Dolls, Dolls, Dolls!

This week has been a fun one... I made my first dark skinned boy doll, Aidan.  I have not seen one quite like him yet!  He was so fun to make and so hard to part with, but he now lives in Canada.

I am also so happy to announce that  Li'l Blue Boo will be dressing some of the Ready 2 Go Home (R2GH) dolls!  You can see more of Ashley's creations at  http://www.lilblueboo.com/ .  Her model, Li'l Sally is a real crowd favorite.  I was able to get some more of the specialty yarns that we all loved in Sally's hair, so there will be a few more with this amazing style.... although there will only be one Li'l Sally :)

The Giveaway Doll is in the works... she will have light tan skin, green eyes, and fun & funky red hair.  I will post a pic when she is done and announce how the Giveaway will work.  The Giveaway will be conducted here on the blog as Facebook has some rules and regulations as far as Giveaways go. 

This coming week, there will be 3 dolls... Serena, a medium tan skinned doll with black hair with turquoise hi-lites and eyes to match; Sloane, a light tan skinned doll with the most amazing hair in browns and blues and eyes to match the blue, and Sadie, a fun loving blond... I will post a sneak peek soon!

Thanks again.... XOXO Debra

Individuality is Healthy!

A lot of you have been asking about t-shirts with my slogan and the original artwork by Stephanie Corfee.  I have done a lot of research, and decided to offer them to you directly on Zazzle!

http://www.zazzle.com/appletreehouse



There are tots, kids, and ladies sizes available... to make your t-shirt a really cool one of a kind piece, stop by Dharma Trading and search for "fabric markers"...

http://www.dharmatrading.com/

There are quite a few neat products that you can color the shirt with  for a truly unique piece of clothing! 

Please send pics of your li'l one (or yourself!) wearing your t-shirt and Iwill share them on the blog :)

XOXO Debra

Doll Giveaway!

As many of you are aware, Apple Tree House reached a big milestone this week... 1000 Facebook Fans!  I am always humbled by the number of people who love dolls the way I do.  As a thank you, I have decided to do a really special Giveaway...  Facebook Fans can help design the doll and then enter here for a chance to win her.  I can't take credit for this fabulous idea, I have had several suggest it to me and have been waiting for the perfect reason to do it. 

So far, she has light tan skin and red hair, green eyes, and fun hair!  You can see her pic here: 

http://www.facebook.com/?ref=logo#!/photo.php?fbid=10150308003780243&set=a.339920055242.343456.334216215242



Thanks again to all the friends of Apple Tree House!  XOXO Debra

1000 Fans!

Wow!  I am just completely blown away by all the support... Apple Tree House has surpassed the 1,000 Facebook Fans milestone... I am amazed how the word has spread about my little dolls.  To thank everyone for their support, I would like to do a Giveaway here on the blog, as Facebook has some pretty strict rules (and I do not want to get the Fan page shut down!).   I have had inquiries about a Fan Designed Doll Giveaway, and this seems like the perfect time to do one!  The prize package will include:

• Fan Designed Doll -- On Facebook, I will post an option (the first one will be skin tone, then other options will be hair color, eye color, etc).  You will have time to cast your vote, until it is time so select the next option.  Then when I am done with the doll, you will have the option to comment on the blog to enter to win her. 
• An African Bead doll bracelet
• Some other surprises!

And a few more surprises along the way!  I will start the voting on the skin color tomorrow on the Facebook Fan Page (link on the right).  I am so excited, this is going to be so much fun!!  Thanks again to all the friends of Apple Tree House for all of their support and encouragement along the way.  XOXO Debra

Moving on...

This will be the last time I talk about this subject… too much time and energy has been devoted to this matter already, but I would like to put it to rest peacefully.

I knew when I decided to offer the doll making kits it was a possibility that someone might dissect the materials in an effort to gain insight into how I do it. Written disclaimers, licensing agreements, non-compete agreements and copyrights on artistic creations are tricky things, as is intellectual property. I have said in the past that the basic patterns for Waldorf dolls can be easily obtained in books and on the internet. There will be many more doll makers in the future who will also use the same basic patterns and concepts. The originality in Waldorf dolls lies in how the concepts are put together.   I make no specific claim to any of the basic concepts or patterns, just my brand and what it has come to be known for.

I have been contacted by the other doll maker and she has stated that the pattern is her own; she said she has been making dolls for years. I believe in taking people at their word, even when appearances may indicate otherwise. I believe that she honestly did not realize that it might look bad on her part and give the wrong idea to buy a kit then decide to make very similar dolls to sell.

I had received many, many emails about the other dolls before I wrote my original post and was hoping to avoid any controversy, which is why I will not name the other company.  I bear no ill-will; I can only hope that all other doll makers continue to come up with their own looks and concepts that they can be proud of. There is plenty of room for all individuals :)   XOXO Debra

Copies

This post is very hard for me to write.  I have received a lot of e-mails from friends of Apple Tree House asking about another doll maker...wanting to know if I had hired someone to help me, had I seen the dolls that seemed to look a lot like Apple Tree House dolls.  Honestly, I didn't think too much of it at first, Waldorf dolls are all mostly made from the same, simple pattern.  Then I saw a picture.  Something didn't sit quite right with me.  I saw the shop name and something was familiar, but still a bit different.  I didn't think about it again until I got some more e-mails, then I decided to dig a bit.  I am very sad to say that this doll maker bought one of my doll making kits in August, and in September started selling her own 10-11 inch Waldorf dolls.   The doll making kits were always intended for one special purpose:  to give a mama a chance to make a special doll for her little one using the same high quality supplies that I do, using some of my secrets to make it easier for her, so she would enjoy the process and love the results and be able to bring joy.  Seeing this happen, after all of the time and work and effort I put in to putting together the "perfect" kit, completely breaks my heart.  Theft of intellectual property is a big deal.  If you have recently purchased a kit, please remember that this kit is for personal use only.  Please also remember that all Apple Tree House Dolls will have an apple birthmark, that is how I sign them so you know it is real.

There are a lot of other lovely doll makers out there, I would never want to discourage anyone from buying any particular brand of doll.  I love seeing what each doll maker brings to the table.  Please support the true artists that have taken the time to develop their own patterns, looks, and methods, use the highest quality materials and craftsmanship, and have the highest ethical standards.

Individuality is Healthy.

XOXO Debra

50th Blog Post

I can't believe that I have had 50 posts on the blog already!  Who ever knew I had so much to say? (WINK!)

Last week was something else... my 100th sale, more kits, more custom slots.  I also had a super experience getting to "know" one of my all time favorite children's book authors, Peter H. Reynolds.  I had decided a while back that I wanted to make a doll based on our family favorite book, "The Dot".  I thought it would be fun to make that doll to coincide with International Dot Day on September 15th.  I made my mark, and here is where it took me:

I am so happy with the way Vashti turned out!  Believe it or not, this is the first doll I have ever done with bangs.  She is so very sweet... she has watercolor rainbow yarn in her hair.  I had an idea to auction Vashti to benefit a new Elementary School in my town and I wanted to sweeten the deal a bit, so I contacted Peter's company to see if he would be willing to sign a book to include in the auction package.  Many of my fans were kind enough to make a plea on his Facebook page in my behalf.  Much to my surprise, Peter contacted me HIMSELF and has agreed to send a book!  I am so very excited to be able to do this for the new school.  I will be hopefully getting the auction up and running on Ebay in the next week or so,  please check back here and on the Fan page for updates.  If you have never read the book, I highly recommend it for kids of all ages, the message is universal and really transcends all ages.

I have been also winding up the September customs... there is just one left to go out.  I will be gathering supplies for all of the kits and hope to have them out in about a week's time, then I will be putting more Ready To Go Home (R2GH) dolls in the shop as I work my way through the new batch of customs.  I am also looking into several options for producing t-shirts with the Apple Tree House slogan and original artwork by Stephanie Corfee and hope to be able to share that soon as well!

Thanks again for all of your support  XOXO Debra