I have been invited to participate in a book shower.  A book shower is where you do something more innovative for an author than just a vanilla review and in this case I am going to challenge you beat me at making a worry doll.  But, as usual, I’ve gotten ahead of myself.

 The book is The Double Daring Book for Girls by Andrea J Buchanan and Miriam Peskowitz who brought us the Daring Book for Girls.  These books are delightful compilations of fun activities and information that are good for girls to  have.  The information and many of the activities are applicable to boys, too but by and large this book is designed with girls in mind just as the Dangerous Book for Boys was designed to de-sissfy today’s growing boys and liberate them from the absurd molly coddling of the 21st Century (it’s so annoying when people try to keep their kids from getting killed).  Anyhow, I digress.

So here’s the deal.  We were asked to select an activity, do it, and propose a challenge.  On page 167 is the very fine activity – make a worry doll.  Worry dolls are not something to worry over – they are supposed to take your worries away.  From the book

Parents and children [fom Guatamala] have made these dolls for centturies to help soothe the fears of worried children.  Traditional worry dolls, made in ets of six are about a half inch to 2 inches in height….. Tradition has it that when a child is worried or anxious at bedtime, she can tell her troubles to one fo these tiny dolls and then place it under her pillow.

I made one and I challenge you to make one that is way cuter, funnier,wilder, or whatever you want – just make it “er” or “ier” than mine.

Here are the instructions:

Materials:

• 2 flexible, plastic twist ties (each about 4″ long) or skinny pipe cleaners work, too
• Embroidery thread or very thin yarn (6 strands 20 – 24 inches long)
• 1 bead for the head (1/4 inch or so with a hole for threading)
• Permanent marker
• Glue
• Scissors

Makig the Body – Bend one twist tie in half.  Tiwsti it once or twice in the middle.  The loop on top will be your doll’s head, and th eends on the bottom will be the legs (figure 1).  Curl the very ends fof the legs to make tiny loops for the doll’s feet.  Bend the other twist tie in half, and wrap it around the middle of the other twist tie to create the arms (figure 2).  (now I’m too lazy to type all this up so I scanned the page.  Click to make readable)

Easy!  I didn’t have a bead so I used a bedazzle bead and here is my little doll (please refer to 25 things about me #20  to understand how I both love doing this stuff and yet suck at it)

GO!

and send me a picture of the results, please.  I’ll post them when I’ve gotten a few.