Dotee Dolls for Beginners

I have been thinking about hosting a beginners Dotee doll swap... and looky what we have here! I'm really looking forward to this one!.... please say it is International?!?

Oh yes I forgot to add that. yes it is. :D

What a good idea! I'll love any Dotee! I hope a lot of beginners join because there is something really special to receive a beginners work!

Oh, yeah, the other really really grand thing about dotees is that they can very easily be international and I think most dotee swaps are!

I'm starting to get really scared. I join every Dotee swap that is announced. This is truly an addicting obsession for me. I'll have no problem getting all my dollies out at all. I'm worried cause I check the SB front page for new Dotee Swaps every couple of hours. LOL I never used to check the announced swaps before I found that Dotees are so much fun!

I"m off to faun over my fabric stash and ponder about more Dotee's to make.

I search for dotee everytime I come to swap-bot. they are addicting!

LOL! I do the same thing - several times a day looking for new swaps! It's just crazy! I see some new names in your swap here jessica. that's very exciting!

OOOOOOOh wonderful. I found these on here and fell in love with them. Thanks for opening to newbies. I have already made myself one, but it is always good to share Dottee's Can't wait....

I confess that I too, search for new Dotee swaps whenever I log on to Swap-Bot. Tsk, tsk.

OMG! I'm now officially nervous. I've never made one of these, but they look so darn cute! So someone will be getting my very first one. I apologize in advance!

Sign me up!

I shouldn't do this, but I'm going to give these a try. They are so cute and heavens knows I have enough fabric to make a Dotee for every member of swapbot! Count me in!

I too seem to have fallen to the charm of Dotees.

I am so excited so many of you are joining!

I constantly check for new dotee swaps, too. I am officially addicted, and am thinking of hosting a dotee swap. What do you guys think about voodoo dotees? Or maybe animal-themed dotees?

I have never been been involved in any swaps before, newbie here but I have made a couple dotee dolls. How much fun are they' I can't wait to make more and receive one from someone.

Going to try this for first time, swapper beware.....

hah! I just commented on a dotee doll (chef dotee) on a flickr photo from the sb home page. I said I was too scared to join a dotee swap. Lookie what we got here. ONLY because it says beginners am I joining. They are so cute and I want to give it a go. THANKS!

I am so glad so many want to try to make dotees!!

@fleasha I saw your comment & was going to tell you about this swap. :D

I am sure everyone will make great dotees!

I am amazed that so far there are 57 participants in this swap and we still have 10 days to go before the sign up deadline. Terrific.

It is awesome.

Thanks Jessica. If it says beginner I'm in. :)

Congradulations on such an inviting popular swap, Jessica! I love everyone's dotees but I think it would be just grand if I was to receive from someone in the beginning stages of making these.

It seems these lovely little dolls were made for swapping and I have been itching to make one for a while now, I decided to start one last night and found this swap group when I clicked on a link that Dot put on her blog :o) so here I am :) ...my very first swap!

Wow a wonderful way to use my huge stash of material, felt, embroidery thread, and beads. So cute, I will hang my dotee doll by my desk and smile every day when I look at it :) Now I get to spend the day looking up dotee dolls on Google and getting ideas.

I am so excited and so inspired from Dot's blog. What fun this will be. I can't wait to see pictures. Can't wait to swap!

I am so amazed we have 70 people in this swap! thanks for joining everyone!!

I'd never even heard of them until now, where have I been?! I'm in!

I am also a newbie and i think i can make a dotee doll anyway i am gonna try lol

A question - this will be my first dotee doll too - can/should the back piece be made of felt? The pics I've seen all show a plain colored fabric and i saw that the face was made of felt, but what about the back? Good idea? or doesn't it matter? Just curiuous as to what others think about it.

Starwatcher, I use felt for the backs of my Dotees. It's really up to you how you want to finish the back.

I use felt for the backs of my Dotee's too, but I've received some that are the same fabric as the front. Either way works just fine.

ok, up until 10 minutes ago I had never even heard of a dotee doll. for some reason this incredibly cool arty doll had slipped below my radar! yikes! how did this happen to a person who has been creating stuff since she found out she had hands? anyways, after looking through the pix and everyone's comments, I am psyched to start what I believe will soon become an obsession!! sign me up!

Star watcher I think it is a personal option. Whatever you feel comfy doing really.

Ok Im new to swap bot can someone tell me when we get to know who our swap partner is?

When partners are assigned... which is Jan 31. So you sgould know Feb 1st.

Ok, ok, count me in! I kept seeing the "Dotee" doll announcements but didn't have a clue what they were. I was thrown off because of the word doll, but after I checked the websites that were given--I must admit, they are pretty darn cute. I'm excited!

Oh yeah-about how big are they typically?

Well Betsy explained somewhere else in the kit she made for a swap the guidelines where 4 inches of fabric. I would say 3-6 inches including tail & hanger.

Well, my dotee is about half done and I must admit, I really like her! (An amazing confession for my first try). She looks very much like the example on dotee's blog page. But what I am wondering is this - I saw an Easter dotee on the Swapbot homepage (really cute!) the only similarity is the felt face, a tail and a hanger. Is that basically the dotee concept, face, tail and hanger? and then we take it from there? just curious. I like what I've done so far, but I'm thinking about future possibilities......

I have never heard of Dotee Dolls. Love the little imperfections of these little miniatures. They are just too cute! I understand the dolls need to be sewn together I was just wondering if we could use an appropriate glue for any embelishments we decide to use? Or do those need to be sewn on as well?

Thanks for coordinating this SWAP!

I did not even know what a dotee doll was until I saw this swap. They are darling. I cannot wait to get started on my first one.

Well I just started making dotees as well so I'll try to answer your questions like a pro would. :D

I was perplexed by all the different dotees too at first. A dotee usually has a felt face, a tail, & a hanger with a body made of fabric/felt. I think you get the right way for you after you make a few.

Gluing or sewing embellishments I am sure are ok. I don't glue because I am too lazy to switch from sewing to gluing. As long as the embellishments stay on I am sure they will be ok.

Just remember that certain countries cannot accept certain embellishments. NZ & Australlia are extrememly strict on this.

I'm so excited to find this swap site. I can't wait to become apart of the dotee doll mania. I'm looking forward to receiving and sending a little dotee. Marcia ;-)

I've known about Swap-Bot for a while but never had the nerve to join until today. And I only found out about Dotees today at Craftgrrl on LiveJournal. So I'm a double newbie!

jessica - Can you point me to more info about embellishment restrictions? I'm new to swapping and don't know where to look for this info.

Becky, That's a great question! I was wondering about embellishments as well. Don't want to be a rogue crafter smiles I also wanted to tell you that I checked out your profile & your blog is not entered properly -- it doesn't link to your blog unless you use blogspot.com rather than blogger. HTH! Have a great day!

I have made 7 dotees and I have a problem. This is going to be like giving away my children. Ha Ha! Who knew you could get so attached??? I really am looking forward to this swap. It sounds so fun. EEENY MEEEENY MINEY MO, which of the dotees has to go lol. See Ya!

About the embellishment restrictions. Pretty much anything that is grown or alive.. seeds, feathers, teas, stuff like that.

Kelly - Thanks for the great catch! I don't know what I was thinking when I entered the link info. Thanks!

Jessica - Would wool or wool roving be included? Or silk fabric or fiber?

i must admit, i had never heard of these either. i dont know how that is possible considering the fact that i am a huge flickr crafts junkie, but i am excited to be in on this!

Wool, silk or fiber I don't think counts.

I completed my first ever Dotee Doll and posted a picture of her on my blog. I made her for my sister to give to her on her birthday, she was celebrating it in Amsterdam on holiday I think the Dotee doll was hung everywhere she went..lol.

If you go to Dots blog she gives you a tutorial on how to make a simple Dotee doll with colourful patterned fabric. The embellishment is left up to you beads, ribbons, embroidery, sequins & buttons are what Dot uses mainly.

For my first Dotee Doll I used some fabric which I had painted and stamped myself with metallic paint. I was delighted that she got the thumbs up from Dot :o)

I have already made my second doll for this swap, but I may make another one if I dont think she feel right for the profile of the person I am partnered with.

Oh forgot to say, charms are sometimes used too & Dot always gives her Dotee dolls a tail.

The link to her tut & her blog is in the swap description. :D

I NEVER HEARD OF DOTTEE DOLL BEFORE BUT THE ARE VERY CUTE. AND SINCE THEY ARE VERY BASIC THAT LEAVES YOU INMAGINATION TO RUN WILD. HOPE TO JOIN THE FUN!

Here goes, my 1st SwapBot swap and my 1st Dotee doll. Jessica, thanks for hosting a swap open to beginners. Someone had thought I might be interested in a different swap and sent me the link. Imagine my disappointment when I got here and found out it was only open to people who had multiple SB swaps under their belt.

I, too, had never heard of Dotees. I love art dolls and think this will be great fun. Thanks in advance to my partner for putting your time, effort and creativity into something just for me!

Same as Gyelle, had never heard of dotees before, so it will be my first dotee.^^ Glad to join this swap.^^

I am glad you all liked this swap. :D

BTW I sent my dotee already. It was the second one I made. Not to great of one but I thought I should send it. :D

For those of you who had a hard time finding the tutorial (as I did) here's the link. http://dotslifeandart.blogspot.com/search/label/tutorial

ok dotee is off to meet her new family. I hope you enjoy her. This swap was a lot of fun. Thanks for making it happen. :)

Hi, I'm starting my Dotee today. Thank you for the tutorial. This will my first one. I hope I do ok. Hugs,Jolee

I just uploaded two photos to the gallery. check them out.

Too cute fleasha!

The link top the tutorial is in the swap description. I think maybe R&T need to change the color a bit.

OK this is ridiculous! They're like eating Lays potato chips! I just finished my 4th, I'm giving them to my girl friends for Valentines. Is there a 12 step program?

Yay! my doll for this swap is finished and I'm really pleased with it. I hope my partner likes her.

BTW I have been playing with using buttons for the face. I know they're not kosher, but they've been turning out really cute. Does anyone else do this?

Where is the gallery? I want to see Fleasha's creations!

Mine is on it's way cross country!

STARTED OVER A FEW TIMES BUT ITS FINALLY DONE AND ON ITS TO ITS NEW HOME! ENJOY HOPE YOU LIKE HER.

Jessica, I have rec'd your Dotee Doll and gave you a rating. But, it says that I have'nt sent my yo my partner nor to you. I don't know what wrong. Hugs, Jolee

ooooo crap. I just finished my first Dotee and I so want to keep her...can I? Please? Please.....

I sent mine too!

My Dotee is still in formation. I'm not sure this is my strongest talent, but it's bringing some new things into use. I think her personality is still unsure. She should be finished VERY soon, and in the mail to her new home.

Mine will go out in the mail Monday due to the swap ending on a Sunday when the post office is closed. I hope that's ok!

:) BG

Mine is now winging her way to Canada! I can see how these can be addicting! I'm already planning to make some for our old exchange students - found some fabric that reminds me of a slot canyon we hiked with them and tiny little bottles to put sand from the canyon in and hang on the "tail" - can't wait to get them started!

each one of you have been sent an email. Please read it & if it pertains to you please reply. thanks!