African Animals Pattern Set.
Save $10 when you buy this three-pattern set. Use the patterns to create memorable gifts, or to bring a little bit of Africa to your own home
Well, my book has been officially available on amazon.com for almost a week now, but there is still a slight snag. There’s a problem with the “search inside the book” function, but the tech guys are working on it. It should be fixed either today or tomorrow (keep your fingers crossed for me!). You can currently see the photos inside the book, but all the text is showing up as weird rectangles. Strange… (Edit: They fixed it, finally. You can now see the inside of the book. Sign in to your account on amazon.com to see even more pages.)
I didn’t intend to officially announce the book’s publication until they got that fixed. However, amazon is currently discounting the book by 45%! I have no idea how long they’ll continue offering the book at such a great price, since it’s something I have no control over. If you’ve been thinking about getting a copy of How to Make Adorable Baby Animal Dolls, and you don’t mind not being able to read any of the text when you peek inside the book, now would be a good time to grab one. If you do, be sure to let me know what you think.
The cover came out really nice, didn’t it? Thanks to all of you who helped me with it. Collaborative art does sometimes work! There are a few photos inside the book that printed darker than I wanted, but that’s another one of those things I can’t control as much as I would like. With POD publishing, perfection is not achievable, unfortunately. Overall, though, I think it came out pretty good. And I now have a nice little collection of baby animal dolls! (The gray striped kitty on the middle shelf was made by my parents, 20 years ago, back when we sold them at art shows and gift shops…)
Hi jonni, I love to read and see everything on your site. If I can ask what area do you live in? I would love to come to one of your shows. I live In daytona beach fl.thanks. sandy
Whoops! Forgot to add in that I will be leaving a review for your bookn on Amazon. I have written a lot of reviews for Amazon; so your book is definitely getting a favorable one! Will send you the link to the review when I get around to writing it up. I am pretty far behind on product reviews.
Well- after the Amazon live chat reps( 2 different instance) both came up with two similar stories( the book is not in stock) I decided to cancel the order.
It was like I was putting in an order that would be in limbo.
Then I hopped onto live chat again and said to the rep I got, if there are no books in stock at all, how come they said they will be available for shipping in a few days? What is going on? I was at the author’s website and she says they are AVAILABLE FOR SALE.
But they continued to argue their point( an erroneous one- nonetheless!).
With PRINT ON DEMAND (which photographers also utilize) there should, as you said Jonni, be an ever present inventory.
I think I was talking to India each time I spoke on Live Chat.
Amazon has hired like half the countries around the globe and while all the reps are nice from each country and have always bent over backward to help me- the reps I dealt with regarding your new book, clearly had no idea this was a PRINT ON DEMAND item- DONE BY AMAZON!.
Flash forward to me ordering it earlier this week and getting it yesterday. Wow- it looks great!
I know you were in a quandary over which images to use. I know many of us made recommendations for the cover etc.
All I could say was to maybe squeeze 3 images on the front or the back of your book cover of each project so people could see what the projects looked like just at a glance.
I was excited to see the rabbit- dog and cat on the back!
( I am sure others came up with the same idea to try to squeeze these projects on to one side of the cover .)
Let us know how it goes with POD via Amazon as time goes on. Also the rep I get on live chat cover an array of topics when you need help- the only thing they don’t seem to cover is music and movies.
You could call them a sales rep- but they also handle a variety of issues. What concerns me on your behalf is if they are still giving out incorrect info. Then again, I think I am one of the few people accessing live chat whenever I have a problem with something on Amazon.
Right now the only issue I am having with the projects is getting a spare- used mixer.
I can’t afford to use my regular mixer for crafts and I can’t seem to get my hands on a used one.
Hoping I can go to GoodWill and get lucky. I will even be happy if I get one without the bread paddles for the end part of mixing. I can do that by hand if I have to.
Jonni, I do wish to create these dolls in the size your father made his in- big!
Is it really that simple to just adjust everything to get bigger in size, simply by using an adult sock for the head and increasing the body and clothing patterns by ???????
Is there any kind of ratio I can use as a guide? I would hate to have certain parts of the body an inappropriate match. Say head and hands out of proportion for example.
Also-for the size he created- what size real baby clothes is he using? I would buy cheap basica baby clothes and then sew on my own adornments etc to make it personalize. Do you know roughly what size the two dolls he is holding, are wearing?
Any help is greatly appreciated. Again thanks for taking the time to make the book.
I can’t wait to show the projects to other animal loving crafters- both family and friends!
Hugs to a super lady and a great teacher! 🙂
Heh – Jan, I think you just proved that if you want to buy a book at amazon.com, never call them first! 🙂 I’m glad you got your book in a timely manner, just as I knew you would.
Yes, all my dad did was make all the patterns bigger. Back then we didn’t have the new way of making the heads, though, so you’ll probably want to use an adult sock, and then make your body and clothing patterns to fit the size the head turns out to be. I don’t know what size the clothes are on his dolls – I do know they spent a lot of time shopping for them at the Goodwill store.
I do hope you’ll post a photo of your doll when it’s done. I can’t wait to see it!
Hi Jonni- I just received your book today and have read it cover to cover. It is excellent, well written and concise with the instructions. The pictures were great and I enjoyed some of the side comments. The only reason I did not get started on one tonight was that I did not have a baby sock! Well done and congratulations!
Hi Eileen. I’m so glad you like it! I can’t wait to see the dolls you make.
Congrats on the book and the show! You’re a great role model on getting things done.
Hi Jonni
I have been watching for your new book on Amazon.ca. It is not there yet, will it be available in Canada or will I have to buy from Amazon.com? One will be a shipping charge for me. I’m looking forward to getting a copy 🙂
I think it will take several more weeks before the books shows up on the Canadian website. I’m printing it in two different places, to make it available as widely as possible. The process does take longer than I would like, but if you’re patient for a little longer, it should show up on their site.
Jonni,
Of course the new air dry clay is “paper mache”. Remember when you were requesting ideas about what to call it? My suggestion was Jonni’s Paper Porcelain or JPP. You didn’t use it,
(and that is perfectly alright). But it does have paper in it so it is paper mache, right?
So let’s use it in the challenge.
Yes, I’m certainly OK with that! I still haven’t built that form – I’ll try to get to that today. I put off so many things while I was writing the book, that now I have a lot of catching up to do. And I have an idea for my three-hour project, of course. I’ll get started on it soon.
Jonni,
I have a question about the plaster gauze you used for your rhino. Is it heavy? I want to make a series of large abstract shapes 12″-36″ to add some of my textile art to (as if the shape were a boat and the textile like a decorative sail). But I want them to be fairly uniform and very sturdy, though not hugely heavy, as I may ship them to shows.
I really liked the wet potters clay you used as a form because I thought I may be able to put a layer of plaster over one form and cut it off, reusing it many times and making a sturdy base for the paper mache.
I am wondering if the plaster gauze is a good way to go, versus trying to build up tons of layer of paper mache to get a really strong form. Or is it overkill?
As of today, the problem of the Look Inside feature does not work, but I did order your book as it is discounted until they fix the problem. But then, I have your animal and masks books as well. They are gems.
Yep – still not working. But they promised that it should be fixed by the end of the week.
And hey – thanks for ordering the book anyway! My copy just arrived yesterday, and I can attest that there are real words inside! 😉
Just ordered your book. I have been looking forward to seeing it in print.
Good luck with all those new art projects, I will be looking over your shoulder any time you let me.
Artis
Thanks, Artis. I hope you enjoy it.
I have it now and have looked at it quickly, and it looks so good. I need to have a little “me” time to really read it careful. I just want to congratulate you on how nice it is. I love your news letter and am always interested to see what you are going to do next.
Artis
Thanks, Artis.
Jonni,
I love the new book and am going to buy it as soon as I finish work today. I do have a quick question though… Do the clothes patterns also come in the book? Thanks, Moni
Hi Moni. Yes, all the patterns are in the book. There’s two versions of the dress, a really easy T-shirt made out of baby socks, and the playsuit. I hope you enjoy it!
It is ordered and on the way. Can’t wait!
Great idea, Jonni! Can’t wait to see all the guest posts!! Not to mention, what twenty five pieces you come up with for the show. wow!
Heh – When I drove to the hardware store this afternoon, I thought about Jan’s unfortunate experience with Amazon’s call center, who thought all my books had sold out already (No, my books are not quite that popular. Don’t I wish! 😉
It reminded me of my last job — I’ll bet I never told any of you that I used to work for a huge health insurance company, answering phones at the call center. It was not a job for which I’m well-suited, since I have a mild phone phobia. Fortunately, they quickly moved me away from the phones and let me answer emails and work on their website, instead.
We would sometimes do random checks to see how well our phone reps did with their answers, and our accuracy rate was surprisingly dismal – up to 60% of the answers were wrong. I started advising people to always read their insurance policy carefully before making the call. And if the person at the call center gives the wrong answer, don’t just call back and talk to another rep because she’ll just read the notes left by the first one, and they’ll both be wrong. You have to insist on talking to the supervisor – not because she knows more, but because she doesn’t get in trouble for taking the time to find the right answer.
Boy, I’m glad I don’t have that job any more! Writing craft books is so much more fun.
Congratulations, Jonni, on getting your new book published! Also, I’m excited that you will be creating some new art that will be exhibited in a show! Where will you show be?
Best,
Helen
Thanks, Helen. We have to make something to put into a show before we can find a place to put them – at least I think that’s how it works. I think Jessie will be in charge of that department. 🙂
Ok. Then I’ll wait to hear from you when you know! 🙂
Oh- and yet again just to emphasize: AMAZON REP SAID NO INVENTORY IN STOCK! NOW EITHER YOU SOLD ALL YOUR BOOKS- OR SOMETHING IS VERY WRONG HERE( MAYBE THE REP I GOT DID NOT KNOW WHAT THEY WERE TALKING ABOUT).
AMAZON HAS LIVE CHAT REPS IN VARIOUS COUNTRIES. USUALLY ALL ARE VERY HELPFUL BUT I HAVE CAUGHT SOME MAKING MISTAKES IN INFO.
Whoops – no, your rep got it wrong. The book is available, and will ship out when it’s ordered.
Oh, and by the way – the book will always be in stock because it’s printed, by Amazon, just as soon as an order is placed. This system is called Print on Demand, or POD. The system works beautifully, even if some of the folks in the call center don’t quite know how it works.
Good grief- Amazon just told me they have no inventory of the book in stock. They also don’t understand that the images are visible- the text is not and they think you are not electing to make the inside of the book visible – as in, you are not using that feature right. Arrghhhhh- I am so disappointed. I have to order the book in July because by the time they would get it to me, I would not be around and I have PRIME membership -which is 2 day ship.
Either way- when I get it and make a project, if it comes out nice I will share the image here.
Just wanted you to know that it is not a permanent sales cancellation- just a delay . 🙂
I think you probably spoke to one of their sales reps. They don’t have any access to the technical side of things, and obviously aren’t aware that the issue is already being fixed. Of course, I don’t know much about it, either, but I was really impressed by how quickly the technical support folks handled the issue. Now it’s just a matter of waiting a day or two for the new files to be uploaded to their servers. No panic required. 🙂
Hey ! Just bought a copy and am very excited. Thx for all the effort you put into this Jonni! When I make something I can be proud to share with all of you, here on the site, I will upload an image. 🙂
Thanks, Jan. I hope you like it. And I can’t wait to see what you come up with after you read the book.
I want to play…..YAY! I’ve been thinking about doing some Paper Mache projects and now is a good time to start. let me know the details. Oh ! Your book is awesome.
Excellent! Go ahead and get started on your project – I’ll get a form online in the next day or two. I’m thinking about changing the look of this blog, too, because it isn’t set up to be seen easily on a smart phone. That may take a bit of time, too. But you don’t have to wait for the form – I can’t wait to see what you come up with!
Hurray!
If I didn’t live over a hundred miles away, I’d stop by and have a sip of the perfunctory bottle of champagne used to launch such an auspicious project.
You are amazing . . .
Jim