Ramblings

The Contest Entries and The Winner of a Custom Paper Doll Is….

Before I announce the winner, I wanted to list all the contest entries, so everyone could read the wonderful ideas proposed by my readers.

Drawing Entries

  1. I would love to see a vintage wedding dress paper doll. Perhaps a dress to represent each era, especially the 1920s and 1950s. She could also have some different bouquets, hairstyles/veils, and retro shoes.
  2. I would like to see something different i want to see a heather all dainty with makeup and her done in a French knot and her clothes must be all frilly and of course must be dry cleaned. she drives a fancy red mustang. she is something like your fashion=girl=
  3. Something Laura Ingalls Wilder-esque. Or, one with my daughter’s sense of style, 5 years old–short florescent yellow skirt, snake-skinned cowboy boots, pink shirt with paisleys. Seriously, I don’t know where she gets her fashion ideas from.
  4. I think I would want an ancient Greek paper doll with togas and things. Something like the Greek Chic paper doll, but historically correct, if you know what I mean.
  5. I’m all about jackets, so I’d suggest a set where the jackets are the show pieces and their are only a few other basic items. Leather, moto, tweed, sleeveless (also called vests), buckled, zipped, snapped, cropped, tailed, etc.
  6. A poodle skirt doll with red hair, blue eyes and tan skin. the poodle skirt is blue with a white poodle. Marisole style doll
  7. A female greaser or native American marisole doll. A military Flock doll with an outfit for each branch, maybe with Oriole?
  8. I would want a Hobbit paper doll. WITH FUZZY FEET AND CURLY HAIR!!!
  9. I’d want a doll to represent the 70th anniversary of D-day; complete with full army dress uniform, a civillian suit of clothes. He’d be in the tenth armored division with black hair, a striking set of blue eyes, tall, and little skinny
  10. i think a robin hood or knights templar themed marisole would be awesome. maybe throw in a nice dress for court events.
  11. “purple skinned mermaid action hero who fights with a scythe” yes! oh wait…. i’m still hankering for an Atzec fantasy (lots of jaguar and quetzal feathers)! : D
  12. I would also like an Aztec Marisole, or a red-haired Marisole, with her hair down to her knees in a french side braid with roller skating clothes, an ipod with headphones, and a dress with split sleeves.
  13. Rachel, I am giving you a challenge! I want an autism acceptance Marisole doll. (not awareness anymore–thanks to Sandy Hook, we are too aware) Here’s your challenge: -no puzzle pieces -ditch the ribbon -tone down the blue I hope you can do it. If you can’t, i’ll think of something
  14. Storm cleanup Marisole – someone who has all the things they need to clean up after a natural disaster. I realize the Tyvek suit won’t be too cool, but I like the idea of a paper doll willing to get dirty to help someone.
  15. I would like to enter. I’d want a Flock inspired by the fairytale Twelve Dancing Princesses which was one of my favorites when I was a child. (Via Email)
  16. I’d like to enter. If I win I’d like a dark skinned, ’70s-inspired paper doll, with huge Afro, hoop earrings and ’70s style clothing — bell-bottom pants, mini and maxi length dress or skirt, halter top in paisley, ’70s flair all the way.
  17. I would like for you to do a summer themed Marisole with some flowey, floral print sundresses and cute skirts and things like that.
  18. A Pin up doll that looks like Joan from Madmen mixed with a Lumberjack lady
  19. If I had to pick anything I would pick a doll based on Laura Ingalls Wilder from the Little House On The Prairie series. so the long brown plaits, white lace dresses, and maybe a raincoat to go with it. thanks 😉
  20. think that two paper dolls that are twins would be an awesome thing to have. I think that it would be cool to have the twins have opposite styles. Maybe one could have a rough and tumble style while the other is a cute type.
  21. I would love to see some of the Shadow & Light outfits for the Marisole’s. I would really like to see the more steampunk looking ones.
  22. I would love to see Marisole with clothing inspired by 1,001 Arabian Nights!
  23. I would love to see a Steampunk version of Amelia Bloomer’s Bloomer Costume. Just because it’s Steampunk doesn’t mean that you must have a bustle!
  24. I would love to see a Flock based on the Princess and the Pea, solely for my love of nightclothes.Or a a 1980s Marisol (or Mia, specifically).
  25. I’d like to see a historical doll, maybe from the Tudors with underwear and a few dresses. Thanks. (Via Email)
  26. Black and white, so I can color her myself, with nice firm dark lines to make bucket fills easier. I’m torn. I love the pixies, but marisols tend to have more clothes….A modern suburban homesteader. Gardening tools, chickens, blue jeans and boots and t-shirts with green slogans on them. Style taken from L.L. Bean with a generous admixture of thrift store finds. And she needs a buffalo plaid flannel shirt and a denim jacket and good old classic Birkenstocks with fleece socks, and of course glasses, preferably with short wavy hair (if there’s a colored version, the hair should be at least half grey).
  27. Would love to see a western/cowgirl themed Marisol & Friends. With denim skirt & pants, western boots, gingham, bandana print, western hat, etc. Or maybe a Cowgirl and Indian theme, so they could be either.
  28. I think I doll based on one of the major fashion icons would be a lot of fun to play with, and to draw! Isabella Blow, Diana Vreeland, Frida Kahlo, Catherine Baba, Iris Apfel – they all had/have such unique, wonderfully bold senses of style and there’s plenty of reference material to draw from. Imagine all the hats, and just the sheer abundance of colour and accessories – you could go nuts with it! 😀

Thank you to everyone who entered. I really enjoyed reading the entries. The Winner, selecting using Random.Org is number 24. Congratulations Lina! Lina has her own blog which you should check out as well.

Meet Violet, A Paper Doll of my College Years

Last year, I posted two of my childhood drawings. One was of Ellie and the other was of Riven.

Here is another paper doll from years ago. When I was college in Oregon, my parents were having the boat refitted up in Washington. For spring break one year, I went with my best-friend up to visit them. It was a really fun, though at times a little crazy, trip and was the first time I had ever ridden the Greyhound Bus anywhere. While I was traveling, I drew and colored this paper doll using a set of permanent markers in lots of different colors.

thumb-violet-paper-doll-full-color
I don’t remember much about her and her clothing certainly doesn’t resemble what I was wearing in those days. I spent my entire college life in a hooded sweatshirt, jeans and flip-flops, regardless of weather. Still, when I stumbled across her in my files, I thought she would be fun to share.

Also, last note, the drawing ends at midnight central time tonight. Enter if you like. 🙂

Reviewing the Blog Goals for 2014

goals-2014

Wow… it’s already June. This year has just zipped by. However, since it’s nearly halfway over, I suppose it is time to consider how I am doing on my various blog goals for 2014. When I started this post, I set out to find if I had ever actually posted my goals for 2014 and found, much to my own embarrassment, that I hadn’t. Opps.

However, I do have some goals and they were saved in my Red Binder.

When I looked at the list it was a little upsetting, because I hadn’t succeeded at any of my goals. So, I decided that I would try to make my goals more concrete with specific things I would try to achieve.

 

The Goals for 2014

 

 

Original Goal: More male paper dolls.

I look at Boots wonderful men and I feel such guilt over my lack of male paper dolls. I gotta get better at drawing dudes, so that has been one of my big goals which I have to admit I haven’t succeeded on very well this year. I’ve barely attempted it. You can see my male attempts for the past few years.

The Concrete Goal: In the next six months, I will create at least ten male paper dolls.

Original Goal: Create monthly featured artist pages.

I’ve missed two months. However, I am climbing back on the wagon. I have emailed two paper doll artists to see if they would be willing to be featured on my blog. It’s a slow process, but I am doing my best. 🙂

The Concrete Goal: I actually think I have a pretty concrete goal here… I’d like to have at least six of these a year, maybe more if I can do it.

Original Goal: Create a paper doll tutorial.

Wow, this has been hard. I’ve got the first part written, but I need to illustrate it. I thought this would be easy and I was SO WRONG.

The Concrete Goal: Have the first part of the tutorial finished by the end of July.

Original Goal: Encourage more paper doll artists online.

So, one of the things I have been trying to be better about is going to other people’s paper doll blogs and posting comments on them. When I started PTP, before the big crash of 2009, I went nearly a year without any comments. I still remember my first comment and it was from Liana and I was proud that Liana (whose blog had inspired mine) had seen my work and she had said something nice about it. It made my day. I remember that feeling and I want to support other paper doll artists who are beginning their blogging journey.

The Concrete Goal: Visit other blogs weekly and, if there is new content, comment on it.

Original Goal: Provide more “behind the scenes” looks at my process and work.

I am so not doing well at this one either. I am trying and I like writing those posts, but they always seem to take more time than they should.

The Concrete Goal: Post one “behind the scenes” blog a month.

Original Goal: Create more historical paper dolls from periods prior to 1700.

Okay, so it took Gwendolyn’s 10th century anglo-saxon paper doll to kick me in the butt, but I loved working on that paper doll. I learned so much about the period and I had so much fun doing it. I want to do more of historical dolls. Right now, I am researching the 1300s and German costumes from the 1500s. I really want to do something Tudor, but the complexity of the fabric patterns make me whimper in fear.

The Concrete Goal: Create three paper dolls from before 1700 this year.

Original Goal: Build stronger ties to others in the paper doll community.

Honestly, I wrote this down, but I’ll be darned if I know how to do it. I have to think about this and I did and so I came up with some specific things.

The Concrete Goals: 1. Do some more collaborative paper dolls with other artists. 2. Send some art into the OPDAG magazine. 3. Contact someone to be a featured artist whose work I admire, but who I can’t imagine would say yes to being on my tiny little blog.

So, these are my goals. Now, that I have them written down publicly, I guess I better actually achieve them.

New Contest For a Free Custom Paper Doll Open Until Midnight June 18th 2014

contest-june-2014

I am pleased to announce a new contest or more accurately a drawing, since the winner, as usual, will be decided randomly. The drawing is open until June 18th at Midnight and the winner will be announced on Friday June 20th. This gives me a day to get the actual number selection done.

How to Enter:

Put a comment in below (or feel free to email me, if you prefer at paperthinpersonas@gmail.com) with a one or two sentence description of the custom paper doll you would want if your won the drawing. By the way, there is no obligation that the submission actually be the custom paper doll you ask for if you win. So, if your submission is a purple skinned mermaid action hero who fights with a scythe, but two weeks later you decide that what you really wanted was an orange tabby cat-girl ninja with three heads, then that can be changed.

Contest Rules:

1. You can only win one contest a year.
2. I will email the winner at their email address attached to the comment to notify them of winning. If I do not hear back from the winner within a week, I will use a random number generator to select the next winner. Your email address MUST be functional for you to win.
3. The winner will receive a one page custom paper doll based on one of my paper doll series within a month of the end of the contest. Sometimes life gets in the way of this goal, but I will email the winner if that is the case and we can make other arrangements. (A few of the previous prize custom paper dolls include Dark and Steamy, Kadeem and Gabriel Ready for Dates, Marisole Monday visits the 10th Century, Sewing the Seventies and Elven Maiden)
4. You may only enter the contest once. Entering more than once, will disqualify you.

Announcing the Winner:

On June 20th, I will list in a post every entry with a number. This allows everyone to read the submissions, even those which are emailed to me and will announce the winner via a random number generator.

Lastly, it is entirely possible if I really like any of the ideas suggested that they will show up on this blog at some point, but no promises. Have fun. I can’t wait to read the entries. 🙂

The contest is now closed. Thank you to eveyone who entered. The winner will be announced on the 20th of June. 🙂

Hiatus Until June 1 2014

hiatus-2014

I was hoping beyond hope that I would not have to put the blog on Hiatus at all this year, but that just isn’t going to happen, sadly.

A lot of things are happening at the end of May, so I’ve decided to place Paper Thin Personas on hiatus until June 1, 2014 when I will return with a bang I hope… including a contest and hopefully a new featured paper doll artist. So, high hopes for tall of those things.

I will be checking my email and you can still contact me there if you need too. In the meantime, feel free to look around and enjoy the paper dolls.

See you all when I return in June. It should be a fun ride from there. 🙂

Confessions of a Paper Doll Blogger

confessions_pd_image
One of the things I have been collecting lately on Pinterest has been blogging prompts and ideas. It was from this list from The SITS Girls that I discovered April 30th is National Honesty Day. I missed National Honesty Day, but I thought it would be interesting to post a few things on this blog that I wouldn’t normally post or share.

My Confessions…

 

— I’ve gotten two emails from readers who thought I was African-American due to the large ethnic diversity of my paper dolls. Figuring out how to politely dissuade them of that notion makes me feel really awkward.

— I live in terror that I will someday draw something and someone will email me telling me that my depiction of their race or culture is wrong and/or racist. This is why I do not draw traditional clothing of other cultures. (Actually, there are about a dozen reasons I don’t draw traditional clothing of other cultures, so maybe I should do a whole post on that…)

— Sometimes I get really strange thank you emails. One came from a bible camp leader who was planning to use my Knight paper doll to teach girls about the “armor of abstinence” and I politely asked them to not do so. Nothing against abstinence or armor, but somehow the idea of sex ed and my paper dolls being in the same room sorta freaked me out.

— Technically, I still owe my best friend a paper doll inspired by the Vorkosigan Saga series by Louise Bujold. It’s very shameful. Someday, I will get it done… (Of course, if she’s reading this she is rolling her eyes at me.)

— Every once in a while someone makes a request, usually a perfectly reasonable kind request and I think to myself, “Isn’t it enough what I do? How dare you ask me to do more? You entitled twit.” Then I drink a glass of tea, calm down and remind myself that I am TOTALLY over reacting. Please don’t stop making requests. I really don’t mind getting them, except sometimes… late at night… after a bad day at work… when I’m in a grumpy mood.

— I was once told my Cybergoth paper doll was inappropriate for children. I suggested that the offended individual avoid giving it to children. See… Problem solved.

— I draw very cartoony paper dolls, because I really don’t know how to draw hyper-realistic ones. Usually this doesn’t bother me, but sometimes I feel like a fraud, especially when people ask me for drawing advice.

— I am grateful everyday for the wonderful readers and fellow paper doll bloggers on the internet who remind me that I am not alone, that my hobby isn’t too strange and that my love of these fragile ephemeral paper toys is something worth sharing.

So, these are my confessions. What are yours? Are there times when you feel like I do about your readers? Or about your art? What’s the strangest email you’ve ever gotten? What’s the one thing about your art you’ve never admitted bothers you? Anyone willing to share your thoughts?

Terms of Use: What they Are & Why You Need One

terms_of_use_statementsI went years without a Terms of Use statement. I didn’t want to bother writing one and I know enough about copyright to know that my general site notice was enough, in fact, the moment an artistic work is created than it is protected, regardless of whether or not a person actually places a copyright statement on the item.

However, I had some paper doll images stolen by a for profit enterprise and although we came to an equitable arrangement, I realized I had made a huge mistake by not making my terms absolutely clear. I might know a fair bit about copyright, but my readers likely don’t.

So, I drafted a terms of use and then posted it.

I know writing a terms of use statement is a little frightening, but the language doesn’t have to be scary. Still, there are times and places to be funny and charming, but your terms of use isn’t one of them. Be clear and simple in your language. Also, include contact information, because if people have questions, they should be able to ask them somewhere private and you don’t want someone claiming that they couldn’t get a hold of you.

Here are some questions to consider while drafting a terms of Use:

  • Who has the right to profit from your paper dolls?
  • Who has the right to print your work in multiple copies?
  • Can people post your work in other places? Under what conditions? With credit? What form should that credit take?
  • Are you waiving your copyright? Remember, once copyright is waived for an image, you can not get it back just because someone used it in a way that you do not like.
  • If someone draws an outfit for your paper doll (or creates a “derivative work”), can they post it? Can they profit from it?
  • Is your work licensed under something like Creative Commons? If so, that needs to be made clear on your site as well.

Once you have written your draft statement, ask a friend to read it for editing and clarity, then link it somewhere obvious. Mine is under my About tab and in my header. I know that seems like a lot, but I don’t want someone saying that they couldn’t find it.

And I get questions regularly from people who say, “I was reading your terms of use and I wanted to know if I could…” I don’t mind these questions. It means the Terms of Use is working and findable.

Lastly, I should note: I am not a lawyer and nothing I have said here should be construed to constitute legal advice. I am an archivist and librarian and paper doll lover, nothing more… nothing less.

Questions? Thoughts? Have you ever had your work taken without your permission? How did you deal with it?

Feeding the Blog Monster

Sometimes, I think of my blog as a monster. I call it “DaBlog Monster.”

And it is my job to feed the monster paper dolls (other blogs may hunger for other things) lest it devour the world and/or the souls of children.

blog-monster

Feeding the blog is not always easy and can be stressful. I’ve learned a few tips and tricks to keep me sane while I do it and I thought I’d share those today.

So, this is how I feel DaBlog Monster….

I work in several things at once.

I get bored easily. Having four or five different paper dolls in different stages of development means I can hop around and do what I feel like. If I want to ink, I can ink. If I want to sketch, I can sketch. If I want to color, I can color. If I want to mess with layouts, I can mess with layouts. (I never WANT to mess with layouts, but… it has to be done.)

The thing about paper dolls is they should be fun. Once drawing them stops being fun, I think you need to find something else to do. Not to suggest that slumps don’t happen (they to do everyone), but pleasure should out weigh pain.

I work in spurts.

Let me describe what last week looked like… On Saturday, I scanned a bunch of things including a Marisole Monday set, two poppets sets and some new pieces for Greta’s trousseau. On Sunday, I finished up the next Marisole Monday post. On Monday, I worked on my Grandmother’s 90th birthday present, did a little inking and cleaned my bathrooms. On Tuesday, I went grocery shopping, did laundry and spent the evening reading about World War One propaganda for a conference presentation I am working on. On Wednesday, I ran a few errands, worked more on my Grandma’s birthday gift and cleaned my apartment. On Thursday, I cooked for a dinner party I was hosting Friday and did more cleaning. On Friday, I had friends over, served them enchiladas and had a lovely time.

The moral of this story: I didn’t spent and I don’t spend every waking moment thinking about or working on paper dolls. I do work intensely and then I stop.

I space out my posts.

WordPress has a scheduling feature (as do most other blog platforms). Know it. Love it. Use it.

So, imagine you’d just finished two paper dolls and that’s wonderful. Now… when do you post them?

Think about schedules. Is next week insane like my last week was insane? Are there a dozen things you have to do in the coming month? Should you post one now and save the other for when you’re in a pinch? What’s the best option?

Just because something is done, doesn’t mean it has to go up. Save things for times when you’re crunched.

Plan ahead.

Okay, this one I’m not so good at, but I try to think about what holidays are upcoming. Do I want to do a Passover paper doll? This coming up fast. How about something for May day? Or the summer solstice? When is the summer solstice? (I have no idea without looking it up.)

I know it takes a long time for me to go from idea, to sketch, to final sketch, to inking, to coloring, and then to posting. I don’t like to rush it. I can if I have too, but I’d rather not have too.

So, these are the ways I feed my blog monster. How do you feed yours?

An Interview with my Featured Paper Doll Artist of the Month: Liana of Liana’s Paper Doll Blog

Paper doll gown by Liana of Liana's Paper Doll Blog. Posted with Permission. This month I was so pleased to be able to interview Liana of Liana’s Paper Doll Blog. I fell in love with Liana’s Paper Doll Blog back when she was posting Anna in 2004 (There’s a wonderful retrospective on her site) which was my first year of college and I remember reading it while sitting in my dorm room and feeling pleased that someone else actually liked paper dolls other than me.

Many years later, after college, I followed Sylvia and Iris while I was working at the State Library of Alaska. I checked the site every day at lunch. I watched her site and I thought, “I could do this. I could make a paper doll blog.”

In a very real way, Paper Thin Personas would have never existed without Liana’s Paper Doll Blog. I owe her so much.

So, I was excited and elated when she agreed to let me interview her for this month’s Featured Artist. Go read her interview and check out her amazing site.

Announcement: Email Subscription

announcement_2For those of you who have signed up for email notices when the site updates, that system not currently working.

Something has gone wrong with the email plugin I was using. I am working on fixing it, but in the mean time, I have removed the sign up form until I can get it figured out. It also has deleted everyone’s email that was on the list.

So… this kinda sucks. I’ll let people know when I have figured out either a new system or fixed the old system.

Until then, there is no email subscription for the site. Instead, you can sign up for the RSS feed if you wish, or just check back. As always, I update about three times a week.

Thanks for your patience guys. Any questions? Feel free to ask.

Best,

– Rachel