barbara Ann Roby, CTC for details: barbara@brtravelservices.com
Our first grandson arrived April 29, the day after I flew home. I spent nearly the whole month of April in Orlando waiting for his birth. But, I did get to see him in person for Mother's Day.
Kieran, on the left, and Kayleigh are enjoying their new brother. His name is Kayman. He weighed 7lbs. 14ozs. at birth and was 21 1/2 inches long. He's a terrific baby boy.
John and I are enjoying having 3 grandchildren. 
The family picture shows our granddog. Dana had just received her first summer haircut. She's a Golden Retriever and quite the protector of her family. Golden's are wonderful around children. Very patient.
The Cruising with Soft Dolls is coming along. We have nearly all the cabins filled. Still room for a few more if you are interested.
Gail Wilson designed the doll that the rest of us will interpret. I used Gails pattern, but did change the head and hands. I decided to make removable clothing as I'm going to make another outfit for the doll to wear. 
She's not finished, but I wanted to show her in her mermaid outfit. There will be some beaded starfish added, along with a few beaded flowers. In her hand is a flower made from silk cocoons. That is one of the techniques I'll be sharing. When I get more of the cocoon flowers done I'll take a photo of them separately.
The kit I'm providing includes the organza for the flukes, silk cocoons, the Tibetan Goat hair seen on the doll, and a bead kit with all the beads needed. All kits are included in the cost of the cruise.
For more information on the cruise contact Barbara Roby at Barbara@brtravelservices.com.
Or email me. Keep checking back here for more updates on the doll. As soon as everyone else gets their projects done I'll post them on the Cruise blog.
No. It isn't me skiing on the Austrian Alps. It's our Heidi. She returned back to Brussels after a week in the Austrian Alps. This is a photo of she and Raphael at the top of one of the mountains. Isn't it breathtaking?!
Heidi hadn't been skiing much before. She said she really enjoyed it after taking some lessons. She's in great shape because she is a long distance runner, plus takes ballet classes several times a week. And, keeps up with the Jr. Highers in her classes at the International School of Brussels.
Not much time to catch up, but I will when I get on the cruise ship. It's such a tough life that I lead. Ha!
The only thing new here in San Diego and at our house is my newest pattern "Little Star Pincushion and Sewing Folder". I've been on a sewing supplies holder kick lately.
I do like having a tri-fold soft container to hold larger items like full size scissors, rulers, notebook, pencils, pens, knitting needles, crochet hooks, etc.
In May I'll be teaching my Penny Pink Pocket, which is a sewing caddy doll. I liked her so much I created two others in different colors. Penny Pink Pocket will stay with someone after the Think Pink Gala in Aurora, Ohio. Thus, I needed to make a couple more so I'd have something to hold all my other sewing needs.
Until next time, keep sewing!
What an incredible week this has been. It started with elinor peace bailey arriving last Sunday, then spending a delightful few hours with Barbara Chapman on Monday. Monday night Li Hertzi, Barbara Willis, Sally Lampi and Betts Vidal arrived at our house. Tuesday we had our Cosmic Queens do Faces day and what a fabulous time that was.
So, what is this all about? It's a special time with close friends, then a day of sharing our love of doll making with whomever will come.
This year I hosted the event and talked Allan and Suzanne Ream of Bits & Pieces in Escondido into letting us use their large classroom. As you can see, we pretty much filled it up with fun women.
Barbara Chapman was one of the people who came to our day. She teaches primarily at The Black Sheep in Encinitas and showed us one of her wonderful wrapped fairies. Barbara and her husband, Wayne, host an open house twice a year in their amazing home.
At our event, after morning lectures, Show & Tell and lunch we break up in small groups and have a round-robin. This allows each participant time to spend with each of we designers and have a hands-on experience learning our various techniques. This is elinor sharing with one of the groups.
This all started 4 years ago in Australia. Five of us were near Sydney teaching at a quilt & craft show. We were sharing an apartment with Gloria McKinnon, who brought us there. Six women in a two bedroom apartment could be interesting. To us, it was like heaven on earth. We decided we needed to do this more often.
elinor came up with the idea of a Flat Doll Day and our Cosmic Queens were formed. 
The original six are, from top left, Gloria McKinnon, Sally Lampi, Barbara Willis
Bottom from left, Betts Vidal, me (standing), and elinor peace bailey.
We've been able to travel to Portland, Oregon; Costa Mesa & San Diego, CA; and Cincinnati, OH. Next we'll be at the Enchanted Doll Art Conference in Albuquerque, NM July 17-20, and Quilt Festival in Long Beach, CA July 24-26.
http://www.enchanteddollartconference.com
http://www.quilts.com
At each venue we add a local designer. In San Diego/Escondido it was Li Hertzi. Li is known for her wonderful use of paints and working with the southwest figure. Her website is a work in progress right now, but you can see her work, and her new book "Art Doll Adventures".
http://www/lihertzidesigns.com
Earlier I had a very short tutorial on how to stamp images on fabric. This time I'm going to go into more detail.
First, what type of stamps and stamp pads should you use? Any rubber stamp will work on fabric. And, any ink based stamp pad will work. I like Tsukineko's Fabrico and VersaColor stamp pads. Also, Jacquard's Pearl EX stamp pads.
To keep the fabric stable I like to back it with a double sided bonding sheet such as Wonder Under. I prefer unmounted stamps because if I want to stamp around a doll leg, or arm, I can wrap it around easily. But, for stamping flat, I use the back of the lid of the stamp pad, or an acrylic block to give an even stamped image.
The photo shows both Fabrico and Jacquard's Pearl EX stamp pads. I also used an acrylic block and a handle to stamp the image.
The stamp pad is unmounted for this project, even though it is a flat surface. I don't buy mounted stamps anymore. If it is mounted, I place the stamp on the wood base in my microwave and nuke it for 20 seconds. This softens the glue and I can easily remove the rubber from the wood.
After the image is stamped to my liking, I iron to set the inks. This guarantees that I'll have no bleeding depending on what medium I use to add color the images. I also prefer using a brown ink pad. That way I can use soft colors if I want. Or brighter, darker colors. It is always easier to go darker, than lighter.
Copic makes a wonderful alcohol ink based marker for paper and fabric. I can use it straight from the marker, or put it in their airbrush system. For this project, I used the markers as is. I used a flesh tone for the bodies, then a darker color to add shading to the faces and upper bodies. Iron again to set the inks.
Using colored pencils I added highlights, deepened the shadows, and blushed the cheeks. The colored pencils I prefer are Prismacolor by Sanford. But Lyra, Derwent, Van Gogh, etc., make nice colored pencils that work well on fabric. They need to be waxed based. After the colors are added, I blended with a scrap of fabric wrapped around my index finger.
Detailing is next. I used colored pencils to color in the irises, then Copic's Multiliner SP pens to add the details. If you don't have these pens, which are new, you can use Micron Pigma pens. The colored pencils blurred the detailing from the stamping, so you need to go over the features with the pens. I used a toothpick dipped in white paint to add the whites to the eyes and the highlights in the pupils.
Lastly, I used the Copic markers to color the hair, flowers and clothing and acrylic paint such as Stewart Gill's Byzantiums and Jacquard's Lumiere to paint the background.
The sample was used in a project for Stitch magazine in the UK. I made it into a postcard size, beaded an edging and added some silk ribbon flowers along the bottom edge. I've also used the images to decorate a purse, alter a tote, create bookmarks made from fabric and quilt blocks. The images are from my line of rubber stamps, which are made for me by Ready Stamps, a division of the United Cerebral Palsy Foundation.
Happy Stamping!
Another year has absolutely flown by. I've been busy working on sample dolls and my new book and have ignored my blog, and website. Shall correct that before the year ends.
I want to show you the mermaid that Dorice Larkin has created for our upcoming cruise.
The mermaid is pin sized and is all beaded. A focal bead creates the face. She's beautiful and I know those going on the cruise are going to love making her. You can see details on the cruise on that page.
We'll have 4 full days at sea. That means we'll get a lot of beading done. We are all looking forward to seeing the destinations, too.
Colon, Panama is a new destination and our ship will be one of the first to go there. Shall be great fun.
Recently, I was in a wonderful group of artists from the UK where we created postcards and mailed to each other. We all got busy, and had to stop for awhile. Deena Beverly was the fearless leader and would come up with a theme each month. 
One of the themes was "A Tender Regard". I used my favorite photo created by my friend Sandy Anderson in Photoshop. This photo is the logo on my blog. Because I like working in fabric, I painted Pelmet Vilene with Stewart Gill's Byzantium paint. The photo was transfered onto fabric using my HP printer and Jacquards photo prepared cotton. I machine sewed a design on water soluble stabilizer with synthetic organza in layers under. When the stabilizer was removed, I used a soldering iron to burn away sections of the organza exposing the painted surface underneath. This was then sewn onto the Vilene, along with the photo.
Another postcard was "Things my Mother Taught Me". This time I drew a figure on white cotton fabric, colored it with Copic markers and detailed it with colored pencils and Copic's Multiliners. I hand-dyed a piece of lace and machine sewed it to the body, which was sewn onto painted Pelmet Vilene. Angelina film and fibers created the glitz. Charms were used representing cooking, gardening, and traveling. All things my Mom taught me to love. There were many others things she taught me, but this was all I could squeeze in.
After the New Year, I'll put up a tutorial on how I go about creating small images on postcards and ATC's. And, other bits. In the meantime, have a terrific New Year celebration!
Many of you know that several of us have been doing, what elinor calls, Flat Doll Days. elinor peace bailey came up with this idea when we were all together in Sydney several years ago. We've been traveling around the U.S. sharing our love of dolls and flat surfaces ever since.
This picture was taken last year at Piecemaker's Country Store in Costa Mesa, California after one of our Flat Doll Days. Gloria McKinnon, on the far left, top row, had joined us from Australia.
The others are top row, Gloria, Sally Lampi, Barbara Willis
front row, Betts Vidal, me, elinor
We're kicking off another year of sharing the fun in Escondido, California.
January 22 from 10am to 4pm we'll be sharing how we do faces. Joining us will
be Li Hertzi. Li has written her first book "Art Doll Adventures" and has done flat
dolls for many years.
Along with sharing how we do faces we'll spend the afternoon doing hands-on
exercises. We're providing a light lunch, and heaps of fun and information.
The cost is $65.00. Send your checks to me: Patti Culea, 9019 Stargaze Ave., San Diego, CA 92129.
The cost includes our lectures, lunch, most supplies for the hands-on exercises in the afternoon, and six patterns for our projects.
The address for Bits & Pieces is: 426 West Second Street, Escondido
You must pay before the event so we know how much food to have catered.
