Mrs. Art Doll Maker: Enter the 2012 Hoffman Challenge!

Sunday, December 4, 2011

Enter the 2012 Hoffman Challenge!

Picture Courtesy of Hoffman Challenge - Garden Romance Collection

The fabrics for the 2012 challenge have been announced; and, they capture all the old time romance you may find during beautiful Spring walks with fancy umbrellas or on hot Summer picnic days.

I have to admit I haven't entered these past two years; although, I had every intention to do so. I'm already starting to prepare now to make sure I have enough time to get everything finished. I strongly suggest you give it a try, if you haven't already. What I love about this challenge is it gives everyone the opportunity to have their work exhibit in a traveling show, which is exciting - nationally or internationally.

A couple of things to remember if you enter:

Your work cannot be delicately made because it will be traveling with everyone else's dolls. The dolls are packaged in a few big bins; but, there is really no room to give special treatment to any one of them.
The stand needs to be strong. Use a really strong dowel because you don't want it to snap. I've heard many people have had a lot of success with this...Otherwise, try break line from an auto parts store. It's a strong, but very light, piece of metal that comes in different diameters, just like the dowels. You'll need something to cut it down to size. There is a bolt (male end) at one end of the break line which gets inserted into the 7" wooden base. You'll need to drill a larger hole through so you can insert a lock nut (female end) at the bottom and attach the two. Put a lock nut in the bottom of the wooden base. Then, screw the two together.
Label your doll with your name and address on the bottom of the base so they know who to send it back to and make sure you include the check for return s/h. I always forget this step and have to reopen the box again right before it gets shipped.
There are other rules you can read, not too many, by going to their site; but, these are the ones that really stand out in my mind. I have a "Challenges" tab at the top of this blog that you can refer to for easy reference any time.

Here is a picture of all the fabrics in this year's collection. The one above is the main fabric that needs to be used for the challenge. You can buy these fabrics at Quilt Kits Online. Type in "Hoffman 2012 Challenge" in their search bar. Hope to see your entries!