Creative Paper Dollmaking
By Rhonda Rainey

      Did you play with paper dolls as a child, fitting cutout garments onto them and making up stories? If the answer is yes, then this book is probably going to appeal to you as it gives a modern and rather up-market twist on this old childhood pastime. Using a whole host of things from polymer clays to paper twist, push molds to fancy punches, imagination has run riot in a truly inspiring and imaginative book. Well, can you think of another book on this subject?

      Here are some smart ornaments that would make great conversation pieces in any home (perhaps either a very modern one or Victorian style décor). A Father Christmas that resembles a pinecone, Pre-Colombian man who is also a box, tree hangers made from scraps, Humpty Dumpty, exotic dancing figures and more, as well as more traditional flat dolls with some new uses, including greetings cards and a photo frame. Each item has quite a list of materials, and I figured that this is more a book for somebody fairly proficient in crafts than a beginner’s primer, although some projects are simple enough. At the back, to whet one’s appetite for further projects, is a gallery of professional artists’ work in this field and it shows what can be done with real talent, as do the projects in this book. All a world away from those childhood cutouts? Yes and no; they have certainly “come of age” in this book in grand style. Handsomely illustrated and stimulating, it ought to make any confident crafter want to get going.